Zac & I just returned from what we called our honeymoon part two. When a trip that first started as one we wanted to bring some of our good friends on dwindled to the two of us we were actually really excited to spend a little time away just us.

 

Between both of us working full-time and Zac going back to school, we haven’t had quite as much time together, so it was a much-needed getaway.

 

We flew from SLC to SFO we had a 50 min layover and United dropped us two terminals away from where our next flight was. They forced us to go out of security, take the “air tram” and then go back through TSA which thank goodness for nice people who let us cut or we would have had to wait until the NEXT DAY for the following flight. In addition, United doesn’t serve you free snacks and you have to pay to watch shows!? I am not sure if Delta just spoils people and gives me unreal expectations for what a flight should be like, but I do know I don’t plan on flying with United again if I can help it.

We typically always like to fly at night, so we can arrive in the morning and not spend a full day in travel… but this time it didn’t work out so we arrived in Puerto Vallarta Mexico in the afternoon. Our week was spent in a little town 45 minutes from the airport called Sayulita.

 

We pulled up to Casa Norte around 4:00pm. To say we were stunned is an understatement, as much as we like resorts a bit more of a local feel is fun and more adventurous and this was a mix of the ritzy feel of a resort (with our own pool, hammock, double headed shower) but a more local feeling with a home tucked away on a back road a block from the beach.

Once our golf cart arrived we immediately jumped in and headed for – well we really didn’t know where. In fact, after a quick stop at the beach, we accidentally drove in the opposite direction of town until coming to an abrupt dead end, which it turns out is how most of the roads in Sayulita end.

Then we grabbed a bite to eat – we were starving from not having been fed on the flights or having any time in between!

 

One of my favorite parts of Sayulita was how warm the ocean was. It was like bath water and since we went in “the offseason” when it’s more overcast and rainy, we kept plenty warm. Typically, if we are swimming I have to get out every so often to get warm but here we could be there for hours. In fact, on our last night, we were swimming and ended up getting caught in a rainstorm. The ocean was so warm we must have stayed in there for over an hour. With rain pouring down, and the sun setting the rest of the beach emptied long before we grabbed our drench towels and headed “home”.

A few of my other favorite parts of the trip were helping baby sea turtles on their first big journey, eating amazing food, visiting hidden beach and the Bachelor in Paradise hotel.

We got to Camp Tortuga, the nonprofit that saves baby turtles, in Sayulita around 7:00 Friday night and they told us all about the process. Casa Norte’s owner is Zac’s boss so he shared a Facebook message with us informing us a nest had hatched that morning and would be released that night.

Here are some fun facts that explain why this nonprofit and others do what they do: Female turtles return to the same beach that they were born on to have their babies, and by having their babies I mean lay hundreds of eggs. Those eggs are left in the sand but a lot of times very few or none of them last the 45 days till they are ready to hatch because creatures find them and crack their shells. Then once they hatch the babies have to make the long trek to the water right after they are born…  now I can attest this is not a horse race it’s more like pooh bear waddling to find a fresh batch of honey.

 

To help more turtles survive Camp Tortuga has scouts that go find the nests as or just after the mothers lay them. They transport them to the beach property the nonprofit has and rebury them marking the approximate date they will hatch and the number of eggs with a stick, which also keeps birds away. As it approaches the date they place a mesh covering with a hard top over the nest so that as the first babies start popping up they are protected. Then, they place the babies into large containers with their siblings. The same evening they are born people gather to help release the turtles. It was crazy to see how delicate they were. We raked the beach beforehand and carry them (without touching them or it can mess up their ability to relocate the beach when it’s their time to have young) halfway down and it still took them forever! One dog ran through the raked area and I swear I almost had a meltdown when I watched one baby fall into his footprint and then get buried from the next wave flattening the sand. So many of them had to get turned around or even moved further down the beach so they would make it to the water. I can’t image how few of the little guys would have finished the trek without the assistance. But watching their tiny figures in the water I still know many of them won’t ever return.

Wow. It sounds like I am impersonating Animal Planet. Summary of the experience is DO IT!! It is amazing to see such a big transition in a creatures life but especially these cute baby turtles.

Another favorite part of the trip was the food. SERIOUSLY. Some of the best food I have ever had in Mexico. If you go here are some places to check out:

 

–    Taco’s el Ivan – we ate here nearly EVERY night. Amazing Al Pastor Tacos with pineapple mmmm. He is located on the main square and the place is painted orange and green. Each taco is only 13 pesos so it’s an all you can eat experience.

– Lau Rustica Sayulita – Their salads are AMAZING!! And you won’t get sick (or at least we didn’t) it’s a beautiful setting and still a great price!

–    Ice cream shop – I don’t recall the name, but it is right next to the Rustica restaurant (their ice cream is so good I got it every day. If we could figure out their recipe it really should become my business selling it cause it would kick everything else’s butt)

–    Buonissimo Café & Gelato – it’s two blocks from the main square and has the best breakfast and deserts.

Before we went down Zac was kind of anti doing a touristy tour, but we ended up booking a cruise with Chica Loco to the Hidden Beach and boy was it worth it!! Sometimes I feel like those ships really oversell you on how cool something is and we almost didn’t pay the extra portion to go to Hidden Beach (you can take the boat out and go to a few other island beaches) but I am telling you it is so cool. It’s a national park (I think) so when you pull up there is actually a boat sitting outside regulating how many people can go in for the day and they have helmets for you. It is so intense you can’t go in when the tide is high so we had to wait a while… but finally when it was time we put our helmets on and started swimming in the direction they told us. It just appeared as though we were swimming directly into the rocks but then when the waves went down you could see the other side.

 

At that point, I still didn’t think it would be too intense but as we were going in that changed quickly. You get shoved up into the rocks and keep getting pulled in different directions. By the time we got through the tightest part Zac and I were screaming with joy. It’s better than any wave pool. But some of the other people looked slightly terrified.

The beach is small but out of this world. I don’t know how a movie hasn’t been filmed there yet.

The rest of the day we went to some other beaches, saw turtles mating (really brought our previous experience full circle), caught sea fish, ate delicious food, snorkeled, and saw two groups of dolphins.

 

Finally, my final favorite part of the trip was visiting Playa Escondido (also hidden beach) the resort that Bachelor in Paradise is filmed at. Typically, they are so booked only guests can eat there or be at the beach but because it was the off season they gave us a reservation and when we got there they told us there were only two guests! The setting was stunning. After Frenchman’s Cove in Jamaica, this beach is my favorite.

We loved it so much we actually came back the next day for a couple’s massage and hanging out on the beach/ocean. It is also the best golf cart ride over there (just don’t get lost).

 

Sayulita is not a major resort town and its neighbor Puerto Vallarta pops up as a destination people go to much more frequently, but Sayulita stole my heart this last week. If you want a small surfer town that you can easily navigate in a golf cart check it out.

 

A huge thank you to Casa Norte, our little home away from home. We hope to find ourselves there again one day.