SUN, SURF AND THE DAY OF THE DEAD IN MEXICO
Beach town of Sayulita features cobblestone streets, friendly locals
Every fall on November 2 Mexicans celebrate the day of the dead — Dia de los Muertos. No it’s not morbid and it’s not Mexican Halloween — it is truly a celebration of family and friends who have passed away. And, it’s even more fascinating if you can participate in a smaller town like Sayulita.
Sayulita is located on the Pacific Coast of Mexico about an hours’ drive north of Puerto Vallarta. It’s a modest size town, about as big as Tofino, with fabulous food, long sandy beaches, tropical water and even smaller beachside towns like San Pancho just minutes away by local bus.
The cobblestone roads in the town centre add character (and a bumpy ride) to an already exquisite seaside town. It’s a great place to go just to chill out. The feel is very local and there’s lots of shopping — unique boutiques for art, clothing and jewelry. There are numerous street side restaurants and bars in the central area and some of the best burritos ever to be found at Burrito Revolution. One evening we sat curbside with the locals at Tacos el Ivan watching them put the tacos together in front of us — yum! It’s less than a five-minute walk from the town centre to the beach. The swimming here is so good, with no worries about an undertow.
There are surfers all along the beach, with the best surfing being about halfway along where the biggest waves curl. However, being “weenies” my partner Colleen and I stayed at the south end of the beach with the newbie surfers and the boogie boarders. I know it’s not classy, but we had a blast renting boogie boards most days and riding the waves to shore.
As much as we loved the sun, the beaches, the food and the nightlife, it was the amazing people that made our stay one-of-a-kind.
We stayed at the Casa Campana right next to the beach and it was a great place. Even greater were the staff. One fellow, the maintenance man, Edwardo, asked Colleen one day: “Have you been to a good fish restaurant?”
We’d had some good seafood but not outstanding, so he offered to take the two of us to this great seaside restaurant called Si Senor in Punta Mita, about 16 km south down the coast. The food was truly outstanding (picture a cookie sheet with a whole fresh grilled fish for one meal). Then he brought us back to his house in Sayulita to meet his family (I think to their surprise)!
The next day he took us back to Punta Mita for a guided tour by boat out to Islas Marietas, in a national marine park, worth seeing for its famous “hidden beach” accessible only by swimming through a large rock tunnel with hard hats on.
And he picked us up! He wouldn’t take money for gas or anything. We kept wondering “what’s the catch?” It turned out there was no catch, just a genuine, amazingly friendly person.
And we lucked out, by accident we’d come at just the right time for “the day of the dead.” Dia de los Muertos is a national holiday based on an Aztec festival that existed before Spanish colonization in the 16th century. It is an annual remembrance and celebration of the friends and family who have died.
In the town centre plaza families come the day before to build their memorials to their loved ones. Especially touching were the displays in memory of deceased children and the several rows of small white crosses on the lawn with children’s names. On the days before the holiday families also go to the nearby cemetery to clean up, paint and place multitudes of beautiful flowers at each site.
In the evening before the holiday there are performances by multiple groups on a stage at the edge of the central plaza. These are all representative of Mexican culture and a terrific way to spend an evening.
One group of high school students were standing next to the stage where Colleen and I were sitting at a small table with our cervezas. Their faces were all made up like skeletons (which we saw a lot of that night) — it must have taken them hours to do the makeup! I asked if I could take pictures and they were happy to see themselves on the small camera screen. One young woman made me take her picture at least four times before I got it right.
At midnight there was a candlelight parade led by a small band that wound its way through the cobblestone streets to the small dirt road running in front of the casita where we were staying. The parade went on around the bay and up the hill to the cemetery. We knew it was coming and stayed up to watch it and hear the music. What we didn’t know was they marched back past the house at about 5:30 a.m. with the band playing full blast!
On the actual Dia de los Muertos we took a short walk to the cemetery. Families were there at the gravesites, dressed nicely, visiting, having lunch and remembering. Such a striking and memorable experience!