Moving Day

On this trip we have been spending quite a bit of time looking at various accommodation options. We have managed to accumulate quite a bit of stuff here in Mexico. Bicycles, boogie boards, tools, spare parts, bike gear, running gears, backpacks, etc.  We had the largest room at Hotel Diamante but we have too much stuff to comfortably organize so we decided to look for something larger.  We started looking for someone that had tired of short term rental and would be willing to deal on a longer term rental.

At first we tried contacting rental agencies but received little response. We just kept asking around until we were able to make a few contacts. One of the places we found that offered long term rentals at a reasonable price is called Villa Sayulita. It is an older hotel located not far from Hotel Diamante in the north area of town.  We just moved in this afternoon and so far everything is acceptable. Their monthly rate is very reasonable.  We have a room on the second floor with a balcony over the pool, kitchenette, larger bathroom and closets. There is also secure parking for the motorcycle, bicycles and a parking space for the Mexmobile to boot. Time will tell how it works out. Here are a couple of pictures.

 

Villa Sayulita

We have also reached a tentative rental agreement, for next winter, with a couple that has a beautiful hilltop home. The home is for sale so the rental may or not happen. We are hoping that it does but we are still investigating other options.

This past week has been Sayulita Days and the carnival is in town. Most of the rides look pretty sketchy but the Lightning McQueen replica ride looked pretty calm... Linda was sad that she couldn't fit in the car.

Remember...  Pop the Balloons?  This is the adult version... Break the Bottle (with a good sized rock). Break one... win a beer. Break two... win 2 beers. Break three... win a six pack! 25 Pesos for 3 rocks.

 As with most festive days in Mexico there was a parade complete with community groups, school participation and the local beauty queens. The parades are not normally too long and they are fun to watch, particularly the children.

Mexico is still horse country. And since Mexicans love their music and also like to dance, the horses are encouraged to get in on the action.

This coming week Linda and I are going to San Pancho to volunteer some time helping prepare for the annual fundraiser at Entre Amigos. I also have to spend a bit of time investigating a weird sound emanating from the right wheel of the old van. Later in the week we are going to Yelapa overnight to visit with some friends from Kaslo.

Yelapa is an isolated community south of Puerto Vallarta, accessible only by boat. We tried to go to Yelapa back in the early 70's but there was no dock there then and the ocean was too rough to allow us to get into smaller boats to take us ashore. When we get back from Yelapa we have to vacate our room for a couple of days to accommodated a wedding booking. We don't plan to go far. Just to San Pancho and camp in the Mexmobile for a couple of days.

We are into the 10th day of Sayulita life.  The weather has been great. Sunny, warm in the day cool at night. Sunrise at 7:30, sunset at 7:30. Life is good.We have been getting lots of exercise. I have been going for a run or mountain bike ride nearly every morning before breakfast.

This week,  and probably next week, I am attending Spanish language classes at Costa Verde school. Linda doesn't need to go to Spanish school. She seem to intuitively understand Spanish. She concentrates on the body language I concentrate on the words. She most often has the better understanding.

The mandatory beach shot from the north end of the beach

 
Last weekend was a long weekend (una puenta)  A large group of motorcyclists arrived on Friday night. They came from all over Mexico but were all associated with a club in Mexico City.

Some of the group getting packed up to leave

A couple of nights ago some friend invited us to a dinner in the hotel kitchen area.  Carol and Wayne (mostly Carol) prepared a Thai curried scrimp dish. It was  fabulous.  Our contribution was a plate of olive penguin's (pinguinos) and some tequila. The penguins were a big hit!

pinguinos de aceitunas

Linda getting her puppy fix at the bar on the corner.

I have been doing some maintenance on the bike, in the evening, when the bike is in the shade. I have installed a new rear spring and shock and I'm working on replacing the from fork springs now.

 

Better get at it....

Settling In

We are starting to settle in. Our room is a little disorganized with all our stuff but it's OK. I found a place next door to the hotel to keep the motorcycle off the street and do a bit of work on it. We have a place to park and lock the bicycles near the hotel entrance.

My first project on the motorcycle is to change the front springs and add an item that is designed to improve the damping. I didn't get too far into the project before I discovered that I didn't have the necessary tool to remove the front wheel... a 12mm allen wrench. Also I had forgotten the new rear shock/spring in the van at the storage garage. I ordered the allen wrench from a hardware store in town but it's going to take week to get it.

Since we wanted to go to Vallarta to get a SIM card for the iPhone, we hopped on the bus early yesterday morning and stopped first at the storage facility to pick up the items we had forgotten.

The staff at Telmex (one of the Mexican phone companies) was very helpful. It was asset speaking Spanish since the staff I dealt with didn't speak English. I brought the SIM card that I had used in our iPad last year. It didn't take long to install it in my iPhone with the same plan as I had on the iPad. For C$23. I have 1gb of data only, no voice service.  I'm trying out a couple of voip phone apps to see which ones work better.   To use the iPad mini or laptop to access the internet, when we are out of wireless coverage, I can set up a bluetooth or wireless connection to the iPhone.  Cell coverage in Mexico is excellent. One is hardly ever without service. (There is a reason Carlos Slim is the world's richest person)

In all we took 5 five buses yesterday. There is a bus that runs from Sayulita to Vallarta and return (C$2.50 each way) but we wanted to stop at a few places on the way.  The bus systems here are very interesting.  Privately operated and all quite different.  The main bus from here to Vallarta carries approximately 40 passengers. Mostly Toyota, Mitsubishi or Mercedes diesel buses. After stopping, about halfway, at the storage facility, we flagged down a small colectivo (Toyota van) and continued into Vallarta.  The fare for the second half was 10 pesos (70 cents) for the both of us!

When the larger buses stops, it is not uncommon for an entertainer or a merchant to get on the bus for a while. Yesterday a fellow got on at one of the stops. He back walked toward the rear, turned around and started singing. He belted out a few tunes then walked to the front of the bus to make a pitch for some money. Most people on the bus gave him a bit of change.A lady got on later selling packages of nuts for a charity organization, or so she said.

In this short video you can hear the singer. This guys could sing loudly!

Friday is one of the market days in Sayulita. The Friday market is referred to as "the organic market". There is a mix of food vendors, crafts, used clothing, etc..  Many of the vendors are transplanted gringos but there is some interesting things in the market. The Sunday market is more local.

Another short video of the market. It is located just down the street from our hotel.

It's been an active day today after spending yesterday doing errands. Linda and I just returned from a walk to the end of the beach and back. It's good exercise walking in the sand. This morning I went for a bike ride to the next beach north of Sayulita and Linda went to a Zumba class.

It's a long weekend coming up. The hotel is full. I expect it will be busy in town.