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.