We're here

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Hola,

Por fin llegamos a Mexico! Well, jesse and I have arrived - we are patiently waiting for Chris and Melanie here in Sayulita (the beers, surf and suntans make it bearable). Its a great little surf town although a little overrun with gringos (ourselves excluded of course). Anyway - its a perfect place to pass the month - Brady & mel expect to catch up with us in early June and then the viaje begins. Our loose plan is to head slowly south into the yucatan, then every country between there and Panama... After that ... we'll see...

So far the truck and camper have been problem free - I am writing this in the camper now with the fan on and windows open - its maybe 28 degrees C in here... outside its at least 34. We have done quite a bit of 4x4ing and beach driving already in search of good surf.

So far we have stuck to the classic gringo trail - Jungle boat trip in San Blas complete with crocodiles, mangroves and coco-locos. Overnight stay in mazatlan (in the parking lot of a Pemex gas station surrounded by Mexican truckers). Tonight we are heading to Puerto Vallarta for the Cinco de Mayo party/ fireworks - its a 30min drive away and will be packed with mexican and foreign tourists for the long weekend.

Our favorite place so far was San Pancho (10 minutes north of Sayulita). The beach and town are incredible - when we were there yesterday the surf was breaking 3-4 feet overhead - and all lefts!!! (i'm a goofy foot). The best part was there was hardly anyone there - locals or tourists.

Other than that all is good. I got vibed by a local at the point here in Sayulita. He was swearing at me for dropping in on him (i did - it was a bad move). We'll have to see how that one goes the next time I see him in the lineup...

Well - heres a few photos - nos vemos.

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Photos

Las Palmas
here's a view from inside the camper when we camped at San Blas.

Jungle Boat Cruise
Here's where La Tovara (or Tobara if you're mexican) mangrove cruise starts - it was a good deal at 110 pesos per person (about $10)

Jungle Boat Cruise 2
A couple of huts in the mangrove swamp - Best Western rents them out at $500 per night.

Jungle Boat Cruise 3
This crocodile was about 8 feet long and had a tortise in its mouth. At one point it charged the boat and the mexican girls with us screamed.

Jungle Boat Cruise 4
Me going for a courageous swim with the crocodiles (and the often-dangerous mexican children). Don't let their smiles and cute little "Hola's" fool you.

Mexican streets
Jesse admiring a colorful building in San Blas. There have already been a few close calls with the truck and camper on those narrow streets...

Mexican streets 2
And we thought our truck was overloaded...

Mexican streets 3
Every speed bump you come to (and there are LOTS) you get surrounded by street vendors selling everything from dried fish to refills for lead pencils.

Mexican streets 4
The corner of the town square at San Blas.

Banana Bread
Jesse deftly negotiating with a street side vendor for banana bread.

Sayulita
Anyone wanna trade straight across for a compact VW van?

Sayulita 2
Our current home away from home in Sayulita.

Sayulita 3
The front of this campsite opens directly onto the beach. Drinks to the left, waves to the right.

Sayulita 4
The point break at Sayulita.

Sayulita 5
Requisite beach shot.

Comments

[Dara]

YEEEHAW!!
Awesome pics guys! It looks like you are having a blast!!! Can't wait to get there!!! Keep the pics and the blog entries coming - they are a great source of inspiration!! hugs!!

[brady]

carnet
hey kids. can't wait to get there. looks sweet. give me a call if you can but just to let you know, while we've been going through our carnet stuff we have found out that you need it for costa rica. you should look into it. we will find out anything we can and let you know. worse comes to worse if you can't get your rig in, store it and hop in with us. take care and we'll see you in june luv ya brady and mel

[cath]

looks familiar
Jacob and I along with Brad and Anne were there long ago. thank goodness the crocs weren't in the pool when we went for a swim. Were the rhodos blooming? Did it smell as great as it did back then?