Our last days of this 11 day jaunt were spent in Bucerias, between Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita. We were unable to find an UBER in Sayulita to take us there so we resorted to a taxi which was $21USD and only took less than half an hour. We had a great conversation in Spanish with our driver, and even though I am still such a basic beginner, I could understand most of what was going on.
We stayed at Aventura Pacifico Hotel which was set up by a former boss of ours (Jim Pilaar) and his brother (Joe). It is a casual and friendly hotel in a really good location, just 2 blocks from the beach on the south side of town and can be booked through booking.com. This is conveniently located near a 24/7 OXXO and a huge grocery store which was great since we had a kitchen and were getting kind of tired of eating out all the time. We liked this part of town more than the northern area as it seemed more residential and quiet. Unfortunately Jim wasn’t in Bucerias, but Joe was and we really enjoyed seeing him. Both are avid traveler’s with ties to the travel industry. Joe still has his adventure trekking company Canadian Himalayan Expeditions. Check them out if you feel an adventure to India, Nepal, Bhutan and so many other destinations coming on.
Hurricane Willa was supposed to go through while we were there but it just ended up being a downpour tropical storm. We were definitely a bit nervous at first because when we arrived that was not what the weather alerts were saying it was going to be. Luckily we had a kitchen in the 2 bedroom apartment and so we stocked up and just huddled down for day. Joe, an avid kitesurfer, was out in the storm and we could watch a bit from our window on the third floor. We thought he was a bit crazy, but admire that dedication. The next morning the sun was out and we had a pretty day to wander a bit through Bucerias. Since we were in Bucerias such a short time without rain we did not get to experience as much as we did in Sayulita or PV. We did however really enjoy the look of the beach which was so much more mellow than the other ones. We saw that you could do horseback riding on the beach too which might be fun for next time.
We went to a wonderful Greek Restaurant called Sandrina’s just a few blocks away from the hotel. It has a lovely atmosphere and great food with a nice welcoming staff. It is also a gallery so there was some beautiful artwork to enjoy and a lot of Frida’s, my favorite. We stopped at Panino’s to get some bakery items to take back to the hotel and also stopped by there one morning for a nice breakfast. We had walked up the beach on the first day we were here and went to a beachside restaurant for drinks but weren’t as impressed with these options as the restaurants in Sayulita or PV.
Catching a taxi from our hotel was very easy in the morning we left as the stand is just a block away. Mario, the great hotel manager, made arrangements for us. Watch out if you have an early flight and early taxi as the front gate needs a key to get out and we had closed our locked room door on ours. Luckily there was someone who let us out in the morning or that could have been a problem.
The Puerto Vallarta Airport is so easy!!! There was no one there when we arrived for our Interjet flight in the morning. We decided to have some breakfast at the Wings Restaurant and found it to be good and reasonable considering it was an airport restaurant and in our experience those usually gouge us. Everything was very clean and organized. Security was a breeze. I am sure it gets much more hectic in high season.
Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita and Bucerias ended up being nice destinations for our first mini vacation since arriving in San Miguel almost 7 months ago. We are so excited for our upcoming trip to the Yucatan for 2 months next year and all of the other marvelous jaunts we have planned to explore this wonderful country.
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