September | 2013 | The Adventures of MexiKatie

I made a new friend!

His name is Pablo. There are lots of little critters here, most of which are harmless, but after a little research, I learned that apparently some of those critters are scorpions. I am less excited about them than I am about Pablo (though Pablo scared the daylights out of me…we’re still working out some kinks in our relationship).

I also had this little success:

Check that one off my Sayulita to-do list (thanks, Lindsey!)!

Last night, I went to get dinner at one of the recommended places in town and ordered two shrimp and one chicken enchiladas. While the non-chicken ones definitely were not shrimp, they also did not appear to be chicken, beef or pork. It seemed to be a well-estabilshed and popular joint (a new culture with different health codes does not seem to be the time to be all hipster and discover “that place you’ve never heard of”), so I just ate and hoped for the best (so far, so good!). The best part was that my server was approximately 20 years old and VERY excited about English colloquialisms. I felt so validated when all of my menu selections were “awesome” with an approving head nod (especially my water – I also ordered a margarita, but the water got special acclaim). My favorite came when he brought me my food and as he set it down in front of me said, “Drop it like it’s hot…right?” Yes, young sir, when Snoop Dogg wrote those lyrics, he most certainly had enchiladas in mind.

Pictures of lizards (geckos? I don’t know the difference) and eggs, and stories of the youth in the tourist industry of Mexico are probably not what you were hoping for, so here’s a story with more exciting photos.

I had to eat my words a bit today. I’ve done a fair amount of scoffing these last few days about the reaction to the rain here, especially considering all that’s been going down in Colorado (they are in my prayers for sure). There’s definitely been some good showers here, and when I went out yesterday, there were quite a few puddles, but people would hardly go out at all and businesses were closing early. But today I tried to go into town and much to my surprise, all the streets were flooded. Just look!

Just kidding, that’s a river.

But for real, these are the streets by where I’m staying…more specifically, my path into town and the beach:

Hard to tell, but there are 2 little boys playing in it – instant swimming pool!

And then I remembered how all the mid-westerners who come to Seattle scoff at how we freak out and close the city down over 1/4″ of snow, and how we all just throw up our hands and say, “We’re just not set up for snow!”

Hmmm…

Anyway, I almost turned around to head back until I remembered that my dinner options at home were eggs, trail mix and Goldfish crackers. (Oh yeah, and peach juice.) So I forged on. Here are a couple more photos from today’s outing:

Street in town

The die-hard surfers were not deterred by the rain

View from my dinner table

Fajitas…yum!

I know I said in my first post that I’d keep future posts short, but the fact is…I lied. Sorry about that.

And now I have “Drop It Like It’s Hot” stuck in my head. You probably do, too. You’re welcome.

Please, try not to hate me.

Believe me when I tell you that I understand that there are no promises. But this is my view as I write this first post (and likely every night for the next 6 weeks):

I can also hear the ocean waves that accompany it.

I mean, sure, there were a few hiccups on the way here. My brand-spanking-new water bottle sprang a leak on flight number 1…all over the guy sitting next to me. Oops. And the humidity level here is higher than I ever remember experiencing. Ever. (After standing outside for all of 3 minutes to wait for my taxi, I got in and took my phone out of my bag to take a picture, and the screen was fogged up. Woah.) And I think I gave my taxi driver a heart attack getting me here – it wasn’t the easiest place to find, and the last few roads getting here could – ahem – use a little work (on more than one occasion, he had to roll back down a hill to get enough momentum to make it up the torn-up cobblestone roads). Eek!

But really, at the end of the day – THIS day, specifically – can I really complain? Not even a little.

Here’s a bit more chronicling of my time here thus far…

At the end of the cobblestone adventures, this is what awaited me:

I have the upstairs unit.

See?

After getting settled (and sitting in the AC for a few minutes), I ventured out a bit to get dinner and get my bearings a little before the full exploration tomorrow. I started on the beach, which was party central, as today is the first of Mexico’s two day Independence Day celebration.

Independence Day parties on the beach.

And then found this little taco joint:

Tacos on the Street – on the left

Tacos de pollo y carne asada

There was a little market across the street and I tried to get some basics, but being a little tired and disoriented, I left with olive oil, sandwich bags and peach juice. Useful, I know, but I still felt a small victory buying them. 🙂

Goals for Sayulita:

Read at least half of the books I brought (partially for relaxation, but mostly so I don’t have to carry them on any more legs of travel…oy!)
Learn to surf
Try all of the casual dining joints in this town, and eat molé at LEAST once a week
Figure out how to buy eggs (This is my main question for the day, as they were just displayed on HUGE flat cartons. Are you supposed to carry them individually home? Put them in a plastic bag and hope for the best? If this is my biggest issue here, I think I’ll do just fine.)

I think this list seems reasonable.

Yup…this’ll do

*Lest you be discouraged from following, future posts will not likely be this long. What can I say…I’m a little excited to finally be here. 🙂