Sayulita, north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, has pristine beaches, small-town attitude and lovely lodgings at modest prices

03/28/04

I couldn't wait to get back to Sayulita. In February 2003, a friend persuaded me to fly south-of-the-border to this quiet little fishing village, an hour's drive north of Puerto Vallarta. We rented a house for five days with some other girlfriends. It was superb.

But what's not to love: warm, sunny days in the 80s, townspeople who make you feel welcome, a beach made for long walks, kids with sand pails, margaritas at sunset and the kind of waves that surfers adore. Add to that good accommodations, great food and fun shopping -- all at affordable prices -- and you'll understand why Oregonians, like me, keep wanting to return.

I decided to use the Internet to find a place to stay. With one hit on Google, I landed on www.sayulita.com and was ready to explore dozens of appealing guesthouses, rooms and motels, along with other interesting tidbits about the town.

To book the cheapest flight, I played timetable roulette on Alaska Airlines' Web site and ended up with midweek flights. Then, I turned to Mary Marlowe, my helpful travel agent at Journeys, to finagle two first-class tickets using a coupon and award miles (Read and weep: round-trip, first class for two -- under $600.)

It was an easy flight and a breeze through customs both ways, especially since we each stashed our vacation duds in carry-on duffle bags (How much room do you need when, as one Sayulita resident put it: "Dressing up means wearing a clean shirt with no spots on it.")

Shorts, shifts, loose-fitting shirts and sandals are just about it. With February's ocean temperature in the high 70s, take a swimsuit and sunscreen, too. Add a shawl or light jacket to dress up anything and keep the evening air from chilling sun-drenched skin, and you're set.

Once in Puerto Vallarta, the scenic taxi ride to Sayulita is a journey through small towns, farmlands, a military checkpoint (our taxi was waved through) and a single-lane jungle highway that winds its way north. The road into town is anticlimactic, but once you cross the bridge leading to the town 's heart and soul -- its plaza -- Sayulita's charms take over.

We arrived in the late afternoon, a week before the town held its annual birthday celebration. A Ferris wheel and a jumble of rickety rides and dusty tents lined the soccer field just before the bridge, but in town, merchants were misting the dirt streets to keep the dust down in front of their orderly storefronts.

Local schoolchildren were on their way home, dressed in matching uniforms, with backpacks and ice creams in hand. A street vendor pushed his wheelbarrow fitted with a bright yellow, flat-topped tray, displaying candies, dried fruits and nuts in all shapes and colors. Lots of back-and-forth greetings zigzagged down the town's one-way main street that circles the plaza and goes back to the bridge. Everyone was heading for the center of town.

The plaza is where the action is. It's where the taxis come, where buses go and where the tourists, locals and expatriates gather.

It's where the Huichol Indian artist and his family come each day to sell their crafts, where the young Mexican couple sell their fragrant tacos, where the nearby farmers bring their trucks to barter crates of tomatoes and fresh eggs. It's where Mexican families gather after church, where young surfers huddle around pay phones to call home, and where the town's population of friendly mongrels chase one another's tails or sidle up to strangers for a scratch.

Fifty years ago, Sayulita was a tiny fishing village visited by the occasional American deep-sea fisherman. Thirty years ago, surfers began discovering its idyllic beach and waves. Today, young families dot its beaches, vacationing boomers enjoy its cafes and shops, and a sizable community of retired Americans call it home.

Change is inevitable. Internet cafes and real estate offices keep cropping up, but you'll still spot a caballero riding his horse to the beach or a fisherman carrying his catch of the day to the plaza. Yes, at either end of town, development is creeping in at a condominium clip. But don't let that stop you.

Sayulita savors a slow pace. Conversations between strangers start easily: on the beach, in one of the many delightful family-run restaurants, or between customers at a store trying to speak Spanish or figure out the peso-dollar exchange rate. Sayulita is a place where people are known only by their first names.

"I use to be called two-dog Dick before one dog disappeared," says Richard Dobbeck, the owner of Casa Campana, the lovely home where we stayed in a guest room overlooking the ocean.

Sayulita is many things, but most of all, it's a place to return to, often.

If you go: Sayulita

Getting there: Restricted round-trip airfares from Portland to Puerto Vallarta begin at about $400; Alaska Airlines and America West have the best schedules from Portland. At the airport, take a taxi, about $60 if you use a driver waiting right outside the arrival gate; $35 if you walk outside and around to the front of the airport and you're good at bartering. (For the return trip, taxis at the cheaper rate are available at Sayulita's plaza.) Or for a few pesos, hop the bus that stops across the street from the airport (ask airport personnel, not cab drivers, where to stand and how much to expect to pay).

Money: There is a money exchange at the airport and one in Sayulita near the plaza. There are no banks or ATMs in Sayulita. Most stores accept U.S. dollars, but you'll want pesos for restaurants and vendors.

Having fun: Surfing, fishing, hiking, snorkeling and horseback riding are easily available; check out fliers in storefront windows or ask a local. For an excursion, check out La Penita's outdoor market on Thursdays, a 45-minute taxi ride from Sayulita (about $35 U.S.) for wonderful bargains and a real taste of small-town life.

Where to stay: Motels, bungalows, guest rooms, houses and a campground. Best source: lodging link at Sayulita's Web site (www.sayulita.com). Cost: from $35 U.S. a night. Photos and descriptions make choices easy. I found our lovely oceanfront Casa Campana Guest Room ($100 U.S. a night) through Sayulita Properties (www.sayulitaproperties.com); it's also available through Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com).

Where to eat: Plenty of clean, well-run cafes, cantinas and restaurants offer good food, as well as street vendors selling tacos or hot-off-the-grill corn on the cob. Several terrific ice cream stores around the plaza do a brisk business during hot afternoons. All are cheap to moderate; no reservations required (often there are no phones); cash is best, though some restaurants take credit cards; customary tip is 15 percent.

Key culinary ingredient: truly fresh seafood.

A few of our favorites:

Choco Banana: Open daily for breakfast and lunch. This is where the day begins for local expatriates and most returning tourists. The small, open-air cafe is the perfect place to sit back, people-watch and view daily life on the plaza. Avenue Revolucion at the plaza.

Rollie's: A Sayulita institution for breakfast. Rollie, a retired school principal from California, never lets anyone leave hungry. Not to be missed are his lighter-than-air waffles, any of his egg dishes and his great sides of bacon and potatoes. (Psst: Tell Rollie it's your first visit and you want to hear him sing.) Avenue Revolucion, 2 blocks west of the plaza; closed May through October.

Don Pedros: On the beachfront, Don Pedros is the spot to eat, drink and watch the surfers. Dine under the giant thatched palapa, on the sandy beach patio, or stretched out under a shaded chaise, where the waiter will bring you the menu offering a Mediterranean-style cuisine with a Mexican influence. Margaritas are good -- two for one between 4 and 6 p.m. Lots of parents gather here with their kids to enjoy hamburgers, sandwiches and salads. On the beachfront.

Sayulita Fish Tacos: Baja-style, these mesmerizing tacos start with handmade tortillas and go from there with a secret sauce known only to Alberto, the owner. The fresh fish is deep fried in a beer garlic batter that is crunchy, light and flavorful. For $ 2 a taco, you can't go wrong. Two locations: Just off the plaza and on Avenue Revolucion; closed Sundays.

Cafe del Mar: If you have a car, drive to San Francisco, a close-by village, to try this stylish small restaurant run by a young Belgian woman. Superb dishes are lively and inventive, especially the enchiladas flavored with huitlacoche, the musty fungi that grows on ears of corn. Set among natural plantings, the outdoor seating on small sandy terraces gives each table an intimate feel. Local artwork and jewelry accent the entryway and indoor bar. At China No. 9; closed Wednesdays; breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays.

Staying in touch: Phones are not available in most guest rooms. Streetside pay phones are near the plaza. Use prepurchased phone cards available in most stores, $5 U.S. for a 10-minute call home. Several Internet services and cafes are within easy walking from the plaza or beach.

Worried about "tourista"? Following the advice of friends who live in Mexico, I took two to three Pepto Bismol chewable tablets before and sometimes after each meal and avoided unpeeled fruit, lettuce and most uncooked salsas. My husband Pete ate it all. Neither of us came down with gastroenteritis, although we did feel twinges, signaling our systems were adjusting. Just be sensible to your own digestive tract, and be sure to drink only bottled water.

More info: Sayulita's Web site, www.sayulita.com.

-- Sara Perry