We couldn’t let a visit to Sayulita pass without making the three-mile journey up the highway to Sayulita’s smaller and uber chill neighbor, San Pancho.
And there’s no better way in my mind to start a day in San Pancho than breakfast at The DoughJoe.
Legendary doughnuts and pastries, and massive and delicious biscuits and gravy. Lori and I always split the Sumo and barely manage to fit it all in our bellies.
Next, it’s a long stroll down Avenida Tercero Mundo (Third World Avenue) to the beach to walk off breakfast. But not before a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge for a photo op. Why Golden Gate? San Pancho’s real name is actually San Francisco, but everyone calls it by the former. Why the two names? No clue.
San Pancho’s never struck me as an ideal surf spot. Yet “surf shops” like these keep popping up along the beach.
It’s Tuesday, which means Market Day in San Pancho. All these markets sell pretty much the same thing (the vendors rotate throughout Nayarit on a daily basis), but I’ve always liked the atmosphere at this one. Not to mention it’s covered!
Nitro Bike makes its rounds in the area, but he’s often hard to catch. The only place (that I know of) in Nayarit to grab a Nitro Cold Brew, but you really have to search it out.
Over six months in Sayulita and we’ve never eaten at the venerable Si Senor, until tonight. It’s a trek from where we live, and a bit out of El Centro, but’s they’ve got the best view on the water looking back towards town. Aunt Shirley’s birthday gave us the perfect excuse.
One place we do try to frequent is Bar Miramar. Quite possibly the best cocktails in town and a unique and delicious food menu. A quirky place with friendly staff and a prime sunset spot on the beach. Plus, the cocktail menu is hand-written on the inside of a Kraft mac ‘n’ cheese box. Yep, my kind of place.
Tea time with Grammy.
Another view of the quick-and-dirty dredge job they did on the poor Sayulita River.
Grammy brought something extra special with her from north of the border. Putting our star stickers, bottle caps, and jar lids to shame…
Another Easter egg hunt! But first, they need to dry.
That means story time!
The boys head to their amigo’s very cool, very Sayulita, third birthday while the seniors enjoy some quiet time sipping margaritas poolside.
Time for a sunset grill out! On the menu? Dogs and marshmallows, of course.
Grills aren’t cheap here in Mexico, so I got the biggest one I could stomach the cost of. Which, incidentally, is not that big at all.
But it’s actually perfect for what I need it for – grilling for 2-4 people and porting up and down steep steel stairs.
As I found out today, it also makes a pretty decent beach grill as well.
I learned something else today. Hot dogs in Mexico have a PLASTIC casing that needs to be removed prior to cooking. At least the ones we bought did.
It was pretty obvious something was off when the dogs hit the grill and split immediately. Thankfully, I caught it early enough with only a couple of sacrificial wieners.
When the dogs finished up, it was time to move on to everyone’s favorite, the marshmallows.
Another beachy evening, and another awesome sunset with great company.
The boys always love heading down to what they affectionately call “Lancha Beach” because of all the lanchas (small fishing boats) that are lined up along the shore.
It’s the most kid-friendly stretch of beach in the area due to the gentle surf and shallow, silty bottom.
It’s also a great place to lose the crowds, even on a busy day like today.
Everyone tends to congregate where the rental beach chairs and umbrellas are. Those with their own umbrella and chairs tend to stay close to the crowd as well, perhaps to be within shouting distance of a beach bar.
The only downside of our side of the beach is you have to constantly watch out for small skiffs coming and going. On Saturday afternoons, it can get pretty hectic. Weekday mornings like today are usually pretty chill.
Nap time for the boys. Noe’s giving me a hand with Riley today. Seems he needed a little extra attention.
Noe’s school is open again after a two-week holiday break. Riley’s happy to have the rest of the crew all to himself.
Driving home after a night out on holiday in paradise.
One more story for the road.
