2022 // Mexico on Film
Puerto Vallarta & Sayulita
Mexico, March 2022
I blame Anna.
She’s in nursing school and wanted to celebrate her last spring break with a BANG. I, who I am as a person, am far too easily convinced…so when she suggested Mexico, I simply said SURE (I realize I am at fault here, it’s just easier to assign blame to Anna lol)! I don’t exactly recall how, but we looped Hunter, Ann, and Ryan in to build our Mexico squad.
Since we waited a smidge longer than we should of, the cheapest flight was in the early AM which is kind of brutal. I got upgraded much to Anna’s chagrin, but still felt the effects of the early morning. As we arrived, we somehow got convinced to take a tequila shot with the hotel liaisons. I was already fearing for our week here and what more we had in store.
After confusing and chaotic attempts to get an Uber, we were delivered to our hotel via taxi. I’ll be honest, I was kind of blind for this whole trip, taking the attitude of “show up and go with the flow, help where needed”. Anna had spearheaded the Airbnb rentals (thanks for that homie) and I didn’t know what to expect for our housing. I knew it would be nice, I didn’t realize it would be a 3,500-foot palace. We had a whole floor for the five of us that overlooked the tiered pool and the Pacific Ocean. In utter disbelief, we admired our lodging while waiting for Ann & Hunter’s arrival. To further pass the time, we indulged in pampering and hastily booked pedicures. Once the group had arrived, we simply took advantage of the Airbnb to relax after a full day of travel.
The next day, we leisurely moved about and beach hopped while we waited for Ryan to arrive. Blue skies and 80-degree weather is the correct formula to be blissed out on the beach. It sounds dumb, but everything was really perfect. We had a lovely beach lunch where Ann chose right and got a bone marrow taco and pulpo (octopus!! I credit her with revitalizing my love of pulpo). We finished the day getting our base tans and dining at Mezcal & Sal where my drink was basically a celestial centerpiece.
Tuesday was a gamble. Anna had the inside scoop for a beach club called Maraika, which I STILL pronounce incorrectly, where you must take a boat to get there. We didn’t know what to expect on a Tuesday, so we just went for it. Worried about seasickness, everyone popped some Dramamine to get through the journey which was probably a good decision as we bounced on waves, trailing the tropical coastline. Once docked, we trekked to Casitas Maraika and again, blissed out. It’s this tiny hotel nestled in the trees overlooking the water, adorned with disco balls and macrame - a small oasis really. We posted up and felt like we were on our own private beach. The music was incredible, to the point where Anna and I glanced at each other for nearly every song and made it our mission to figure out the title and artist. Things soured a bit when we realized we had been swindled by our boat guy Ernesto and had to scramble to find a boat back. Fortunately, the staff were far too kind and helped us, loading our group into a speed boat sardined with the locals. It felt like we were on a navy seal mission under the veil of the night with how fast we were traveling. The best part was that we didn’t have enough pesos to pay the boat driver and had to use American dollars which got us called “typico Americans”.
The second half of the trip was spent in Sayulita which is a vibrant surf town about an hour away from PV. The cobblestone streets were lined with colorful buildings and street tacos on nearly every corner with papel picado waving in the wind. The sun felt stronger here as we sipped our cerevezas on the beach. To cap off a day well spent, we ironically dined at a nicer restaurant, entering with our damp swimsuits still on and towels around our necks. The waiter jokingly commented on how it looked like we came straight from the beach. He was cool though and recommended a shop to buy tequila at just around the corner which turned into the most chaotic ten minutes of my life when Ryan, Anna, and I embarked on this expedition which only ended with us trying to take pulls of the tequila in the parking lot.
We bid adieu to Hunter and Ann the next day, leaving Ryan, Anna, and I to explore more of Sayulita. We had one night with the three of us hitting the town, exclaiming “sauced in Sayulita” and bouncing from fun-looking bars to live music shows. Ryan left us the following day, leaving Anna and me as the two left standing. We decided to revel in our beach day and conclude it with massages on the sand. We embraced the Sayulita nightlife one final evening popping from dance floor to dance floor.
Eager to maximize sunny weather, we soaked up some rays before we needed to head to the airport. Anna decided to take one last dip in warm water and proceeded to dry her swimsuit out the window like the loon she is in the taxi ride. I could not think of a more appropriate way to end the trip.
Though we spent much of our time on the beaches, some of my favorite moments were catching up over cards and bonding over Love is Blind (I don’t understand how I end up always watching this show on international trips). Though we live in different places, I feel so lucky that we can meet up in new locales. I cannot believe that I get to travel the world with my friends. Sometimes it doesn’t feel real. Mexico was good to us.
