Surf Please..

 After a month of no surf (since Zihuatanejo was barely breaking) I needed my fix and proceeded to go to another coastal city known as Puerto Vallarta. Now Puerto Vallarta is very touristy, beautiful but touristy and very well how can I put it "Americanised" and really that kind of thing is not pleasing to me. In saying that however, I think it was a great experience to see the city and most of my time was spent away from all of that, chasing waves with a newly made Mexican friend and seeing nearby beaches and northern border town Sayulita.

FIRST SURF IN MEXICO

After driving away from Puerto Vallarta we reached a little spot called Burros. Getting there we had to walk through what felt to me like the Amazon jungle. A small path had been stepped through the middle of huge palm trees and all kinds of greenery, over logs, under branches and through a fence marked PRIVATE PROPERTY. Eventually we reached the beach. The afternoon sun shone beautifully on the water and the silhouettes of a few surfers smoking joints and resting on the beach gave me the feeling that I just stepped onto the set of a 60s surf movie. Fun waves steamed in from the right in front of me and a Mexican guy with long hair was tearing the wave to shreds. Perfect, I couldn't wait. The waves were a little bit more than head high and the wind was howling offshore. Did I mention that I love Mexico? One thing I wasn't prepared for was the water temperature. It was freezing! I couldn't believe it. Totally unprepared I once again had to massage my feet to try get rid of the numb feeling. At least it wasn't as bad as the ice-cream headache inducing water of California. Got a few really fun waves, and went in soon after to get warm on the beach. It was beautiful sitting there watching the sun slowly go to sleep and the locals shredding, and a guy that obviously had a little too much to smoke try skate on the reef.

SAYULITA

I'd heard that just an hour or so North of Puerto Vallarta a little surfing village called Sayulita would be a great place to hang out and get some waves. The first day we went I promised to teach a bunch of eager internationals from the Uni how to surf. This is what led to 10 guys lying on the beach listening to a girl explaining the basics to getting up on a surfboard. Half of them couldn't understand me, especially the French boys but they did a good job of copying my display of "chicken wings" and "bent knees". After an hour in the water and a 100 complaints of nipple rash and sore arms I can safely say that everyone was stoked and having a great time. 

 I went for a wave but the surf wasn't too great. Nonetheless it was so liberating to just sit among the waves on my own, looking at the beautiful landscape, clear blue sky and palm trees swaying in the wind. 

A bundle of joy.

The next day I was once again lured to Sayulitas beauty this time with a threesome of crazy surf stoked Germans and a cool Californian. We were excited to get some more waves and revel in the laidback hippie vibe of the town. We were gifted with a spectacular day of hardly any wind, a flawless blue sky and beautiful sunshine that helped combat the cold of the water. The day of surfing was finished off by watching the Superbowl with a bunch of Americans outside in a laid back bar. Dinner consisted of the best and biggest Burritos I have ever had and an interesting conversation with a Mexican hippie (yes they do exist) about his job as a jade carver and the power of the Mayan temples and religion. 

He told stories of temples and gods. Of the power of opals and jade, and left me with a beautiful smile.

A toilet slowly but surely making its way into the river, funnily enough it was still open for use.

PUERTO VALLARTA'S BEST KEPT SECRET

I'd been hearing about a spot called La Lancha that was meant to be working well with the Northerly winds, but had no idea how to get there or how. Luckily for me on the last day of my trip my Mexican friend suggested we go there to get some waves before we go home. 

La Lancha was just incredible a juxtaposition of pure white sand and dark blue water and no buildings or people. A beautiful virgin beach apart from a few surfers and a small group of Italians drinking beers on the beach and small righthanders peeling perfectly along a reef. Unfortunately everyone was saying you should have been here yesterday, just my luck. The lack of good waves didn't matter though, it was just such an amazing experience to see the beach and its neighbouring coves. I took a walk along a few more beaches completely isolated, apart from me and an Eagle soaring high above. 

 This day I fell even more in love with Mexico, with the beauty of the country. The vast variety of it's scenery is just breathtaking. In the distance I could see a huge mountain range serving once again as a backdrop to my perfect view, and a beautiful river mouth greeted me just before leaving.