Playa Carricitos, Sayulita

Today we went to Playa Carricitos. We followed a dirt road north out of Sayulita through the cemetery and turned left up a dirt road before Playa de Los Muertos and followed hand painted signs to Playa Carricitos.  This beach usually has fairly mellow waves for body surfing, but today was a bit rough due to a small storm the day before. We went with a couple from our hotel, Shyla and Max, and met a very friendly beach dog. The beach dog we named Coco made herself at home on our beach towels and ran off with Shyla's shoe. Luckily Cody convinced Coco to trade the shoe for a stick. The waves were very fun to play in and Cody turned a nice reddish pink color. This beach had very little traffic and we had it all to ourselves.

Playa Carricitos

Beach dog "Coco"

Dirt road to Playa Carricitos

Playa de Los Muertos, Sayulita

Today we visited Playa de Los Muertos which translates into The Beach of the Dead. Most likely named for the cemetery you walk through to get to the beach. The cemetery is very large and maintained by family members. The beach is also a popular spot for Mexican families and maintained by the city. It was a fairly short hike compared to our hike to Playa Malpasos, but a wonderful taste of Mexican culture. There are three main extended Mexican families that make up a large part of the 2000 full time residents in Sayulita.

 This is the Cemetery

 The Beach of the Dead

Playa Malpasos, Sayulita

Far from the Pacific Northwest in Sayulita, Mexico! The temperature is around 85 degrees Fahrenheit and beautiful. Sayulita is 24 miles north of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Ocean. For our first day here we picked a hike to Playa Malpasos, one of Sayulita's less traveled beaches. The trails through the jungle in Sayulita are not your typical well marked National Park Trails. For example here are some hiking directions to Playa Malpasos, "Shortly you will cross a small river (dry in the winter) the main path appears to follow the river to the right but look straight ahead and you will see several large boulders. Clamber over or go around the rocks and follow the path across a cobblestone road (which is a private road from the beach-house to the main highway) and continue along the dirt track." This can get slightly confusing sometimes. However, it is well worth the effort if you make it to Playa Malpasos. It is a great place to sit in the sun without a hundred other people around you. Not a great place to swim because of the strong undertow.

The dirt jungle road to the beach is full of birds and butterflies. I was able to get a couple butterflies to sit long enough for a picture. I also was able to get some unusual flowers as well.

This flower reminds me of Horton Hears a Who. I have yet to identify it.