The last night with our friends had us dining in Guayabitos at Restaurante Penida. Todd and I had been wanting to go to this place for weeks and we thought Les and Wendy’s last night was the perfect opportunity. We had a table overlooking the beach; the ambiance was amazing as were the margarita’s and the food was worth the wait! After the friends were gone and we were chilling at the campsite, Todd said hey lets go checkout that town Monteon and go to the beach; he found a walking trail outside of town that would take us to a new beach called Playa Punta Raza. As we approached the walking trail….it was wide enough for a car and we saw other tire tracks on it so figured it was fine to drive too. Checkout the end of the trail and what we saw: The-trek-to-punta-raza.html
Headed back to San Pancho a few days later to walk around town, walk the beach and go for lunch. Todd found an amazing lunch spot called Su Pancha Madre. Their specialty was a Mexican Sopa – its not soup but a handmade corn type pie shell typically filled with cheese, beans or meat. But this place re-invented the fillings and they were so delicious! We picked the surf ’n turf (mashed potato, meat, shrimp), fish ceviche (tuna cubes with sauce) and shrimp (soaked and covered in mole sauce)! Also it just so happened to be international Margarita day and they were serving passion fruit marg’s! this whole combination was beyond delicious….and it’s a good thing we ate first and then went walking! The town has a very (rich) hippy vibe…there was a free music festival on that weekend which brings in thousands of tourists. It didn’t start until 6 pm and we opted not to attend – we have a rule about driving at night….we don’t do it. We lit the fire pit at our campsite instead and listened to music….and Todd was greeted by a huntsman spider at his feet – he may have screamed like a school girl! Have we mentioned how much we love this spot on the earth? The view here never gets old….San-pancho.html
A few weeks ago Todd had Trixie’s exhaust pipe welded together….but now her muffler was wearing out. It was time to get Trixie some maintenance so Todd took her out to get a new muffler and a wheel alignment, since one of the tires was wearing in a weird pattern. Both were very quick fixes, so we had to take her for a spin or rather a longer road trip! The city of San Blas was on the agenda for the day. Although San Blas is only 87 km away, it takes about 2 hours to get there. We headed north towards Las Vargas and into the farming lands. Both Las Vargas and Zacualpan are huge farming communities (which I love!) We saw watermelon and cantaloupe fields, banana, mango and jackfruit orchards. About an hour into the trip we needed to get out and stretch…we found this gorgeous beach called Playa de los coco’s – it was a town that looked like if they built it, people would come. I don’t think everyone got the memo….but had a lot of potential. Our next stop was at the crocodile lookout (Mirador de los Alves) near La Tavora. We pulled off the highway to the parking lot and looked out into the marsh – we saw a lot of birds and a couple of tree/log’s. Todd pulled out the binoculars to see if he could find any crocs, and wouldn’t you know it….the tree/log’s were actually crocs! Road-trip.html
A short drive into town brought us to an old ruins site with a church and a fort dating back to 1768! We took a tour through town which we have now nicknamed the “white town” as all the buildings in downtown centro were painted white. We were hot and had to head to the beach to cool down on another gorgeous beach. A quick pitstop at the naval base and then google sent us on a wild goose chase through town, and out the back end looking for a final historical site and this is what happens…. Cows-and-gas.html.
Around 4, we headed back home but took around a traffic circle to check out Playa las islitas…this was yet another bay of never-ending beaches and beach restaurants. There were at least 80 restaurants lined side by side, each with probably 25-40 tables. And I think we saw maybe 50 people in total on the beach…..we assume this must be a VERY busy beach on weekends and holidays. We got back home just after sunset….we made our rule of no driving at night!
The next day we woke up and were surrounded by people and vehicles…turns out they were filming a Mexican soap opera right in front of us (like the sand through the hourglass….these are the Dias de nuestras vidas)! It appeared to be a wedding scene on the beach. There was a constant movement of people being transported in and out in van’s and trucks. The costume truck was right behind the bus, the caterer behind that and people coming and going ….it was a crazy time!
The next event on our agenda was to head to the natural hotsprings in the jungle (Aguas Termales Nuevo Ixtlan) about an hour away from home. A group of about 9 of us all went out on this adventure. Once we turned off the secondary highway, it was about 15 km’s on a gravel / cobblestone road and that 15 km took 38 minutes! At the last 2 km point there was a fork in the road and the sign was mostly worn out and we weren’t super sure which way to go! We opted for what looked like the road less travelled and just over 2 km we found it! What a cool oasis in the desert / jungle! It was a natural hotspring and they had created about 25 cement pools; once you paid your 80 pesos, they took your group to a pool and this pool was assigned to you for the rest of the time you were there. We all brought our own drinks and snacks (although you could buy them there) and there was even a rustic BBQ in the event we brought something to cook. We all got in the pool, which was chilly, and then the guy with his handy wrench, turned the knob to start filling the pool with hotsprings hot water. You kept it on until your pool was the temperature you wanted. With 9 people in our group….we overflowed into another pool and then gave the pool boy a tip so he wouldn’t complain that we spread out! They also had a young lady that offered mud facials, while sitting in the pool….so a bunch of us took advantage of that too. It was a great vibe and a great time. We all stopped for dinner on the way back at the first restaurant on the highway….which didn’t look like much from the road but it turned out to be one of THE BEST restaurants on the entire trip! The margarita’s were hands down awesome and the empanada’s were to die for! We will definitely be back there before we head home. Hotsprings.html
I walked to town to pickup a few groceries on Feb 28th and realized something was in the works….the police were telling people to move their cars, they were blocking roads and various pop up shops/vendors were being put up as was a very large stage! I remembered that Friday night was the first day of Carnival in La Penita and it was on until Mar 4th. We walked down after dinner to check out what was going on. We went back again the next day to checkout the fish festival and then again at night to see the entertainment. We then found out from the park Manager that the BEST day to go is Tuesday night. So we ventured down on the last night where the entire main boulevard was closed down for a parade….it started at 4 pm and by 7:30 it still wasn’t over! I flashed back to our time in Campeche 2 years ago and the rooster of Joy! (you can check that post out here: https://www.wheelsonthebus.ca/funeral-of-the-bad-mood-and-the-rooster-of-joy/ ) But here is evidence that we attended Carnival: Carnival.html (This is a long one)
In the meantime…we finally took a day trip south to Sayulita and Punta Mita. Unfortunately, the entire town of Punta Mita was basically blocked off by gated communities. We managed to take a beach walk on Punta de Mita in Corral de Risco before we headed down the highway in search of another beach called Playa Careyeros before stopped in to Sayulita…. The last time we were in Sayulita was the Christmas/New Years trip from 2017/2018 with the family. We knew it would be a busy town, but WOW! Was it crazy busy. We had lunch at what we figured was the most authentic Mexican food in town (restaurant el Nina) and had ceviche (Jill) and mole covered enchilada’s (Todd); both dishes were fantastic! A walk on the beach and a bit around town and we headed back to the car. A restaurant/bar on our walk was giving away free margarita’s in a can. We tried them – very good! And then proceeded to purchase a few 4 packs for $50 pesos ($3.50 CA) as we figured they would be a great drink to bring on beach days!
A few days later we headed down to Los Ayala for an afternoon beach party with Todd’s aunt and her friends. They had a live band, and we danced on the beach. Let’s just say how hard it is to dance in sand! With the purchase of your ticket, you could get 2 margarita’s or 2 beer; we of course, picked margarita’s! We met so many people, danced a ton, ate some great guacamole before we got into a taxi with Dorothy and headed back to La Penita for the Monday night Carnival party – the only night that they brought in a band for the Canadians. There was a ton of people, the band played a great variety til 9 and then we (like all the other Gringo’s) left ….it was past our bedtime! Beaches-and-beach-party.html
We planned a little afternoon trip up the coast to a secluded beach (Playa Las Cuevas) with some park friends. This was the beach that Todd and I drove too in one of the first weeks here, but we got stopped at the gate. We since found out that once you get to the gate, you knock on the door, and it opens with payment to the amigo of either beer or pesos! It was a crazy drive through this private beach location, but absolutely beautiful and we even had a whale show when we got there! Whales.html Hung out here for 4 hours or so and then were bombarded by a large Mexican family with 4 cars and 2 off road vehicles ready for a beach party! As they started to unpack, we decided to pack up and head out!
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how incredibly social this park is? So many activities going on daily and then every now and then a “big” party is organized up at the pool. The last party of the season was scheduled in early Mar before the mass exodus of people started. This was themed the Tostada Party – basically a taco bowl with all the fillings you can fit in it! Many people had told us this was their favourite party cause the food was so good and it did not disappoint. With most parties here, they give you tickets for door prizes and then you can also buy tickets to a game called Chase the Ace (it real popular down here – basically cards are taped face down on a board and when you buy tickets it goes into a pot. If you ticket is drawn you randomly pick a card on the board hoping, it’s the Ace of spades. Basically a 50/50 game – whoever picks the ace gets 50% of the pot. If you don’t pick the ace, they pick another ticket holder, etc until its won). It was a fun party and we met more people we didn’t know at the park.
At the Tostada Party
The days turn into weeks and weeks to months and next thing you know you’ve been here for 2 months, and your rent is due for the 3rd month! What? where did the time go and how did that happen?