Surfing Etiquette

Probably the biggest thing I was concerned about coming into this trip was dealing with experienced and/or local surfers.

I had worries that a newbie as well as a blindingly white tourist would do a lot to cramp their style. I'm totally okay with a fair amount of localism. It's only fair really, I could imagine living and surfing here and constantly fighting with new surfers who know little if anything about the sport. Nic coached me a bit on the finer points of surfing etiquette and my pal google tried to fill in the gaps.

The most important thing is to not drop-in on anybody. This basically means whoever is closer to where the wave is breaking (and on his feet) gets the right of way. At the same time, some level of respect should be given to the local surfers who are capable of ripping up every wave they come across. It is generally bad form to join a lineup of experienced surfers if you are just learning, so it's better to hang out on the shoulder of the wave or closer in to shore and try to gain balance there. The problem here is that the good surfers use the entire wave and pretty much any time there is a surfer to your left -- which is almost always, you are considered to be dropping in on them.

I was starting to get frustrated to the point of not wanting to surf after getting called off 4 or 5 consecutive waves which I had caught. Thankfully it turns out there seems to be a bit of an unwritten rule out in Sayulita -- or perhaps it just works out this way naturally. The early morning is apparently gringo hour. There is only a handful of surfers and only a couple pretty good ones. None of the really aggro guys are out which makes it much more mellow and fun for a beginner. By starting early, the day's schedule gets bumped up and your post-siesta surfing can then take place while everyone else is resting. But man, there are a few REALLY good surfers here, and not coincidentally they are the most aggressive as well.

That big package from the store..

Remember that huge package of non descript chip like things we bought? Well it turns out they ARE chips, but not for breakfast (which was my original hope) but instead just an alternative to the standard fare. Problem is, that although they come in a delicious looking 9x11" size, they are actually quite bland. We tried to choke a few down with some guacamole, but compared to their real chip brethren they didn't stand a chance.

Which left us in quite a quandary, what to do with the remaining 20 some giant sized chips that nobody wanted to eat.

We still haven't figured that one out, but in the meantime, we are having fun with the giant tasteless wafers, without further ado, behold our house of tasteless wafers!



PS. Yes, Jose does get a little chunk off of one every morning too.

Timpano Roto

So as on every morning, we went out today to catch some early waves. It was a nice change in that most of the locals weren't out and it was mostly mellower gringos out on the water. The past few days have brought some big swells (~9ft) to Sayulita and that seemed to bring out many many locals who were all incredibly aggressive in catching the waves. This made it a bit intimidating and frustrating for us beginners, any wave worth catching was always claimed.

But this morning was much better, fewer people, less locals and more surfers at approximately our skill level. I started getting used to the long board I decided to rent after giving up on the shorter and thinner board I bought at a bargain earlier in the week. Things were starting to come together nicely until as I bailed off a wave I hit my ear perfectly against the water. Much pain ensued along with the new found ability that I could exhale through my right eardrum. Hrmm, this didn't bode well.

Sayulita has been developing over the past few years, lots of real estate offices are a sure sign that a town is not only long discovered but being developed quickly. One nice side effect of that is that there is now a full time doctor available, who also happens to speak great English. After breakfast and after deciding that trucks driving by really shouldn't set off an echo chamber in my head I headed on over for a second opinion.

As I had feared, it looks like the water pressure from my oh so imperfect dismount caused me to blow out my right ear drum. It sounds worse that it is and I guess is fairly common. The only real blow is that I have to stay out of the water for three days to prevent infections as it heals and seals itself back up. Oh and I have to live through the humiliation of having Jen and Eric put eardrops in my ears thrice daily. (how you are supposed to count ten drops in each ear yourself I have no idea)

So a reminder of something I already knew, be extra aware of your dismounts as you jump off the board. I suppose this gives me some time to catch up on the work I have been too tired to do up to now.

La Comida de Mexico

I feel that whenever traveling, the most important part that will determine how you view the country and your trip is the food. If you find it delicious, filling, exotic and even a bargain, then you are bound to enjoy yourself immensely.

In this aspect, Mexico delivers on all counts. Although Sayulita suffers from the universal curse of beach side restaurants with so-so food, it also sports more authentic (and far more delicious) street food and other restaurants right on the plaza.

Our now favorite breakfast spot is located just off the plaza and sports some of the tastiest iced mochas we've ever had. Yes, it is true that we don't usually have our mochas after three hours of paddling and that might bias our opinion, but they really are something else.

Of course, the drinks are only part of the equation, and this same restaurant also sports delicious breakfast items. Yesterday Eric discovered their awesome Huevos Rancheros, and today Jen sampled their Mexican eggs which were both pretty darn tasty.

As good as the food is, and as nice as the waitress is to us, I must comment on one particularly funny little trick they keep playing on us. Somewhere near the end of our meal, she will come by with a little bite of something or another. Yesterday, a side of pan fried potatoes, today a pancake with fruit on the side. She usually says something about it being extra from the kitchen or whatnot, and for whatever reason I always seem to be the target.
Today we thought this was pretty funny, second time around, she must like us or something. But of course we are hopelessly gullible gringos, and these little extras really aren't free, but options one must refuse. That extra pancake (which we all agreed was insanely yummy BTW), 15 pesos on the bill. How.. how.. dare they!? And we thought they were our friends!

But we ARE going back tomorrow regardless, that pancake (and the coffee) is too good to pass up. Now just wait until we tell you about the street food at night..

Grocery Madness

We needed some staples for the house so we headed on down to one of the local grocery stores.  We sauntered about taking in what was available.  The produce room was of particular interest to me.  Nicely refrigerated and has the feel that someone with a machete in hand just dropped everything off.  It gave me the opportunity to learn that limes here are actually closer to a walnut in size than they are to a lemon -- fascinating.  I don't know if it is a climate thing or if it's just that we genetically modify ours, or what.

We found many variations of picante sauce but surprisingly pretty much no options in the salsa department.  Unless of course you want to count Salsa Inglés.  But that would probably be pretty disappointing with chips.  Actually, there was this jarred stuff, but understandably Nic balked and we passed on it with hopes of finding something fresher another time.  Instead we picked up some chips, avocados, onions, and tomatoes.  For future reference, the local stores keep the freshest or ripest items up by the register.  Our last unripe avocado in the trash can can attest to that.  

Hunting in the breakfast aisle Nic made and odd discovery:

But what are they?  What are they for?  All we know is we need a huge bag of them!  Checking out of the grocery store was an interesting feat.  We stood in line only later to discover that the real line appeared to be to our right.  I shifted over to that line for safe measure.  Only to discover that in this store there were no real lines.  Only collections of people that want to buy things.  A bunch of locals had been treating the checkout process much like they treat the gringos on the waves.  It's not first come first serve here -- it's first to cut the gringos in line first served.  Apparently the "system" is to slap your stuff on the counter as quickly as possible as the cashier haphazardly throws things through the scanner.  I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure some things may have been rung up twice while others not at all.  Anyways, we got out of there with our loot.

We later discovered another grocery store that had a little more sense of order to it, with like, real actual lines and stuff.

Arbo de Guano de Iguana

Not 25 feet from the front steps of our apartment is a big tree right next to the road. On our first day here as we were walking around, a downpour started and as we were walking under the tree it began dropping huge chunks of green guano upon us. At the time we weren't sure what their source was, the theory was maybe monkeys, though we hadn't heard any. (monkey, 'mono' in spanish, imagine a monkey wearing a monocle says our linkwords Spanish book)

Today as we were walking back from breakfast we spotted the real source, the tree is just covered in Iguanas of varying sizes and colors. From big giant old grey ones to younger green guys, the tree seems to be the local hangout for our prehistoric friends.

Somehow knowing the source makes the guano less threatening, but you better be sure we'll be watching our heads and giving the tree a wide bearth as we walk by, especially during the common afternoon squalls.

The Setting

This being my first attempt at surfing my arms feel less like flesh and more like overcooked pasta.  

Since I can't always be surfing*, thankfully much fun can be had just taking in the sites.  Sayulita is nested in a nice protected cove which makes it easy to take in the surfing and the coastline at the same time.  I have never been to any part of Mexico, so I'm equally excited to see the giant alien looking fronds littering the runoffs leading to the ocean as I am the crashing surf and the brown surfers who mock it.  I need to spend more time hanging down on the beach.   One problem has remained since I arrived: Necesito la guitarra!  I've heard rumors of an old man that peddles some cheap guitars on the beach but I have yet to run in to him.  I guess I need to spend more time on the sand -- not just in the water or in a bed.

So long as you find a nice stretch of beach that hasn't already been "decorated" by the very well established canine population (think dog doo cooking in the hot sun), it's possible to sit back, relax, and see some pretty fantastic surfage by the locals.  I enjoy their company much more from the beach (with Marc's 300mm lens) than when out on the water competing for waves (for which I am always the last in line).  These guys can surf any wave and make everything look so easy in the process.

*For me its closer to a flushing of the sinuses.