Sayulita | Sailing with Strangers

Jeremy and I decided to run away to Sayulita, Mexico. So, my last trip to Mexico was in Tulum – just 2 hours south of Cancun. Sayulita is about 45 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta. The day we got in we hit up a market for fresh veggies, eggs, and avocados. We settled in to our super modern home on a hill overlooking the ocean, made dinner and watched perhaps the most beautiful sunset I've ever witnessed. I became hypnotized watching a single sailboat bobbing in the ocean as Jeremy and I shared secrets and future plans. I wanted to be on that little sailboat.

The next morning we woke up early, I made some breakfast and we headed out to explore the little city we'll call home for the next couple of weeks. We made it about 10 steps before a guy in a truck, who we'd later learn is named Darrin, stopped us and asked us if we wanted to spend the day on his 50ft. sailboat. My answer was yes, go figure, but I kept that to myself until I could get a read on Jeremy – his expression said "I'm along for the ride that is your life, Kathleen Shannon." So I said, "yeah – let's do it!" and Darrin told us to hop in the back of his truck along with a few cases of empty bottles and two miniature Dachshunds named Osa and Kahlua. He swung through town to pick up his traveling German girlfriend and a young Australian who is temporarily residing in a small neighboring town. And off we went. It appeared as if the universe was answering my prayer to be on a sailboat bobbing in the ocean.

















So while it appeared as if Darrin was a stranger inviting us onto his sailboat he actually runs a charter boat for a living. And this unexpected adventure took us to the completely uninhabited Islas Marietas islands. We sailed past a school of playing dolphins and even saw a mama whale with its baby in the distance. Once we arrived to the islands we dove off the sailboat and swam with black fishes with orange stripes that Darrin coaxed to the surface with stale cake. We paddled on surfboards through a cave filled with jellyfish to a hidden beach. The little jellyfish that are translucent white are harmless – but there were little blue ones (maybe 1 for every 5 white ones) that stung something fierce. I managed to come out unharmed but Jeremy was stung on both wrists. Of course, I offered to pee on him to help ease the pain.

From there we did a little more exploring into another cave that made me feel like I was on the set of Goonies. We hung out on the beach under the shade of a cliff and kept our eyes peeled for blue footed boobies (a rare bird with a name that makes me giggle) until we decided to brave the jellyfish infested waters to get back to the boat. On our way back to Sayulita – just yards from the marina – our boat ran out of diesel. Darrin and his crew put the sails up but alas, no wind. I quickly learned that sailing sucks when you run out of gas – just like growing your own food is not so quaint when you don't have a grocery store nearby. Darrin called for help and soon enough a man and his 8 year old son came to the rescue – they towed us back to shore with a little tugboat, if you can even call it that.

Our day ended about 12 hours from when it began with tres leches cake from a street vendor followed by sweet dreams – none of which involved scorpions or jellyfish.

If you're ever in Sayulita you've gotta spend a day with Darrin at Sayulita Sailing. Tell him I sent you.