I love the tropics: Fruit, beach towns, and seafood

Who doesn't love the beach, honestly? While living in Jalisco we have had easy access to wonderful beaches, tropical fruit and seafood. This trip was certainly no exception. After leaving the wild beach in the jungle, we headed into the tiny town of Platanitos for a bite to eat. The restaurant (one of two), sat directly in front of the waving ocean. We relished our fresh coconut juice as we watched the fisherman. I honestly don't think juice can get any fresher!

 Along with my camarones a la diabla (delicious spicy shrimp dish) and John's camarones empanizadas (breaded shrimp), Anne treated us to platter of melt-in-your-mouth oysters.

 

Last photo is courtesy of Anne Vest

I think we all were intoxicated by the relaxing and delicious experience of that morning; eating such well prepared food and soaking in the salty ocean breeze can leave one that way. To top it off though, the waiter offered to slice up the coconut for us to take. Fresh coconut with a squeeze of lime is a perfect beach bumming snack.

  

From here we cruised south towards San Francisco and Sayulita in search of the next camping spot. Along the way, we passed through several small towns lined with fruit stands overflowing with fresh tropic produce. Upon passing a man selling starfruit we nearly slammed on the breaks in the middle of the road. Starfruit is a juicy delicacy when you live in Idaho and one you can't help feeling guilty buying knowing it has taken at least a thousand miles to get there. Needless to say, since we're in Mexico, we bought an entire bag and I don't think it lasted through the afternoon.

Another stop we had to make was to try fresh sugar cane, which, although it was sweet, was nothing like shockingly sweet granules I had been accustomed to in Idaho. It had a subtle flavor and was very juicy.

San Francisco is a small bohemian surfer town where vegetarian cafes, art galleries, and coffee shops line the strip leading up to the beach. We decided to head onward to Sayulita but at least Anne got her first taste of tamales on the trip. 

Sayulita was a mixture of regular Mexican beach town and an astonishing upper-class resort-like houses and high-end gift shops. The streets were filled with street vendors selling empanadas and wealthy gringos and club goers. 

And of course the beach was also amazing...

We found a campground full of palms, a variety of which I had never imagined. After wandering the streets, we took advantage of the little bar perched at the end of the property closest to the beach (well, it was actually on the beach) and ordered some margaritas. We sat again with our drinks, bare feet against the cool sand, and chatted about the day, however, that night we were accompanied by a great set list of music from the bar, which is one perk of a populated beach. 

It was such a relaxing night that I nearly forgot we had missed dinner, until about 4:00 in the morning when my stomach ruthlessly reminded me that my small empanada was certainly not a sufficient companion to those delicious margaritas. The rest of my time in Sayulita consisted of wrestling with my upset stomach. That said, I don't have much else about Sayulita. However, I did ask Anne to grab a few more photos for me: 

 the bar

horses and surfboards 

Thanks, Anne!