The Sayulita Shit Show: Part One

TWO WEEKS AGO…

Halfway through a one month stint in one of Mexico’s long-loved Pacific surf towns. 

I arrived with a pep in my step. Psyched to be out on the water every single day. Escaping winter. Being productive — imagine. Eager to once again be spending a chunk of time in one spot, sharing new insights into a new place.

Half the month gone, and my insight is this: stop coming to Sayulita.

I wish I could fall in love with every part of the world. But I’m confused as to why more travel industry people aren’t talking about this, so I guess I will.

As a travel advisor, this is me advising you not to travel to Sayulita.

The public health situation is bad. I realize this town is known not to be the cleanest place, but since I’ve been here, the main sewage drainage pipe has broken twice — spewing literal shit straight into the ocean smack in front of the main beach.

And everyone —  I swear, it seems literally everyone — is getting sick. Like so, so ill. Impossible to say for certain if it’s Norovirus or Sapovirus or whatever-the-heck virus but… yeah. It’s really bad. Hospitalizations. Cancelled weddings. Go ahead and scan the Sayulita Reddit for a more graphic description because I’m not getting into it here.

If there were any level of local government doing anything at all productive there’d surely be some sort of PSA sent out, but that’s not going to happen. Instead, internet PSAs in the form of largely unread blog posts will just have to do the job.

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Another note: I regret to report that this town is the perfect example of a slice of paradise that social media (and tourism in general) has wrecked. 

Locals joke that Sayulita isn’t Mexico. But this is not a joke.

There’s a reason I’ve been here two weeks and have barely said a word about it. And this time, it’s not because of any social media aversion. 

It’s because the bits of town that look idyllic are what I posted a few days ago… and that’s it. It’s not so cute. It’s the same vendors lining a busy street and an overcrowded beach and a lot of garbage and just really… not the vibe. Not my vibe, at least.

I know that tourism is in many ways inevitable (especially when you throw a good surf break into the mix) and I know that I am part of this problem. I also understand how tourism can serve as a positive force for economic growth. But this is one of those all-too-common cases where prices have become grossly inflated to the point where locals are forced to leave their homes in order to make way for eyesore condos and U.S.-priced health food shops.

Is there a way to extrapolate the good and eliminate the bad?

I don’t know.

TLDR; if you’re on a flexible schedule or have booked a refundable trip I highly (and regretfully) urge you to reconsider your trip. 

Because I’m holed up here for a month.

—

PRESENT DAY.

Hi. I took a monthlong break from this blog for the first time since I began writing weekly back in July, and for good reason: sometimes you simply have to live an experience before you can write about it.

I’m very glad that I did. Now that my time in Sayulita is over, I can properly reflect.

Relax, everyone — because here comes the positive flip.

If you’ve skimmed any of my writing, you might have realized that these posts favor those who read until the end. There’s an idea to be had. An insight of some kind. Maybe even a lesson. (And the posts are never long. You have no excuse.)

For now, let’s just say that the Sayulita Shit Show was a necessary, beautiful reminder of the nature of travel, and of life. And I am very grateful.

PART TWO, NEXT WEEK.

ONWARDS,

Mag