Why do we keep coming back? In early 2021, we were one of the first people to get the vaccine so we were able to travel again. We spent a month “Working from Home” on the beach in Bucerias Mexico- just North of Puerto Vallarta. I wrote about it here when this blog was mostly about biking.
In 2022, we had enough of going to work and were ready to start our retirement travels. First stop- Bucerias. We spent about 10 days before starting a month long trip of some other beautiful Mexican towns and cities. (Guadalajara, Guanajuato, San Miguel De Allende, Mexico City and Yelapa). Heres my blog post from the Bucerias part of the trip in 2022.
We started 2023 with 3 months of exploring in Southeast Asia. We had an excellent time but after coming back to Seattle for Spring Break and Easter, we weren’t ready to stay in the cold and wet Seattle spring. So we are back again in Bucerias! Let me try to explain why we ended up here again.
Traveling can be hard. Moving from place to place every few days or even every 2 weeks can be a little stressful. Sometimes it is easier to just settle for a while in a place you know, you know?. Bucerias is our place for that right now. I can’t promise that it is going to be that place forever but it is a place that is very easy to come back to. Flights from Seattle to Puerta Vallarta are direct, not too long, and we know exactly where to catch our Uber to get to Bucerias for about $10. We have restaurants and bars we like and know which places to avoid. The grocery store (Chedraui) is just a short walk away and we know our way around the aisles. Part of traveling has always been exploring new places but there aren’t too many new places to explore from Bucerias. We have done day trips by local bus to all the other towns around here and while we will return to some of them on this trip, the purpose isn’t really for exploring new sites.
One of the things that first things that endeared us to this place is that it is not a tourist destination for just North Americans. The beach and El Centro can be filled with families from Guadalajara and Mexico City. Many of the retired nomads we know return to San Miguel de Allende every year. We liked it but the insulated life of a gringo town in Mexico was not really our thing. Bucerias is still a tourist town but we like that it isn’t just high rise resorts filled with foreigners that only spend their money in international corporate owned (or cartel owned) hotels and restaurants. We have been staying in the Golden Zone which is filled with North Americans in small condos and villas (many of which are foreign owned but locally managed), but we try to spend our food and entertainment budget at the Mexican establishments. Mexico has a terrible income disparity and it feels better helping out the locals instead of the cultural and economic isolation of Nuevo Vallarta or the Puerto Vallarta beach resorts.
Another reason we keep coming back is the people. The mostly Canadian snowbirds are very welcoming and we have ended up meeting a lot of interesting people. When traveling for a week in a location, most people don’t go out of their way to introduce themselves, but the folks that are here for a whole winter are very eager to meet new people. We actually find it easier to find friends here than moving to our new Columbia City neighborhood in Seattle. Happy hour around the pool is a given at all 3 different locations we have stayed at in Bucerias. We are always welcomed into the circle of Canadians talking about the best restaurants and things to do in Mexico.
Bucerias is a divided town with all the tourists and downtown (El Centro) on the beach side of the highway and the locals living on the other. The highway is crazy busy and is often backed up a long ways into town. But, the roads in the town itself are often deserted. It feels like a pedestrian only town sometimes even though it isn’t. Cars are rare on the cobbled streets and we tend to walk in the road instead of on the sidewalks. We do sometimes cross the highway for tacos and other local foods, but most of the time we can survive in a town without being bothered by cars and forgetting we are a couple of blocks from Highway 200. We don’t need cars to get anywhere we need to go. If we do want to visit another town, we walk to the highway to find a local bus. Living without cars means less stress.
We are also here to avoid the wet Seattle months. The weather in Bucerias is absolutely dry all winter. We have never seen it rain here because we have never been here during the wet and super hot months of June to October. There is a river that goes through the middle of town but I have never seen any water in it so it is just called “The Arroyo”. The mornings are usually calm and warm and we hang out on the beach or go for walks. They afternoons can heat up and the wind starts blowing so it is best to avoid trying to stay under umbrellas on the beach. We use that for pool time or happy hour time just like the rest of the Canadians around here.
Spending so much of our time traveling means we are missing our friends and family. On this trip, we have rented a 2 bedroom condo so people can come visit us. We love visiting South East Asia and Europe and other awesome destinations but it isn’t realistic for people to come see us. We are a direct flight from Seattle which is enabling us to host friends and family for a week at a time this year. The next few weeks will bring us different friends or family members each week to have a “vacation” with us. We are really looking forward to it.
Bucerias is not the “best place ever”. It doesn’t have the history and romanticism of being in Europe. It doesn’t have the awesome beaches or interesting new foods like Southeast Asia. It doesn’t have the biodiversity and wildlife of Central and South America. This little corner of Mexico isn’t even that cheap…. although it is definitely cheaper than Seattle. But for a break in the adventure travel, it is a great place to relax in the sun while still be able to see friends and family. We are always looking for new places for longer stays but right now it looks like we will probably be coming back to Bucerias in 2024.