We just got back from a mini family vacation in Platanitos, Mexico – our first beach trip in our new home country. It had been 5 months since we left the beaches of the Dominican Republic and we hadn’t been to a beach since. Needless to say, we were all pretty darn excited about getting back to the sun, sea, and sand. We tried fish zarandeado, drank buckets of beer at the beach, and made a proper Thanksgiving meal. Here are a couple stories and some photos if you’d like to see…
A friend of ours has a house in this small beach town and was also heading up for our Thanksgiving break so we rented the house next door. It gave us a lot of space for the kids to run around, adventure, and go swimming.
We had a potluck Thanksgiving; everyone contributed something. It wasn’t quite as large as last year’s 100-person feast in Cabarete but it was just as nice. The view was spectacular and the intimate setting prompted our kids to ask everyone what they were grateful for.
The next morning, after breakfast and an early morning pool swim, we headed straight to the beach. The sand was as perfect for sandcastle building as the water was for the kids to swim. The temperature was refreshing, there wasn’t a bit of seaweed or rock on the ocean floor, and there was the right size and frequency of waves to make it fun but not stressful with young kids.
There was something that struck me about being here – and it wasn’t just that it had been so long since we were on the beach. We were on the West Coast of Mexico; we were on the Pacific.
I’ve only ever been to California once so the Pacific is a wild, new beast to me and then we realized this was our first family trip to the Pacific and our kids’ first time ever on the West Coast. There was something really mind-blowing about that. It wasn’t on my “Life’s To Do List” but it should have been.
Fa was in her glory, girling it up with a new beach bestie. They ordered limonadas and sat on a beach blanket
Ti was happy playing beach football, rolling in sand, and body surfing. The kid is only four years old, but he’s straight beast.
For lunch we ordered pescado zarandeado, which is a specialty of this area in Mexico. Apparently there’s a strong Asian influence along Mexico’s west coast which is why the fish is typically marinated in soy sauce and Chinese toasted chiles. The fish is then split down the middle and grilled over an open fire. Here, fish shack… take all my money. Another round of bucket beers!
After a long, full day at the beach, we headed back to the house before sunset. The kids went swimming in the pool and Mami had wine. Later, we played this big boy deck of Cards Against Humanity
The next day, everyone else was heading back to Guadalajara, so we got to spend a little time with just the four of us. We headed back to the beach to fill up our beach vibe tank. After a full day of sun, we headed back to the house for family Christmas pictures…
and another dramatic sunset.
I’ve missed so many things about the beach but sunsets rank high on the list. It was aways a time to sit and meditate over how beautiful the earth is and how many wondrous places there are to see. Together.
P.S. What’s in our toiletry bag and our move to Mexico as a children’s book.
