In December our neighboring town to the north held one of a series of surfing contests. Sayulita is a beautiful little town that has a reputation for attracting young people and it's probably mostly due to the fact that there is an excellent break that produces some fairly reliable surfing conditions. One of the purposes of the contests is to select the best surfers for the Mexican National team that will compete worldwide.
The surfing contests draw large crowds of spectators. The beach restaurants all have chairs set up on the beach with umbrellas or palapas so that their patrons can relax, drink, eat and watch the surfing. As long as you buy a few drinks you can take a chair and spend the day.
It's a family day at the beach with an even mix of people from the US, Canada and Mexico. There are lots of kids and when most Mexicans come to the beach, they bring the whole family, kids, parents, aunts, Uncles, cousins and grandparents. There's a lot of talking, a lot of eating and a lot of drinking. Some people just set up a small grill on the beach and have a family picnic. Children play on the beach and when a great wave comes, silence descends and all eyes focus on the riders. 
The judges have their tent on the beach and they call off the contestants names and announce winners of the competitions. Other businesses announce surfing lessons and surf board rentals. The crowds provide ample opportunity for the beach vendors to have a really good day. There are people selling jewelry, beach wear, sunglasses, silver, rugs, hammocks, etc. 
They travel the beach hawking their wares and a polite "no gracias" is all that is necessary if you aren't interested. We bought a great hand woven rug in muted earth tone shades. Bargaining is required. Most vendors love to bargain and are disappointed if you pay full price. Of course they love to get the full price, but it really takes all of the fun out of it and they think you must be kind of stupid. Typically, you will halve the asked price and work up from there. 
That way the vendor gets what he needs and you don't pay the tourist price which is considerably increased over the normal price. The reality is that a vendor will never sell you something for which he is not getting a reasonable return.
Toward the end of the day, the surfers are getting tired, the sun is going down, the air is cooling off and people begin to drift away after the last contest is decided.
For us it's just a 15 minute drive back to Bucerias but this is the kind of day we are here for.
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