From Villa La Estancia at the northern end of Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerias appears just a few steps away. However, in the June heat and humidity, a short taxi ride sounded much more practical than a jaunt along the sunny beach.

From Nuevo Vallarta, I took a taxi to the Bucerias flea market. Not large in size, but full of colorful wares and personalities. As I exited the taxi, I was immediately greeted by vendors selling t-shirts and other tourist souvenirs, as well as competing marketers offering me a business card for their beachside restaurant.

Since it was still quite early, I trekked around town expecting something remotely resembling small town charm. But, Carmel this was not. Outside of a few shops and a lot of small restaurants, I didn’t see anything that matched the art of the street signs. And, cobblestone roads are bumpy and way overrated.

Av. del Pacifico is the street that runs along the coast, and appears the most tourist oriented. The beach side features restaurants sitting on the sand. The other side of the street is pretty non-descript.

For lunch, we stopped at El Brujo, which is roughly at the northern end of Av. del Pacifico. This recommendation from Fodor’s was solid, with the best dish being the molcajete. I should have taken a picture of the small black cauldron that featured a delicious mix of steak strips and onions. Good stuff when wrapped in a soft, flour tortilla. The roasted, whole red snapper was also delicious. I was not as enamored with the shrimp fajitas, in that this was the only restaurant in Mexico that I visited that did not devein the shrimp. The meal came to about $15 per person including drinks, which is much less than what the resorts were charging.

You can dine in the patio above, or beneath the palapas on the beach.