January 19, 2010 - San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico

San Blas is about 20 miles north of Chacala and it was a quick trip. The guide book made it sound like a questionable destination. It stressed that the entrance was iffy and shoal and that we should get a guide to take us in and that we would be eaten by bugs. However, it had a cute photo of native ladies selling stuff, so we decided to give it a try and are very glad that we did. We had no trouble coming in, just stayed between the buoys. A helpful sailboater came on the radio and gave us a couple of tips about where to anchor and cautioned us to avoid a sandbar in midstream. He also invited us to a potluck that evening on the marina dock. We anchored out with about 6 or 7 sailboats, across from the little marina. While in the evening we are happy to have screens and bug dope, the bugs have not in any way ruined our visit.

This is a wonderful place. San Blas is a large estuary with a pretty good tidal flow. It is an old town, started in the 1500’s. At one time in the 1700’s it had 30,000+ habitants and was a major port for trade with the Philippines. It is now about ¼ that size. There is fishing and agriculture, and a good deal of Mexican tourism in the summer since the beach is known as one of the best surfing beaches on the coast. There is not a great deal of pleasure boating but we are not sure why. Anchoring in the estuary is easy, with a secure dingy dock at the marina. The marina is one of several Singular (government) marinas that we have seen. The buildings seem to be the same at every Singular marina that we have visited, and quite impressive, including beautiful clean showers and a swimming pool. The dock is small, and probably can hold only 15 boats of our size or smaller.

We have been pretty busy and could easily spend several more days here, but I suspect we will be off tomorrow. Earl is a traveling man. The first night we went to the pot luck which was a perfect way to get some tips on what to do here. One thing we will not get to do if we leave tomorrow is to take a bus ride to Tepic, about 40 miles away. Tepic is the capital of Nayarit and is apparently a lovely old town with lots of Huichol Indian handcrafts on sale. I wanted to get some of their bead work, but I think it will have to wait for another visit. We took a trip up to the old church and fort which are up on a hill overlooking the estuary. The view was spectacular, and the old buildings are being well maintained. The old church was apparently made famous by Longfellow who wrote a poem called the Bells of San Blas (which I shall have to look up and read.) The church was abandoned in the 1800’s and the bells were relocated down to the new church in the town plaza.

We had a good time exploring the town which is very nice. We saw an intriguing old hacienda which has been turned into a hotel and looked to be a wonderful place to stay. We also did a little shopping. Finding a 9 volt battery was quite a challenge, but I finally got one at a pharmacy. (It was the only one they had). We bought eggs, which are sold by the kilo, rather than by number. The eggs I bought ran about 18 to the kilo. I chatted with a nice young man selling stuff in the plaza. He had heard of Alaska -because of Sarah Palin.

Today we took a highly recommended trip up the estuary, through the mangroves, up to a fresh water spring and a crocodile preserve. It was wonderful. Earl took photos till his camera battery gave up the ghost. The area is famous for birding and I can see why. We had been told to go early in the day before too many boats ran up the stream, so we left our boat before sunrise and arrived at the tour landing before any of boat captains. We were the first up and it was very special. There were tons of birds on the way up, many of them with their wings spread to warm themselves in the early morning sun. We gradually left the mangroves behind and went through high grasses and interesting trees, on which grew orchids. There were clumps of lilies blooming along the banks and the air was slightly perfumed. The water was brown, but very clear. We saw iguanas, turtles, crocodiles and loved it. This excursion only made it well worth stopping.

We invited a young couple from the sail boat next to us to come over for a drink last night. They have just started their cruising this fall on their boat Exit Strategy. They would like to make it to SE Asia. I say young couple because they are probably in their 40s. But they got an early start in life. Jean has two grandkids and a third on the way. One of the nicest things about cruising is the interesting and lovely people that we meet.