San Blas

Tues 16th August

San Blas is a small fishing village located just north of Puerto Vallarta, that also boasts a beach resort and mangroves.

Sounded idyllic, so we decided to spend a second night here and take our time exploring the place.

Terry and I decided arrange a boat trip to the mangroves. Bob whose seen it all before decided to stay at the hotel and make use of the pool. Wandering down to the port area we spotted their deep sea fishing fleet. Apart from the ones that were actually sunk, we thought the others were waiting for the scrapyard but apparently are still in use.

Terry and I arranged a two hour trip on this boat. The owner said 'un memento' then proceeded to start bailing the water out of it. Mmmm we thought.

As anyone who has been through mangroves will know, they tend to be teeming with wildlife. Well here I think they must have been suffering from the heat as much as us and stayed well under cover.

Apart from pelicans, cormorants, a few egrets with yellow feet.....

..........all we saw were local fisherman in small boats looking for shrimps.

Back on dry land we walked into the town centre to find the nearest bar to rehydrate. The old colonial buildings are in a poor state of repair with the main plaza dominated by two churches, the government offices and a bandstand. Similar in fact but not nearly as well cared for as those in El Fuerte and Alamos.

One of the two main churches in the plaza

and the other one with all but one of its bells missing.....

.......and the crosses stacked up around the back!

The beach reminded me of Goa with bars and restaurants under straw canopies lining the waterfront. There were also straw roofed huts on stilts to rent.

Judging by the number of hotels and apartments around the town, many of which appear disused and falling into disrepair, it is, or at least used to be a bustling tourist destination. I wonder how much the media, especially in America, has affected tourism here.

San Blas looked and felt a bit like this sign, somewhat faded having seen better days. Lets hope Mexico starts getting a better press as it has a lot to offer.