Lat 21 32 637, Long 105 17 583. We are 63 miles north of La Cruz. We had an easy passage from La Cruz to San Blas with winds 10-15 knots and seas 1-2 feet. We both said it sure felt good to be out to sea again. We saw many dolphins, manarays and sea turtles.We are in San Blas Marina which was built about 1 year ago. It has about 15 slips and is built in a river estuary. There have been 3 to 8 boats each day in the marina. When we were here previously in January we anchored in Mantanchen Bay and the took a bus into San Blas. We have been able to experience the town far more this time be staying at the marina.
San Blas has a population of about 12,000 people which seems hard to believe. Seems far less. San Blas was previously a boat building center and port until the end of the 1800's. Currently the economy is geared toward tourism, although it appears to be local toursim. San Blas is also known as a favorite destination for bird watchers.
Along with Rick and Karen on Eyes of the World we enjoyed our second visit to La Tavara Jungle Cruise at Mantanchen Bay. Our guide was very good in describing all the birds we saw in addition to the turtles and crocodiles. Of interest we were told that crocodiles eat about 8 kg of food every 8 days and can go as long as 6 months without food. On the roadside of Mantanchen Bay there are many bakeries with their specialty being banana bread. It smells delicious as you walk along. Of course we sampled all the items.
We have enjoyed the town and people of San Blas. It has a very relaxed and casual lifestyle. One day we enjoyed the local flea market buying odds and ends. One of the best items were the shaved snow cones. They consisted of shaved ice, add strawberry juice and top it with condensed milk. Delicious!! The towns evenings are centered around the town plaza where everyone young and old hang out. There was all kinds of live music being played, in addition to children performing local dances. We were one of the few gringos in the plaza.
As I mentioned before on January 15, 2009 posting we visited the church and bells in which Longfellow wrote his last poem "The Bells of San Blas". Another piece of interesting trivia is that Longfellow never visited San Blas. He read about the bells in Harper's Magazine of 1882.
We did some local sight seeing with our friends Ed and Annette on Wind Song. We visited La Contaduria which was a fort built in 1529 overlooking the vicinity of San Blas. In addition there was an old church and cemetary to view. From there we sampled the local cuisine and found our favorite taco stand.
We will be leaving tomorrow for Mazatlan.
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