San Blas has changed quite a bit in the last few years since they opened the new expressway to Tepic. We now have a Coppel, a Bodega Arerra and 2 Oxxos. Unfortunaely most of the bicycles are gone and have been replaced by cars and motorcycles. Motorcycles, many without mufflers cruise the plaza in the evenings plus there are 2 new nightclubs on the plaza which play loud music late into the night on weekends. There is a new highway from the village of Matanchen to Aticama hill. There is also a new pier and several new restaurants and small hotels in this area. But the rest of San Blas remains pretty much unchanged and Borrego Beach is still beautiful and rarely crowded. Las Islitas get crowded on weekends but during the week you might have the beach too yourself. I don't like change, but it is still wonderful here and I can't think of anyplace I would rather live.
San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico
San Blas is a small fishing village of about 12,000 people on the Pacific Coast of Mexico located between Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan. If you are active you will not be bored, as there are many ecotourism adventures available here, such as the jungle boat ride, a visit to the village of Singayta, whale watching, surfing, waterfalls and hiking in the jungle and beaches.
There are no condos here, no major resort hotels, no shopping malls, no freeways, no golf courses and no stoplights. You don't need a car to get around. You can walk or take a bike around town, and buses run everywhere in Mexico.
For such a small town, San Blas has really left a mark. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem about it called The Bells of San Blas even though he was never here. There is brass plaque with one of the verses on the old church.
To whom what is and what seems
Are often one and the same,
The Bells of San Blas to me
Have a strange, wild melody,
And are something more than a name.
There was a movie filmed in San Blas - Cabeza de Vaca - in which my neighbor played a leading role. He played a shaman and they told him he didn't have tto act, just to be himself.
There is also a hit song from the rock group Mana called El Muelle de San Blas.
San Blas has also been in the international news several times. In 2002 San Blas was hit head on with Hurricane Keena, a category 5 hurricane. Much of the town was damaged or destrovyed but they made a speedy recovery.
In 2006, three fishermen from this area were rescued on a lancha near the Marshall Islands after 9 months lost as sea. There was even an article in the New Yorker about them, The Castaways.
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If you a question about something that is not covered in this site, feel free to contact me. If you see me around San Blas be sure to say hi.