DEliTOUR: San Blas, a godforsaken place, and other animals

We still don´t know why we picked San Blas out of the guidebook. Our Rough Guide (who will be recieving a stern letter, wand whose Mexico publication you should avoid until further notice) described San Blas as a godforsaken place ridden with biting insects, and lacking in charm. We thought of it as the first of the Pacific beach towns and one that was probably underdeveloped compared to the mega resorts down the coast.

We were very pleasantly surprised. We arrived at dusk at San Blas to the small terminal on one corner of the town square. First impressions were actually great. The square was subtely lit by the church´s soft neon lights from one side, and by the street lanterns above the giggling teenage couples and dozing grandparents lounging in the square. We only had to walk a few metres to Posada Morelos to be greeted by our resident pelican (christened Big Bird), the four grey kittens, the basic outdoor cooking facilities and our street side room. We were the only gringos staying there when we arrived and it seemed that locals would park their trucks on our quiet street outside our window and test their 2000 watt sound systems just for us!

Big Bird wasn´t the friendliest. He (or she - we couldn´t get close enough to find out) announced our first tentative foray towards its corner by giving a very loud and threatening clap of the beak. He (or she) is famous in the town for leaving the posada´s courtyard and wandering into the town square to harrass the locals.

On our first night in San Blas we took an orientating stroll and a strange american recommended La Famila, where we had our first taste of San Blas´ great value cuisine.

San Blas beach was a 1 1/2 km stroll down the road from the square and our place. The weather was a constant and dry (not humid) 32 degrees with maybe the odd cloud around. On the beach were the usual lineup of (palm-roofed) palapa cafes and a sweeping crescent of sand stretching a couple of kilometres.

We ended up staying a week. The beach had Mexican and foreign surfers in small numbers, there were a handful of gringos staying on the beach when we arrived, the town had a great indoor market in one corner of the square, and everywhere the food was above expectations. From the ceviches on the street stalls (fish with lime open tacos) to the carne asadas in the dine-ins with the glorious assortments of toppings. There was the ex-pat-type bar on one corner with the Italian-american-owner-with-the-dubious-past, the well airconditioned pool bar that was ideal for the football, sweet, welcoming locals at every turn and a safe, cosy, understated feeling. We liked it a lot. And, staying by the square, we were able to avoid the nightly nibbling by the extremely vociferous sand flies on the beach!

These piccies go with the last post...