San Blas/Matanchen - Jan 14-16 2022
Sad to depart the wonder that was Isla Isabel, but cognizant of the schedule our friends on SV Mapache were needing to adhere to, we decided to make the 42 nautical mile hop to a beachside anchorage at Matanchen (fondly referred to as Man-tension throughout our stay) near the town of San Blas, in the state of Nayarit.
Together with Acapulco, San Blas was one of two main ports in the whole of the Pacific Ocean for the New Spain viceroyalty, who used its location as a launching point for further Spanish rule. It is said the port is named in honour of of the patron saint of the Monk Blas de Mendoza. While once a major port, the town now has just over 10,000 residents, a quiet relic of its former glory.
San Blas is the location of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “The Bells of San Blas”:
“What say the Bells of San Blas
To the ships that southward pass
From the harbor of Mazatlan?
To them it is nothing more
Than the sound of surf on the shore,—
Nothing more to master or man.
But to me, a dreamer of dreams,
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.
For bells are the voice of the church;
They have tones that touch and search
The hearts of young and old;
One sound to all, yet each
Lends a meaning to their speech,
And the meaning is manifold.
They are a voice of the Past,
Of an age that is fading fast,
Of a power austere and grand;
When the flag of Spain unfurled
Its folds o’er this western world,
And the Priest was lord of the land.
The chapel that once looked down
On the little seaport town
Has crumbled into the dust;
And on oaken beams below
The bells swing to and fro,
And are green with mould and rust.
Is, then, the old faith dead,
They say, “and in its stead
Is some new faith proclaimed,
That we are forced to remain
Naked to sun and rain,
Unsheltered and ashamed?
Once in our tower aloof
We rang over wall and roof
Our warnings and our complaints;
And round about us there
The white doves filled the air,
Like the white souls of the saints.
The saints! Ah, have they grown
Forgetful of their own?
Are they asleep, or dead,
That open to the sky
Their ruined Missions lie,
No longer tenanted?
Oh, bring us back once more
The vanished days of yore,
When the world with faith was filled;
Bring back the fervid zeal,
The hearts of fire and steel,
The hands that believe and build.
Then from our tower again
We will send over land and main
Our voices of command,
Like exiled kings who return
To their thrones, and the people learn
That the Priest is lord of the land!
O Bells of San Blas, in vain
Ye call back the Past again!
The Past is deaf to your prayer;
Out of the shadows of night
The world rolls into light;
It is daybreak everywhere.”
San Blas is better known in modern times for its role in the story in the song by Maná, “El Muelle de San Blas”, which depicts a tragic tale of a woman who waited indefinitely in her wedding dress at the dock of San Blas for her fisherman fiancé to return from a fishing trip (who never arrived).
We anchored around the corner from San Blas in a large open rodestead bay called Mantanchen, popular with Mexicans for its miles of sandy beach and beachside palapa restaurants. As we arrived among the other boats already anchored we found our old boatyard friends, Rick and Cynthia on SV Catspaw. Within a short while of dropping our anchor on the sandy bottom we dropped our dinghies and joined Catspaw and Mapache for some beers on shore. Getting to test out our dinghy wheels for the first time (wheels that we drop down from the back of the dinghy to help us pull it up the sandy beach), we had the assistance of a lovely young lad named Oscar to help us haul the dinghies well up the beach so we could enjoy ourselves at his family’s restaurant.
Rick from SV Catspaw and Oscar pulling one of the dinghies up the beach. Oscar’s family owned the restaurant at the beach and for a very nominal fee he was happy to watch over our dinghies while we had a land adventure. Note Oscar’s sister in the stroller, who he was looking after until we arrived!
We would have happily spent many evenings watching the sunset from here…if it weren’t for the jejenes (the noseums), which were BRUTAL! But, their fried plantains, together with our feet in the sand with a beer in the hand were almost worth it!
Ceviche, beers and fried plantains were devoured by all, and if it weren’t for the absolutely incessant jejenes (noseums), we would have happily spent many an evening in this very spot. Having a place for the girls to play in the sand while digging our toes in with a beer in hand is all I’d wanted for our time in Mexico. Sadly, the burning piles of coconut husks the owner lit all around us could not compete with the bugs, and we were voraciously eaten alive before a relatively rapid departure. Rick and Cynthia had been there for several days ahead of us, and they’d had no problem with the notorious bugs - so we suspect we just me particularly sweet or something!
The view down the beach from our table. We could tell this was a tourist destination, but one for Mexican tourists instead of foreigners. Having been used to the Sea of Cortez and all its sting ray splendor, it was so strange to see people galavanting in the shallows instead of picking their way carefully along.
This was the first time in a very long time we’d been in a place with such a shallow, mellow surf where we could swim and play without much concern of sting rays. Our girls were thrilled.
All trouble, these two! This gives you an idea of how far we need to pull the dinghy up the beach due to the changing tides; thus, the reason for the dinghy wheels!
We made plans for the next day to venture up the road to La Tovara, a nature sanctuary made up of an estuary full of mangroves (thus the reason for all the bugs!). As we walked toward the boat launch our local animal-tamer, Rick, pointed out a little mangrove area just off the side of the road. Sitting at the side of the water was a gorgeous selection of books AND two huge crocodiles! We’re not in Kansas anymore! So incredible to see them right there, just at the side of the road.
The ride through the mangroves on a panga was a blast. The driver of the boat was incredibly skilled at spotting different species of birds, all the iguanas and several crocodiles as we zipped along. He brought us into the crocodile sanctuary where we saw cages with crocodiles of a variety of sizes and ages, together with a jaguar and several friendly coatimundis (like a raccoon). From the gyst of what we could understand, it is intended to be a sanctuary, but we found it quite difficult to see the small living conditions the crocodiles lived within, and the amount of time many had been there. More research is needed on my part to understand if this all truly was in the best interest of the reptiles.
From the sanctuary we boarded the panga again, and were taken further along to a small restaurant area with a crystal clear swimming hole. We had some lunch, some beverages and then took a turn cooling off in the waters just adjacent to where crocodiles swim!
SV Catspaw, SV Mapache and SV Skookum V on their way to find some crocodiles.
We finally get to ride in a panga! We had a guided ride through the mangroves in this crocodile sanctuary on the hunt for various birds, iguanas and the crocodiles.
On the hunt. And no, Lily is never without a snack.
I think we found one!
There it is, in the middle of the photo, just up from the water in the trees (on the ground). You can just see its dark grey form.
The variety of species of birds was absolutely awesome.Herons, Ibis’, Oystercatchers, Tropicbirds, Egrets etc.
The was in the middle of the estuary, and apparently was from the set of a movie that was filmed there. Unfortunately, none of us had heard of the movie before.
At the end of the boat ride we were brought to the crocodile ‘sanctuary’. While it is apparently there for rehabilitating the crocodile population, it was hard to believe that these small cages with these enormous beasts was in their best interest. There were several that were huge and alone like this, and separate ones with 20 or 30 in the same space. Pretty wild to be that close to such a large crocodile for sure.
Smaller (younger) crocodiles grouped together.
A very tame, and very curious coatimundis coming to check us all out.
After the crocodiles, it was time to eat at this beautiful little swimming hole.
And to get some swimming in! I was a little hesitant, knowing these are the same waters the crocodiles live in, despite a rudimentary fence between us and them!
A view I could get used to! Also, the panga is the most amazing kind of boat. So heavy, yet, so incredibly efficient through the water.
Mandatory ice cream stop on the way back to the boat. Fresh strawberry ice cream ain’t so bad!
Typical to this area, hand pushed carts full to the brim with candy. Every time we were on the beach these carts just ‘happened’ to park right beside us. They must have known one of us (the Irishman) is a keen sweetooth!
Right beside the ice cream the ladies were selling these beautiful Huipils, embroidered women’s shirts.
The following day I took a quick trip into the town of San Blas with Rob and Sarah from SV Mapache so we could grab some wifi at a restaurant to do a little work. I managed to get a glimpse of the central area of town, but sadly most was covered up due to major reconstruction work taking place. I would have loved to have visited the local Spanish Fort, but the bugs had just become unbearable, so sadly it was time to move on.
From Matanchen beach where we were anchored it is an easy taxi or collectivo ride into the quaint town of San Blas. Unfortunately, the town was in the middle of a major overhaul, so much of the main square and cathedral were covered, together with many blocked roads or roads under construction.
Iglesia de San Blas in the center of town. This is NOT the one that inspired Longfellow’s poem, which is the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, whose ruins are found a little outside the center of town.
Street scape in central San Blas.
The sunsets and calm waters of Matanchen Bay could have held us captive, but for the swarms of bugs that ate us alive causing incessant itching for weeks!
Matanchen is a place I think we could have easily spent considerably more time, if it weren’t for the bugs! 10 days later I was still scratching at the bites, which are considerably more irritating than mosquitoes.
