San Blas and Bahia Matanchen
January 18-22, 2023
We anchored in Bahia Matanchen just off of Playa Islitas. It was a serene anchorage with several palapa restaurants lining the beach. This is a great surf spot in the summer months with long point breaks. While here we explored the town of San Blas and took a guided river tour through the jungle.
On our first full day Baro got us a taxi to take us into San Blas. This is a really cool little town. First settled by Spanish conquistadors in 1530, it became a large naval port for New Spain. It was cool to walk around the town and explore the old fort, La Contaduria, overlooking the town and the port of San Blas.
On our way here, everyone we ran into advised us to do the jungle tour so we felt obliged. We awoke early and walked about a mile to the starting point for La Tovara, the jungle tour. Here we loaded up onto a panga and took off into the mangroves. It was fantastic with incredible scenery, birds, crocodiles, turtles and even a large boa constrictor. The tours stopped at a crocodile sanctuary where they were breeding and releasing the reptiles and a small restaurant with ice cold cervezas and good food.
At the end of the tour there was a fresh water spring where supposedly you could swim. No thanks.
We loved our time in the San Blas area. Now its time to continue southward. Next stop, the small town of Chacala.
