Matanchen Bay to San Blas

We left La Cruz and headed north. We spent one night in Matanchen Bay and then we decided to sneak literally around the corner and go up into the estuary and dock for one night in the marina at San Blas. San Blas is a historical city for many reasons. It was where the Spanish built ships in the 16th century that they loaded with Aztec gold and shipped back to Spain. It has a great fort and an old church made famous by a Longfellow poem. The Bells of San Blas, a famous poem was written about the bells found in the original church built in town. We were in San Blas for less than 24 hours but boy did we get our money’s worth.

Kelly and Ryan on the pier in San Blas

The old church in town with the new church under construction next door

For all of you California 4th graders studying the missions, this plaque is on the old church in town.

The first sign we've seen of Juan Diego, along with Our Lady of Guadalupe

The inside of the new church in town

This was unprompted but we thought we'd add it for the grandparents and Father Ray!

Kelly, Ryan and Phil standing between the old and new churches

One of the local ladies selling her fruit

Another vendor selling her fish

Ryan at the entrance to the Fort and the original church in San Blas

The first church in San Blas where the bells for which the poem was written originally hung.  Again for the fourth graders out their studying the Spanish colonizing of California and Mexico, this church is only a few hundred yards below the Presidio - aka Fort.

Kelly and Ryan on one of the cannons in the Fort

The view from the Fort.  You can see why they picked the spot they did.  You can see the "new" church in the center of the picture and all the sticks - aka masts where the marina is in the background.

Phil and the kids on the road into the marina - you can see just how busy this place is.

We wanted to leave you with some pictures of  what we saw on the way out of San Blas.  The channel into this estuary is so silted in, they send a panga out to the break wall to guide you into the marina so as to help you from avoiding going aground.  These were some of the boats that did not fair so well in the last hurricane that swept through here.  Ryan thought it looked like "Shipwreck Cove" in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.  We were just happy that we did not end up anywhere close to where they were.

Besides the bugs in San Blas - Ryan was eaten alive here- we really liked the place.  Off to new adventures!