All our years spent in Puerto Vallarta and somehow we never made it up to San Sebastián del Oeste. It’s one of Mexico’s many “Pueblos Magicos” which puts it on a list with a lot of great towns scattered around Mexico. Best of all, it’s a short drive from PV, and that drive is almost straight up (4900′ in town), meaning nicer temperatures at this time of year.
San Sebastian is an old mining town built with the traditional Spanish colonial architecture of the time. It is a step back in time. We liked it immediately based on nothing else other than the fact that the main plaza and restaurants were humming on a Saturday afternoon. There’s nothing worse than showing up in a town like this and finding that you are the only people outdoors.
Lowe talked me into a foosball table. A proper boat size foosball table.
There isn’t a lot to do in San Sebastian. It’s the type of town that you just wander around slowly and aimlessly. We ate lunch, and dinner, had some drinks in the plaza, played foosball, pet dogs, and fed the pigeons. All in all it’s just a nice town to walk around with a camera and spend a day at a snail’s pace.
In the afternoon we drove up to an old mine. The road in was rough, one-lane dirt, but it was reasonably well marked as if it were some sort of tourist site. A friend had told us about it, so we prepared and set off to explore.
Don’t worry, we’ve got this powerful flashlight.
The screaming that ensued upon entering was a bit over the top, considering the bats were actually just butterflies, and the spiders were crickets. But boy did we ever laugh at ourselves. We discovered the cave ended about a hundred yards in, so after five minutes or so of spelunking, we were on our way back to town.
The nicest hacienda in town, which came complete with bedbug bites in the morning.
5 Comments on “San Sebastian”
Bedbugs? EWWW! I have a quick question about those critters…..did they stay behind in the bed or infest your stuff & return to the boat with you? We’re on an extended backpacking trip & bedbugs are a cause for concern.
Just wondering if you had to resort to extermination?
Thanks for the info! Always enjoy your great pix! The kids are growing so tall!
Happy trails.
Gail+Frei, I woke up once in Argentina once with a pile of bedbug bites. We were worried about the bugs hitching a ride so we left all the luggage in our rental car in the hot sun for several hours. We had a little thermometer to monitor temps. If you can guarantee that most things get over 120F for 90 minutes that should kill bed bugs. The car looked funny with all manner of clothes and bags spread out inside it but it made us feel better!
Your photos are so lively and make me miss the special charm of Mexico so much. You have a great eye for capturing the beauty in the commonplace, in even the rubble of daily living. I almost feel as if I were there with you, walking the streets of San Sebastian. Thank you!
Ugh. Do not mess around with bed bugs. They will hide in your clothing and come home with you and once you get them they are almost impossible to eradicate. The can live a year without feeding. They are as nasty as they come. The only thing that truly kills them is heat. An exterminator will use steam to kill them, but miss a couple and you are right back to the same problem. Avoid at all costs!
Thinking of you guys in advance of the new hurricane. Hope you and your new boat/home are ok.