Small state offers a different world of beauty, adventure and culture
Visitors
can enjoy the beach in San Blas and explore the nearby mangroves and
hilly rainforest where a multitude of birds, both local and migratory,
fill the air with song.
The beach is long and wide in San Blas.
Sitting
at a bright-red table overlooking an estuary in the fabled village of
Mexcaltitan in the Riviera Nayarit, we threw bits of tortillas in the
air to acrobatic sea birds to catch mid-flight.
Dozens of great
white pelicans floated by on the green water, while a family lustily
sang Las Mananitas, Mexico’s birthday song, nearby.
Nayarit’s
beloved “pescado zarandeado” — a whole snapper, caught that morning,
grilled on aromatic mangrove wood and served with homemade corn
tortillas, grilled scallions, cucumbers, tomatoes — plus a delectable
shrimp paté with crackers were available. Icy cold Pacifica beers in
hand, we marvelled that such a place still exists.
Never heard of
Nayarit? It is Mexico’s 10th smallest state (out of 31) and incredibly
diverse — birdwatchers, wildlife enthusiasts and those seeking the
authentic, unsullied-by-tourism Mexico are drawn to it.
On a
recent weeklong visit, we travelled through green rolling hills, endless
sugarcane fields with fronds blowing in the breeze — and mango, banana,
papaya and tobacco farms.
We were just a few yards from enormous
crocodiles, inches from an exquisitely beautiful jaguar, viewed
thousands of migratory birds in the emerald-green rainforest. We were
also eating succulent dishes we had never heard of, and meeting
fascinating people from all walks of life, such as elaborately adorned
Huichol Indians still living their traditional lifestyle.
It’s
easy to travel from one fascinating part of Nayarit to another.
Nayarit’s southern border is just 10 minutes north from the Puerto
Vallarta airport. The modern, intercoastal highway is serviced by
comfortable, air-conditioned buses that stop in each town — with very
reasonable fares.
If you want the mega all-inclusives overlooking
the Pacific, luxury spas, fabulous surfing, world-class golfing and
lie-on-the-beach vacations, it’s all in the Riviera Nayarit; but if you
yearn for adventure, colonial architecture and art and a heady dip into
other cultures, venture into the rest of the state and “know Nayarit.”
The
Nayarit Colonial zone offers Spanish colonial architecture, history and
museums of the capital city of Tepic (founded in 1542) as well as the
delightful cobblestoned villages of Jala, Ixtlan del Rio and Bellavista.
Tepic is a bustling, lively city perfect as a base for exploration of
nearby Huichol Indian villages and other areas.
We enjoyed walking
the lively Plaza de Armas with its enormous cathedral and beautiful
Municipal Palace, as well as the Amado Nervo, Museo de las Cuatro
Culturas (Museum of Four Cultures) and Juan Escutia museums, and gazed
for a long while at a father and small son cutting, trimming and bagging
sugar cane stalks at their street stand.
Nayarit has several
spectacular “enchanted lagoons” such as San Pedro, Tepetiltic and Santa
Maria del Oro, where we spent the night in a rather swank, modern
boutique 20-room hotel called Lago Encantado.
The morning there
was breathtaking — with mist rising over the lake and layers of
multi-hued mountains rising beyond. People come to these towns to fish,
bike, water ski, boat, rest and to enjoy the area’s famous delicacies.
We
started our Riviera Nayarit exploration in the large town of San Blas
(founded in the 17th century,) renowned as one of the world’s most
important natural bird refuges.
While
birdwatching here is wonderful all year, its rich migratory display
every winter season (November-April) brings an estimated 80 per cent of
the migratory North American bird species to interact with local
species, about 2½ hours north of the Puerto Vallarta airport. Caution —
you will need insect repellent in this area!
In San Blas, we
stayed at the very pretty Garza Canela, a garden-filled inn run by the
four very friendly Vazquez sisters (one of whom is Betty Vazquez, an
acclaimed Paris-educated chef, and the Culinary Ambassador for the
Riviera Nayarit) and their brother.
This property caters to bird
watching groups, provides very early breakfasts to birders, and is just a
15-minute walk from the town’s long sandy beach. The Delfin restaurant,
with Chef Betty’s gastronomic marvels (written up in Bon Appétit and
Gourmet) is well worth the trip. The Garza Canela sisters will help you
book the services of a very reliable and knowledgeable taxi driver, Juan
Martinez Velez, who regularly attends to international visitors and can
be booked in advance for private trips in the area.
But there’s
much more to San Blas — the nearby dense mangroves and hilly
rainforest’s microclimate attract thousands of birds to mate, nest and
feed in the nutrient-rich estuary. One morning, we arose before sunrise
to climb up through the rocky paths at Tecuitata, through impossibly
dense mango, jackfruit, banana and papaya trees, and as the first rays
of sunlight hit us, so did the cacophony of sound — birds calling,
singing, and cawing all around us, along with crickets and woodpeckers.
Our bilingual guide, expert birdwatcher Francisco Garcia, called in
excitement to us when he spotted a squirrel cuckoo.
The next
morning, we skimmed the glasslike surface of the estuary in a small
panga boat to enter the peaceful and beautiful La Tovara, a mangrove
refuge filled with about 60 crocodiles, a multitude of turtles, lizards
and herons, storks, hawks, eagles, egrets, ducks, falcons and more.
About
a 45-minute drive from San Blas, small boats take visitors to the
fascinating village of Mexcaltitan, mentioned above. This no-vehicle
village of 1,800 residents is only reachable by boat; inside the
estuary, this delightful town is completely walkable (after dining on
that fabulous fish mentioned above — try La Alberca, about $25 per
couple for enormous fish and shrimp lunch with beer). Everyone’s doors
are open, children are outside playing, the church has an exceptionally
bloody Jesus Christ statue, and there is a surprisingly well executed
small historical museum (Museo del Origen).
Stroll the paths into
yesteryear and slow down — what would it be like to live here, we
wondered. In fact, we learned that some locals have never left — afraid
to experience cars, noise and big city life.
As our magical day in
Mexcaltitan drew to a close, we embarked onto the little boat alongside
some 25 great white pelicans. It was a day like no other we’ve ever
had.
For our time of sun and surf, we headed back to Riviera
Nayarit. We chose picturesque San Pancho (formally called San
Francisco), where we stayed at the lovely Cielo Rojo boutique hotel,
perfectly decorated with Mexican folk art. In San Pancho, we visited the
fabulous Entreamigos Community Center — a utopia-like non-profit
established and run by a former Californian. It is well worth an hour of
your time.
Moving on to Bucerias, we stayed in an outstanding
ecoproperty. Los Arroyos Verdes is a botanical garden built around 36
private casitas, a restored Airstream trailer and small RV, with 26
staffers attending to the organic chef’s garden, nursery, authentic
Temazcal sweat lodge, maintenance, activities (yoga, tai chi, salsa
dancing, etc.). We explored the surrounding countryside on the cute
vintage bicycles, and swam in the huge azure swimming pool.
Knowing
Nayarit is a joy, one that takes much more than one trip there — this
gloriously beautiful, lush, authentically Mexican destination will
happily fill your minds, hearts and stomachs.
For more information, visit www.rivieranayarit.com
With a colorful blend of the old and the new, the Banderas Bay region offers an unrivaled combination of simple pleasures and sophisticated charms. Fine dining restaurants, art galleries, upscale shopping centers, internet cafes and nightclubs peacefully coexist alongside taco stands, street-side vendors and open air markets selling Mexican handcrafts, and strolling Mariachi bands.
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