One of the things I want people to experience about San Blas is the release of the baby sea turtles at sunset.
As I remember it, a local turtle rescue group protected the eggs and released the hatchlings the day they emerged. Word would sometimes go out through the San Blas Facebook group with only two to four hours’ notice. You could find out that afternoon that there would be a release that evening.
My understanding at the time was that waiting until sunset helped protect the little turtles from the gulls. Watching those hatchlings being released toward the sea is one of the San Blas memories I want to share here.
There is a lot of beauty in that place. The beaches, the music, the good food. When I talk about Tortuga, I spend plenty of time explaining what needs fixing and what the next job will cost. San Blas deserves some space in the story for what we experienced away from the work, too.
Away from the boat
Our travels have taken us to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Vallarta and Mazatlán. There is more to tell about those places than I can fit into one chapter, but I want to begin with a few of the things that stayed with me.
We visited the zoos in Guadalajara, Mexico City and Vallarta. Guadalajara’s zoo was especially impressive. In my opinion, it belongs in the same conversation as the zoos in San Diego, Tucson and Phoenix. I remember the tram and the overhead lift. It was a really good zoo, and one of the places I would include when telling somebody about our travels.
At the Vallarta zoo, I held a lion cub. I have photographs of that visit, including one of me with the cub in my arms.
A modern city, and a different view
Guadalajara itself impressed me. It is a beautiful, modern city with hotels, shopping and plenty of the everyday conveniences people know from cities in the United States.
I remember DiDi, the malls and Liverpool, and food courts with familiar names such as McDonald’s, Subway and Starbucks. There were ice cream places, too. Those ordinary details are part of traveling: finding your way around, getting something to eat and seeing how people go about their day.
Mexico City gave me another memorable example. We visited a mall with a subway stop underneath it and an ice rink inside. You could travel around the city and arrive right there at the mall. I thought that was awesome. I do not have the mall’s name in front of me, but I remember that combination clearly.
Celebrations and places to remember
Día de los Muertos belongs in these memories, too: Guadalajara in 2024 and Vallarta in 2025. I remember the beautiful costumes and the way people celebrated. The Vallarta photographs show giant decorative skeletons, detailed face paint and horseback participants in colorful clothes. Those pictures help tell this part of the story.
During our Mexico City trip, we also visited Teotihuacán, home to the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. That was another part of the trip I wanted to include here.
More of the story
There are more memories from these travels, and photographs to go with them. For this chapter, I wanted to start with the beauty of San Blas and give a little room to the cities and places we have visited as a family.
Tortuga brings a lot of work into this journal. This week, I wanted to share some of the Mexico beyond the marina.
