Borrego Beach   Borrego Beach is about 1/2 mile away and people either walk down there are take their bikes.  One of the nice things about the beaches is they have ramadas, which are palm covered restaurants where you can sit at a table in the shade and order drinks or food.  Many of them have hammocks where you can relax and read.  In most of the places, there is no pressure to buy - you can buy a coke for 80 cents and spend the whole day, or you can order some nice fish or shrimp or guacamole.  This is the number one activity in San Blas. My personal favorite is "Mar y Sol" - nothing special - just real kicked back with good hammocks, good food and a nice family.  Caballitos del Mar has a great restaurant (same food as La Isla) if you are up for a big meal.   Frederico and Lucias is also known for their good food. If you walk down to the end of the beach there is an estuary with a beautiful tropical view.  We call it our Shangrala.

Singayta  The village of Singaya, famous for its birdwatching, has opened its arms to tourism.   Singayta is very picturesque and still has some traditional stick houses with thatched roofs.  They are planning to rent horses, and have a horse drawn wagon to bring people down the jungle road.  For a small fee, they will show you around their village and and escort you a mile or so down the jungle trail and take you out in their canoes to see the wildlife in the lagoons.   In addition to ecotourism they are starting a nursery for wild orchids and other plants and plan to have artisan shops.  This effort is sponsored in part by the local environmental group - El Manglar - as an effort to bring money into the community without destroying the natural environment.  I just went on one of their first tours and it was so much fun. We had 6 guides.   If you would like to visit Singaya to see an authentic Nayarit village, contact Juan Bananas in San Blas, or take the bus to Tepic, and get off at Singayta, only a few miles from San Blas. You can visit their website at www.singayta.com.

La Bajada  La Bajada is a villlage up in the mountains about 1/2 hours ride from San Blas. It is a pretty little town with nice people and good birdwatching. At the far end of the town there is a hiking trail - the old Camino Real that goes through coffee plantations and eventually on to the road to Tepic. Buses run from San Blas to La Bajada a couple times a day, and if you have time, you can walk back down to the main road. This is a nice day trip where you will be away from all other tourists.

Cultural Center    The old aduana building has been restored and is now a cultural center.  It is fabulous.  There are old photos of San Blas and each month they have an art show for featuring different artists.  They have also sponsored ballets, theater, and concerts.  Look at the posters around town to find out about the events.