San Sebastian del Oeste - Day Tripping

Last week we went on a day trip to San Sebastian del Oeste (San Sebastian West).    http://goo.gl/maps/1TnIH     It was a wonderful change of scenery as we headed more to the interior and away from the coast.  To get there we had to make our way into Puerto Vallarta, then eastward towards the interior.  The roads were pretty good most of the way - but turned to a cobblestone highway as we got closer to San Sebastian.

 

Welsomc to San Sebastian del Oeste

San Sebastian was an active silver mining town back in the 18th century - with over 30,000 inhabitants at one time. Now, there might be a few hundred permanent residents there. It's easy to imagine it as an active centre way back in the day.

Like all the Mexican towns we have visited, there is a town square with a zoccola as the centre of town, and a nearby church.

I see a quilting design in there somewhere!

and . . . modernization . .

.

After poking around the town and having a bit to eat,  we headed up the mountain to La Bufa - a lookout point 9 kms from town.  It took us about 45 minutes to go that 9 kms - and 4000 ft!  San Sebastian is at about 4000 ft about sea level - and we climbed another 4400 ft! 

Starting out from town down the narrow cobblestone streets . . .

and then up, up, up - around numerous switchbacks . . .

 

 

 

another one of our travelling partners as we climbed up the mountain....

finally reaching the top!

 

 Some amazing views . . . from way up there in the thin air!

This is half way up - there's San Sebastian way down there . . .

We came down the mountain, and headed home - through small agricultural villages . . . it seemed they mostly grew corn and gourds . . . 

It was a long day - we left at 0900 hrs and didn't get home until 6:30 pm - a long day for Kipper to be in the trailer (!) - with the A/C on, of course. . . . . and we didn't even get to the coffee factory or the tequila factory . . . guess we have to save that for another trip!

Hasta Luego - Arturo y de Beeb

Open House . . . Lo de Marcos style!

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a fund raiser for the Amigos de Lo de Marcos - for $200 pesos (about $17), we  could tour 7 of some of the nicest homes in Lo de Marcos . . . these are all homes of either Americans or Canadians who either live here year round, or spend the winter.  The homeowners are also very active in the community.  Here are a few pictures of the homes - three are right in town, three are up the hill.  The ones up the hill are all off the grid - using solar power to supply energy to their homes.  We only made it through 6 of the seven homes - beautiful home burn out!


House #1

 

House #2



indoor kitchen . . . .



outdoor kitchen . . . .

House #3

amazing yard!!!
 

House #4 (off the grid)



another outdoor kitchen

guest suite!

Power source . . .

House #5 (off the grid)

Why would you ever get out of bed???

House #6 (off the grid) - I was speechless!!!

What can I say . . . there's quite a disparity between those that have and those that don't .... it's just the way it is.


We also went to another fundraiser (there are a lot of them around here) to raise money for a Automatic Cardiac Defibrillator for the town - with all us "baby boomer" touristos here over the winter - maybe it's a good thing  ;).  Vendors (Huichol Indians)come to the dinner to sell their wares - specifically beadwork - the kids were just hanging out and playing while their parents/grandparents worked at selling their goods. 

 



my bead dish

Actual size next to a pen . . . just a little dish!

This is not a  good sign when the waitress brings you a margeurita, corona . . . . and OFF!



Next post - our road trip to San Sebastian . . . .