San Blas (Mexico)

Historic Spanish fort on a hilltop overlooking the harbor. The fort includes a ruined stone church, barracks for the soldiers, and a customs house. The site recalls a period in Colonial Mexico history when San Blas was a port city for trading between Mexico and the Philippines. Excellent views, but bring insect repellent. Free parking and generally handicap accessible.

Beautifully renovated city pier with concrete walkways, a park area with trees and benches, a pavilion housing a number of surrealist modern art sculptures, vendors and more. Ferries and excursion boats can take you to Islas Marietas. El Muelle de San Blas is much more than just an awesome song by Grammy-award winning rock artist, Mana.

This once-glamorous luxury hotel, built in 1951, is on a lonely but beautiful stretch of beach about a mile from the plaza. In the 1960s, Hollywood had a brief hideaway flirtation with San Blas when actors, including Lee Marvin, Elizabeth Taylor, and Richard Burton discovered San Blas for its fishing and its well-appointed bedrooms. Jim Morrison came to drink and get high as he wrote L.A. Woman during his more lucid moments. The sprawling hotel complex is now abandoned but could make for an eerie Urbex adventure.

La Tovara is a large nature reserve consisting of mangrove swamps and coastal wetlands with natural channels and spring-fed pools. The reserve is home to more than 200 bird species as well as jaguars, crocodiles, turtles, and a variety of snakes. Jungle boat tours depart from the Matanchen bridge whenever enough passengers are ready to go. Bring water and mosquito repellant. Boats stop at a cool, spring-fed pool where tourists can get out of the boat and swim. Locals say that very few of the tourists have been eaten by crocodiles recently.