San Pancho Trip
When did we go….
- Nov 24 – Dec 1
Why did we go…
- this has become an annual trip (4th Nov version) with our Kelowna cousins Sherry and Trevor
- we were joined in the area by our friends Erik, Anton (aka Tony), Marina, Sasha and Feiko
How did we get there…
- 5 hour direct flight from Calgary to Puerto Vallarta and the same on the return
- we had a major weather delay in Calgary that shutdown the airport for the morning and resulted in a 16 hour door to door trip to get to San Pancho
- 1 hour Uber ride from the airport to our hotel
- 1 hour taxi ride back to the airport from our local taxi driver Juan
Where did we stay…
- Palmar Hotel Tropical
- boutique hotel in the heart of the town
- nice ground floor room with a separate bedroom, and outdoor patio
- beautiful foliage around the courtyard/pool area
- easy three block walk to the beach and close to all the local amenities
Where did we eat…
- Amar Y Ya (breakfast every day but one, fun owner named Alex and his beautiful dog Mocha and his new cat Sarah, great chow, nice outdoor patio on a quiet side street)
- Maria Bonita (dinner, excellent shrimp dish, outdoor patio on main street)
- Miralo Gastrobar (dinner, new place on the main street, nice ambiance, nice chat with the owners dad who spends half the year in Kelowna, decent food)
- La Popular (dinner, main street, Argentinian food, excellent vegetables and good steak)
- Habibi (dinner, Mediterranean/Mexican fusion, nice ambiance, excellent food and service)
- La Chalupa (lunch, traditional Mexican courtyard, decent shrimp ceviche)
- Cerveceria Artesenal (lunch, great burger and fries and full disclosure that we had the fries as our dessert a few nights after other dinners)
- Mutua (lunch, half hour walk north of our hotel, had a booking mishap but it was worth staying as the food and ambiance were both excellent)
- Arigato Bake & Brew (dinner, small streetside Japanese infusion, amazing food and service)
- Sunset (breakfast, streetside casual joint, good food and service)
- Pollos Plazola (lunch, streetside outdoor BBQ grill, excellent food)
- Marisol Café (lunch, excellent healthy food in a nice quiet courtyard within the Alinea Wellness Center)
- El Rinconcito (lunch, Mexican street café, very good food and service, nice ambiance)
What did we do…
- checked out the Tuesday artisanal market at Plaza del Sol (lots of unique vendors and good food selections, also picked up some treats to give to the dogs around town)
- hung out at the beach (played in the water, did some beach walks, caught some rays, read, boogie boarded, threw the baseball around with Anton, watched the surfers, and people watched)
- had massages at Alinea from Simone who is very good
- did a stretch, breathwork, and ice bath (6.5C for three minutes) at Alinea with Simone which was a lovely event
- watched the beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean every evening (amazing colors and a fun beach vibe) while enjoying some libations mostly at La Palmas served by Celena and Mary
- enjoyed post dinner drinks and live music every night at Cerveceria Artesenal (1 minute walk from our hotel, generally excellent musicians)
- enjoyed a live saxophone musician at the quaint and nicely appointed at Barpango one night and a jazz trio another night
- enjoyed some ‘barley sandwiches’ at La Pinta craft beer bar
- managed to sneak in a couple of stops at some local gelato stores where I supported the pistachio industry
- had bevies at a new place near our hotel called Corazon De Humo where the owner served ‘spiritual’ drinks based on the tarot card you picked
- walked around town checking out some of the local side street residences and some hole in the wall places, including a full block cemetery with some beautiful murals across the street
Background:
- San Pancho is a small beach town with a unique relaxed atmosphere, cool people from all over the world, nice little shops and restaurants, surrounded by amazing jungle and ocean landscapes
- it is located at Riviera Nayarit, Mexico, one hour drive north from Puerto Vallarta Airport and less than a 10 minute drive north from Sayulita
- population of 3000 people
- in Mexico, “Pancho” is the short name for Francisco, the official name of the village is San Francisco, but everybody lovingly calls it San Pancho
San Pancho history:
In 1524 the Spanish conquerors established contact with the indigenous ethnic groups, Huichol and Cora, who inhabited this region. Don Francisco Cortés de Buenaventura named this town in reference to San Francisco de Asís, the patron saint of nature and fauna. For more than 100 years, the Spanish overcame the Cora and Huichol families, trying to take their lands. In 1722, the Cora leader was captured, and invaders populated the territory. The Cora continued to fight and rebel while the Huicholes retreated to the mountains.
In more recent history, Luis Echeverría, Mexico’s former president, is considered the founder of San Pancho. He wanted to develop a self-sufficient and self sustainable community model. He financed various projects like housing, schools, a hospital, an agricultural university, a fruit processing factory, and a fish factory. However, after completing his mandate in government, funds were taken away, and the town’s development went into a significant halt.
In the last few years, with the exponential growth in Puerto Vallarta, tourism has extended more and more towards beach towns in Bahía de Banderas.
San Pancho definitely feels that growth, but luckily, it has cultivated its community spirit and preserved its heritage.
What did we not do that is on the agenda for next time:
- visit some of the other small villages north of San Pancho and towards the interior
- visit the Community Cultural Center
- SUP along the Lo de Marcos coastline
- visit the Lo de Perla Jungle Garden
- take a polo lesson
- check out more local restaurants and especially the authentic Mexican places
Final thoughts:
- the weather was nice, with highs of 30C and lows in the mid 20’s
- you have to be careful as sometimes your phone picks up a time zone nearby that is one hour earlier
- San Pancho has the right blend of an authentic Mexican vibe and a safe, modern feeling
- a lot of places don’t accept Visa, so you need to have lots of pesos on hand and find bank machines that work
- the number of dogs in San Pancho seemed to outnumber the people (they were all healthy looking and generally roaming free without leashes)
- there are tons of roosters roaming around town
- it’s funny how you start to see the same people around town
- I always use my ‘Mexican’ name Eduardo and Alex from our morning breakfast haunt told me that the nickname for Eduardo is Lalo
