An airplane ride to San Sebastian

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ozzy
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An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by ozzy » Tue May 10, 2005 2:59 am

If anyone is interested check this out, A short scenic flight on our Cessna airplane charter will take you far from Puerto Vallarta's resorts and tourist attractions to the old silver mining town of San Sebastian. Tucked away in a deep mountain valley this beautiful village is one of the oldest settlements in Mexico - dating back to 1605. We did this last week and it was a really cool trip. The tour guide was very, very good. It was something my wife and I have never done and we were very glad we did it. The tour starts from the time you get on the plane and continues untill you land back in PVR. This is something that won't be around much longer because of a new road that they have built. Soon this town will be a memory of what it once was.

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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by randyintucson » Tue May 10, 2005 4:54 am

Sounds like a trip worth taking. But what do you think is going to happen with the new road? How will it change things?

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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by ozzy » Tue May 10, 2005 1:32 pm

The new road will allow more tourist. Before the road was put in it would take 2 to 3 days to get to PVR. The new road passes so close that it now takes just hours for the trip. People have already begun to by property in the area for hotels, etc. This town has not changed for quite sometime and I believe electricity only arrived there in the 80's. What this town now offers is a look back in time when time catches up that will be gone.

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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by tojol57 » Tue May 10, 2005 1:41 pm

totally agree with you Ozzy... this is a diamond in the ruff... and it will totally change with the new road... the flight up there really makes the trip so much more....

stew

Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by stew » Tue May 10, 2005 4:24 pm

Interesting how we precive change. I agree with Ozzie also from a selfish outlook as I too love to visit old more simple times & places. I wonder though about those that live there. Do they not have a right to modern things such as power, clean water etc? I remember people bemoaning the fact that Yelapa was getting telephone service back in the early 90's. It's a age old conflict. Heck I remember Mismaloya before the hotels & do not even get me started about Punta de Minta, but you know lots of folkes love it the way it is now & I must accept it or go nuts.

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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by tojol57 » Tue May 10, 2005 4:55 pm

Oh i agree with you as well stew... but it was such a wonder some what "unspoiled" area... we just love the coffee we bought there, and the tortillas some people brought back to the resorts... they were wonderful... the square, the church, the hostel... it was just fantastic... and the history that the Dona Conchita shared with us... remarkable... man that was one excellent trip... it was well worth the trip up and back... and maybe we will go back again with the new road too.... yes they deserve to join the rest of the world but it is nice to have something historically preserved too....

see you in the funny papers

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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by ozzy » Tue May 10, 2005 5:49 pm

I know, I know, but they do have power and modern items and they seem quite content to live their lives there as they have. The gentleman who runs the coffee plant has all the modern tools to do so and he still uses some of the old ways as well. I didn't mean that they shouldn't have to opportunity to improve their life but it's the people that take advantage of them that I have a problem with. An example is a certain politician that has bought a very large part of the country side in preperation for the highway. He is also responsible for the paving of the runway and I'm sure in part, the road as well. These are the people that will benefit most with modernization not the native people. And I also agree, don't get me started about Punta de Minta that's a whole other story. My wife andI were just talking while we were there soon everything around the Banderas Bay will be hotels, houses, you name it. I am in constant conflict with myself, after traveling many years to Mexico and enjoying the people and the country I'm sure I've been a part of what is happening today. I create the demand and they simply fill it. Not a pretty thought but that's how it feels to me sometime. Don't mean to get on a soap box that's just from the, for what it's worth department...

Ozzy & Susan
Lake Conroe, TX

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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by stew » Tue May 10, 2005 6:23 pm

I think we are in complete agreement. I sometimes feel like a old time mountain man who keeps moving further & further into the wilderness to escape civilization. I still love PV, but spend less time there then I do in Zihuatanejo as it was like PV of the 70's when I first went there. it's now more like PV of the mid 80's & I am now looking at Costa Chica south of Acapulco that is like PV of probaly the 40's. I am just as mixed up as the next guy, loving the simple old life, but wanting those modern conveniences also.

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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by ozzy » Tue May 10, 2005 7:33 pm

We are thinking the same, we are also looking at, please excuse my masacar of these places but, Hultalco and Veracruze. We were in Veracruze 15 years ago and we still see there are no resorts or regular flights from here. We have also read about Hultalco and it seams a little harder to get to from here as well. We don't know where we'll end up but we are the scouts for the other 3 couples tha will be going later this year. It's a tough job but someone has to do it. My wife is trying to get me to Puebla, she buys alot of plates, and I mean alot, and thats where they come from. Who knows. If you run on any good locations let us know where always looking.

Ozzy & Susan
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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by tojol57 » Tue May 10, 2005 11:26 pm

isn't it just crazy on everybody's perceptions of life, the quality of life, or what is a good thing to a bad thing.... there are just days i would love to get me a hunk of beach area... set up a small palapa bar, with a grill and just kick back and feed the gringos... LOL or get me a nice vehicle and take the tourists out and about and show them a good time.... without sticking it to them.... i thougth the hostel in San Sebastian would be a great place to go for a weekend and have nothing to do but read, enjoy the fresh air etc... if my spanish was just a little bit better, not a problem would do it in a moment.... speaking of the people of san sabastian and that area... couple of years back we met a young man on the beach... just caught a small tuna... he was cleaing it and getting ready to grill it.... he needed some tortillas so i ran back to the resort (GCP) and got some from the grill area... and sprinted back... this young man was working at the Holiday Inn as a cook there, it was his day off, and he asked us to dine with him... he works down in PV for like two three weeks straight then gets a couple of days off back to back where he can go back up in the mountains to see his family and then comes back... he was telling us the stories like the Dona Conchita were telling us ... how the spanairds came to the area.... it was all quite fascinating... he had heard the stories from his parents, grand parents, and great grand parents, and he was now telling us the stories, and his family the stories... so they will live on... it was just so cool that day.....

well i have rambled on enough... talk to you all soon.....

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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by ellen » Thu May 12, 2005 12:54 am

Ozzy (May 10, 2005 03:33 p.m.):
We are thinking the same, we are also looking at, please excuse my masacar of these places but, Hultalco and Veracruze. We were in Veracruze 15 years ago and we still see there are no resorts or regular flights from here. We have also read about Hultalco and it seams a little harder to get to from here as well. We don't know where we'll end up but we are the scouts for the other 3 couples tha will be going later this year. It's a tough job but someone has to do it. My wife is trying to get me to Puebla, she buys alot of plates, and I mean alot, and thats where they come from. Who knows. If you run on any good locations let us know where always looking.

Ozzy & Susan
Lake Conroe, TX
Hi Ozzy:
I just thought I would add my 2 cents worth here. I used to live in the state of Veracruz and have also visited Puebla many times. Veracruz is beautiful and the lifestyle is amazing. If it weren't for the winter weather being much colder and the lack of travel ease to get there, we would have bought our retirement home there instead of P.V. For awhile in the mid-90's the charters were offering direct flights to Veracruz but it never seemed to catch on. It has a very nice airport, despite what it looked like in "Romancing the Stone". Puebla is also beautiful with amazing churches and restaurants and a great zocalo but the traffic is crazy.
Elena

ozzy

Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by ozzy » Thu May 12, 2005 11:48 pm

I know what you mean believe it or not our first travel to Mexico was Veracruz!! They had started a charter service from Houston to Veracruz and we went. We upgraded to the highest possible hotel and we were sure glad. The things we saw when dropping people off at their hotels on the way to ours was interesting. Compared to the resorts of nowadays this is an alternative. I'm not saying anything bad about resorts but this type of place is Mexico in the rough. When we were there is was Easter. I remember the scene with someone carrying the Cross through the street just as Jesus had. It was really something. We can get there from here but it costs more than other places and the flights are few and far between. I was too stupid to recognize the beauty at the time but I loved the people. I also remember that everything was $5. No matter what it seemed that everything you asked about was the same price. I also remember bringing travelers checks and no one knew what they were. We would go to the bank to get cash and that was it. You know the funny thing about a memory? It's either alot better then it was or a whole lot worse than it actually was....


Ozzy & Susan
Lake Conroe, TX

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Re:An airplane ride to San Sebastian

Post by ellen » Fri May 13, 2005 1:47 am

Memories are funny things, it's true. All of my memories of living in Mexico are good, yet I know that there were problems. Our sojourn there was at the same time the best thing that ever happened and the worst. The best because it opened up a new world and the the worst because I haven't really been happy in the old one ever since. When we were there Travelers cheques were accepted but Canadian money and Canadian cheques were unknown and extremely hard to cash, so visiting friends had problems. Living there we were paid in pesos so we didn't have too much of a problem. Anyway, I guess this is pretty much off the main topic of the plane ride. It's sounds like a great trip and will go on our list of things to do when we're there next winter in our little Mexican casa. Thanks for giving us the information.

Elena

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