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A day in San Sebastian del Oeste |
By Jesús de Avila – June 2007.
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Since the hot season is beginning in Vallarta, the idea of an excursion to San Sebastian del Oeste was refreshing to my ears and immediately I said: "yes, let’s go". On Sunday morning at six thirty I was already on my way, following the highway in order to arrive at our destination. The plan was to arrive, to have breakfast and to walk cross town taking as many pictures as possible.
San Sebastian del Oeste is a town belonging to the state of Jalisco and it is located in the Western Sierra Madre mountain range at an altitude of 1480 meters above sea level. Starting in 1542 it became a very important colony of New Spain. In addition for many years the town has been one of the principal mining centers of the country.
By 1880 the population of the town and its surrounding areas had grown in number and importance, reaching a figure of up to 20000 inhabitants approximately for the whole municipality. In those days the town lived in opulence and  glamour, it had a bank, a school for boys and a separate school for girls, first class medical services and a telegraph, among other services that did not even exist in some cities yet. In fact the people of the town comment among each other that some of the surrounding mining haciendas had electrical light even before Mexico City. The world’s best and finest things could be found in San Sebastian, to such a degree that the most important New York insurance company of those days opened a permanent branch in this town.
At present the town has approximately four hundred inhabitants, its streets are adorned with a great variety of flowers, there are huge homes of an old-fashioned architecture with tiled roofs, a central garden with a gazebo and a picturesque church downtown. San Sebastian del Oeste receives its visitors with an air of its ancestral elegance and tradition that seems to have stayed around throughout the years and continues to float in the air. Many say that to visit this town is like undertaking a brief trip to the past, and in many aspects this is true.
After having breakfast at the “doña Carmelita” restaurant, one of the most popular ones, located at the entrance of the town right next door to a small grocery store whose entrance is adorned with colorful brooms and mops, we start to  walk towards the center of town. Immediately the first thing that catches your eye is the white color lightened up by the sun, that predominates the facade of all the houses, some of which still preserve their original clay walls. The main street always offers the option of beautiful views of the town and the mountains, as well as the option of discovering and walking along narrow alleys leading to small homes hidden between trees, bougainvilleas and sunflowers. Photography lovers will feel as if they had arrived in paradise!
The main square is located downtown adorned by gardens with daisies, roses and sunflowers, surrounded by the city hall, the small tourist office, access portals, a pharmacy, a hardware store and shops, small hotels or inns, a basketball field; a large grocery store, an ice-cream parlor, other restaurants, the butchers shop and a small bar. The place is ideal to rest underneath the shade of a little tree and simply observe. Very soon a small amount of activity will begin, the most relevant of which is a boy’s trip on horseback sitting on a tame horse which is led by its owner in order to circle around the main square.
We continued our tour now walking downhill towards the river and very soon we came across even older houses where time has left its mark on doors and windows. Now we were not on a cobblestone street anymore, but there was a lot of shade offered by huge old trees, as well as other fruit trees among which we discovered some peach  trees. While exploring these roads less traveled by people the aromas and sounds of nature form a mixture intoxicating those who dare to travel there. I took pictures when I was not only able to identify the smell of wood preserved in a small sawmill, but at the same time perceived the exquisite aroma of a pot of cinnamon coffee which was being prepared in one of the houses. At this precise moment of mixture of aromas, I was able to clearly imagine how the smoke of the hot coffee rose from the pot where it was heated on a small oven.
 The place is also ideal to go hiking. Even the smallest detail is transformed into an event worthy of being photographed and remembered. In addition, those who love nature and those who love to watch birds will be exceedingly thrilled especially if you visit the town early in the morning. The prevailing flora of the area around the town is basically made up of pine, live oak, oak, parota, ash, masahuite and pochote. Among other species its fauna is made up of deer, rabbit, wild boar, coyote, parakeet, opossums, armadillo, quail, squirrel, gopher, parrot, makaw and hawk.
Returning downtown we had to visit the church displaying unmistakable details of the Spanish missionary influence mixed with indigenous characteristics, which created an interesting aspect for exploration. There you may also visit a small museum with religious relics that opens daily and charges a ten pesos entrance fee per person.
For those interested in learning a bit more about the history of the town, the best thing is to visit another small local museum situated a block away from the church and located in a house of more than 250 years. There the owner of the house and host “doña Conchita” proudly is in charge of showing a collection of objects, clothes, trunks, photos, books and documents, that she complements with her anecdotes of days gone-by thus transporting the visitor back in time. At the same place one of the daughters of doña Conchita prepares regional fruit candies and cookies that are worth while to sample and enjoy. Another mandatory place to visit is the silver workshop "El Porvenir" of Jesus Villa Castellanos, who in addition of being an excellent jewelry craftsman, loves history and has compiled some town legends that he willingly and eagerly shares with those interested in knowing more intimate details about San Sebastian while working or showing and selling his pieces of work.
Although it seems that in this town, time stands still, nevertheless the hours inevitably also go by. In order to finish the excursion an excellent place we visited was the mining “hacienda Jalisco" now turned into a museum which  has a few rooms for rent operating as a small hotel. The place is simply charming with an outstanding entrance portal. Other main characteristics include: maintaining its original hacienda core with some mining era vestiges, as well as the fact that even nowadays there is no electricity. After sunset everything is illuminated by candles or oil lamps. During several occasions the movie director John Huston stayed here and it is definitively a very tempting place to come back to in order to enjoy an exquisite and romantic adventure.
Having been there some six hours the excursion to San Sebastian del Oeste turned out to be refreshing, jovial, romantic and enriching. The town definitively captivates anyone and as in my case, sooner or later everyone returns to receive more from the place and its people.
The time it took to drive from Puerto Vallarta to San Sebastian was approximately one hour and a half following the highway towards Mascota, 15 minutes of which are made up of seven kilometers of dirt track through mountainous terrain. Shortly before arriving at the town there is an airstrip receiving excursionists who prefer to get there by air .
As Jesus Villa Castellanos mentions: "there is a lot to see and to do in San Sebastian del Oeste and its surroundings, such as visiting the mines of kings, getting to know la bufa (a vantage point in the mountains), hiking along the footpaths that connect to other mining haciendas, bird watching, taking pictures of the flora, chatting with people, seeing the town at night and much more, so much that one week is scarcely enough to enjoy it all."
Sites to Visit:
• Templo de San Sebastián.
• Hotel El Pabellón.
• Hacienda Jalisco.
• Sierra de la Bufa.
• Arroyo Los Reyes.
• Casa González Cortázar, data de 1750.
• Colegio del Sagrado Corazón.
• El Garitón.
• Puente El Progreso.
• Hotel El Mesón, data de 1729.
• Hotel Posada del Sol.
• Hacienda La Galera.
• La Taberna.
• Finca La Quinta.
• Mina La Terronera.
• Panteón Antiguo.
• Portal Morelos.
• Puente Curvo.
• Ruinas La Máquina.
• Hacienda San José .
I have decided that instead of staying a whole week, to return during different occasions for another day in order to discover more attractions and share them with you.
Thank you God for this trip and for the life of San Sebastian del Oeste!
Important Note:
▪ The entrance to the local museum of doña Conchita is $10.00 Pesos per person.
▪ The entrance to the Hacienda Jalisco is $20.00 Pesos per person.
Jesús de Avila
Email: editor@pvmirror.com
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