VAGABOND: EMERALD OF NAYARIT

[Music] whoever you are wherever you may be this is a story for you for all men endowed with the spirit of a vagabond [Music] on our vagabond journey we'll take you along the pacific coast highway of mexico now if you were to look at the pictures you're going to see without sound you'd surely think that you're visiting some part of africa hawaii or the interior of south america actually we're going no farther than a few hours by plane or a couple of days by automobile from the united states borderline we'll visit several ancient cities inspect many of the historic sites and then meet some interesting people such as jungle jim he'll be our guide on a river ride to the wild and wonderful jungle though it may look dangerous it really isn't if you do it the right way and during our trip we'll explain how you and your family can take this trip for a full vacation or even a weekend or for the rest of your life if you don't have the vagabond spirit to do this perhaps we can convince you otherwise [Music] hi i'm bill bird speaking on behalf of everybody that has this spirit of vagabond now you know we all search for utopia or shangri-la the doing our vagabond stories we've found many utopias and shangri-las throughout the world now i want to show you a particular one on this story mexico a mosque grand pais in spanish a most wonderful country in particular the west coast of mexico on the gulf of california mazatlan this we call this west coast highway the road to utopia in a sense now mazatlan is a wonderful tropical resort beautiful beaches it's got everything that you'd want to find anywhere in the world at a reasonable price a price that would fit my pocketbook or yours close to mazatlan is sandblah now many people go there to retire for the rest of their lives so whether it's for a day or the rest of your life i think you'll enjoy our story of the emerald of nyret on vagabond landing at the mazatlan airport miles south of the united states border we're ready to begin our vagabond tour of the west coast of mexico by plane on aeronautics de mexico line you can fly to this and other parts of mexico in a matter of hours part of our group arriving now the rest taking the longer but pleasant drive by automobile down the mexican pacific coast highway once off the airplane you can hop a taxi or take an old-fashioned surrey ride into the main part of town well most americans are accustomed to traveling by plane train or automobile a major means of transportation down here is still the old-fashioned horse or buggy [Music] located just a few miles south of the tropic of cancer mazatlan as i told you is called the pearl of the pacific suddenly you realize this is old mexico with a population of over forty thousand people mazatlan is really divided into two sections the main part of the city is where most of the natives live and which quite frankly is by far the poor neighborhood then there's the beach area always bustling with activity and as you can see by these catches of marlin and sailed fish that are in sedtel of oregon and l.w motley of washington are hauling in that this is really a magnificent spot big game fishing [Music] boats are available at all times and at reasonable prices thanks to the guides and the men down here like maximum who operates his own flotilla altogether over five thousand billfish such as the marlin and sailfish are caught off the shores of mazatlan each year marlin averaged around 140 pounds and the sailfish tipped the scales about a hundred pounds each rented boats such as the one we are cruising on now catches two of the big fish every trip right now though instead of big game fishing we're interested in some of the unusual sights such as these pirate caves which anyone can see if he cruises out to one of the many nearby islands [Music] in every way this is what world travelers mean when they speak of tropical parents out here on these islands he who is fascinated by the sea by the great spectacular mysteries of the animal and plant kingdom of the world below he also will be enchanted by this mexican coastline and as we go from above the water to below it you'll soon see why so many sea loving americans and skin divers come down to this picturesque wonderland each coral formation is so different in shape and color that it seems as if they were having some sort of competition between themselves to see which one can garner the most attention and then drifting and crawling by are the different varieties of fish like the sun star or a brittle starfish such as this one so named because if you pick them up and you're not careful their legs break off easily when one tentacle is lost however a new one soon grows out to take its place [Music] here we have some hermit crabs you can readily see where they get their name living in an abandoned shell they remain here until they outgrow this shell then move on look for a bigger one [Music] yes these are just a few of the hundreds of underwater sites which attract so many american skin divers to this location every year for here at mazatlan just a few miles below the tropic of cancer is the nearest and the first real tropical port on the west coast of mexico mazatlan is a strip of land that twists invitingly into the sea with white beaches sparkling along its delicate sides fascinating little islands beckoning along the blue-green waters beach is a focal point for all visitors and it's here that one finds the best hotel resorts such as the hotel playa music line now in an environment that would cost from sixteen dollars to even a hundred dollars a day at some places two persons can stay here for a day for under ten dollars you can go for a swim in the mammoth sized pool or out in the incredibly blue waters of the ocean already legend among water skiers skin divers shell collectors and big game fishing [Music] you know everyone in mexico seems to have a pet of his own it can be a monkey such as this one who is called pancho lopez or a parrot or even a snake isn't unusual a little more uh domesticated and playful though than the snake and not nearly as dangerous is the kotamundi which is often referred to as a south american raccoon now our cameraman was intrigued by these animals almost as much as a member of walt disney staff shooting some of his famous nature pictures [Music] all along the west coast of mexico such as here at the bay of matanchen you find one lovely spot after another in many ways it reminds you a great deal of the south pacific islands or a trip to hawaii even the natives dress and they fish polynesian style and all this right in our own backyard as we've explained just a half a day's flying time from one of the border towns of mexico or a couple of days pleasant driving by car from nogales what more could anyone ask for for a vacation or even a permanent residence than this lovely spot [Music] no this isn't the scene from one of dorothy lemur's jungle pictures although it will undoubtedly look that way as we cruise along this isn't a hollywood set created by an imaginative designer this is the real mccoy a trip up the san cristobal river a trip that you and your entire family can take when you come here and taking it you'll understand why this green green countryside is called the emerald of nayarit [Music] and as long as you have a guide such as our own jungle gym it's perfectly safe all the mosquitoes may give you a bad time for a while but you'll really have just one pleasant memory after another [Music] we're stopping here first at one of the native compounds to grab a bite to eat visit the banana and pineapple plantations and see if we can persuade some of the boys to shiny up a coconut tree bring down some of that famed refreshing coconut milk just a few natives live on this plantation which is situated about a third of the way up the nine mile course of the san cristobal river the trip incidentally can be made for a very nominal fee for both the boat and the guide with the cost varying on how far you wish to go [Music] the lush vegetation in this tropical climate of course makes it a natural environment for growing some of the world's largest and best pineapples [Music] delicious as that pineapple looks though cameraman lee hansen still had his eye on on some coconut milk our boatman graciously volunteers to climb one of the trees climbing one of these overgrown telephone poles is just as difficult as it looks especially when you do it as this native does without the aid of any ropes or spikes or any type of climbing equipment then even when you reach the top there's still a knack to twisting that nut just right so that the coconut just like newton said the apple would do comes thumping to the ground climbing a coconut tree is just like climbing a mountain it's just as difficult getting down as going up especially when a horde of red ants hinder you with the aid of a sharp machete the coconut is properly opened when it's green like this the inside is soft almost like custard makes good eating the cool cool coconut milk is actually more watery than milky and like our famous soft drink in america here in mexico this could very appropriately be called the pause that refreshes well we're halfway up the river so far you've probably seen why many people are spending a few days and even the rest of their lives in this magical land of mexico yet we have even more in store for you in beauty and wonder but in the second half of vagabond we're back now on the banks of the san cristobal river not in the heart of africa or south america but practically right in our own backyard on the western shores of mexico [Music] there can be found here a combination of wilderness and wonderment in the dense thick jungle which surrounds you you see and smell the wildflowers the orchids the lilies and even the wild river lettuce the jungle seems to creep like a slow-moving iceberg up to the brink of the riverbank as mighty as that massive foliage might be it can't dam up the persistent ever moving river [Music] and then like a pure diamond on a necklace of sparkling glass a blue lagoon with crystal clear water comes into view it's more beautiful it's it's alive with the whirling and splattering of a multitude of strange varieties of fish [Applause] egret white in color graceful in flight are curious onlookers the white man isn't a stranger in this land if he feels that way it's his own shortcoming for in this garden of eden there's no demarcation between alien and friend many times it's a savage brutal battleground where the survival of the fittest is the supreme law of the land but by and large especially at peaceful cruising moments like this it isn't a jungle of turbulence but truly a garden of tranquility [Music] sometimes it's even difficult to distinguish plant life from animal life here we see we live the oneness the completeness the undivided unity not only of man himself but of man and nature our guide jungle jim and his faithful parrot companion lead the way it is a strange experience hearing a parrot talk back to you in spanish we passed four fishermen who didn't seem to be having much luck but who also didn't seem to care particularly they're just as happy with a good siesta as a good catch fish [Music] in these waters however even an amateur doesn't have any trouble getting a full quota as we approach the grasslands where nearing the headwaters of this deep and colorful river a group of graceful fast-moving pink flamingos attract our attention [Music] a group of other birds follow some cormorants and then snowy egret by the suddenness which wish they've taken off it's obvious that they've been frightened by something on closer inspection we find not a snake in the grass but a coyote in the underbrush apparently as much as a ham as a coyote can be and upon learning we weren't interested in signing him up as mexico's answer to rin tin tin he soon departed looking for greener pastures [Music] we're now nearing the end of our unexcelled nine mile run at the headwaters of the river is a gigantic spring and also a small compound where we're going to stop shortly before proceeding on to the town of san blas [Music] thing which we noted with interest here was the way in which the natives put together their thatched roofs first they split the palm fronds with a sharp machete this is done so that the leaves of the palms or the gullies so to speak will all run in the same direction thus slatted downward and matted quite thickly they're tied onto the beams of the roof making it cool in the heat and dry during the rainy season it was from this port that father kino in 1683 and fray junipero serra in 1768 sailed farther northward to make their great explorations in california and the great southwest empire of the united states [Applause] still standing but quite useless is the old lighthouse from here the naves first spotted the spanish and portuguese explorers the chinese pirates and in later years the broad expansive sails of the yankee clippers those days are gone forever for the sea going men of san blas today they confined their activities to small craft loaded with coconuts pineapples and bananas of course their fishing vessels can be rented by the tourists reasonably at any time the less than 2 000 permanent inhabitants who live here have little use now for the old warehouse or customs buildings unfortunately they don't realize that their oldest buildings are really their most treasured ones they don't desire to preserve them they're content to let them rot in the tropical sun and the teeming rings on the subject of rain and weather if you intend to to take this trip to san blas or any of the many numerous mexican cities and villages the various points of interest which we're pointing out on our road to utopia story we suggest that you travel here anytime between november and may june to november are equally good months the period from july to october is mainly for those who wish to experience the roaring tropics at its best including a maximum of heavy rain thunderstorms and some exceptionally hot weather [Music] our final stopping place at san blas is the hill which overlooks the entire harbor on top now stands the old ruins of the original church in fort completely abandoned and useless what tales could this canon tell the story of a city originally started here with the passage of time however the water subsided and the people gradually migrated into the fertile valley below they haven't even bothered to preserve the old church which is slowly being literally strangled to death by the strong roots and grasping vines of the strangler fig trees and plants which are growing here a few iguana on the crumbling walls are the only signs of life left here [Music] on a more hopeful note it was about this place to the bells of san blas which the immortal henry wadsworth longfellow dedicated his last poll what say the bells of san blas to the ships that southward pass from the harbor of mazatlan they are a voice of the past of an age that is fading fast the chapel that once looked down on the little seaport town has crumbled into dust and on the open beams below the bells swing to and fro and they're green with mold and rust all bells of santa blas in vain ye call back the past again oh bring us back once more the vanished days of yore when the world with faith was filled the glowing faith of the emerald of nairate still shines for those who come here and really try to see it [Music] well seeing mexico is is a great experience but you almost have to feel mexico the mood the temple and so i'd like to have you meet someone from mexico itself senor alfredo gaiu the executive vice president of veronavis to mexico senior guy you uh as they say in spanish to vagabond welcome to vagabond gracias uh senor gaiu is it hard to travel into mexico no here at all i know it is not hard to get there for any american citizen all what i had to do is to go to a mexican consulate and upon presentation of proof of citizenship they got a permit to go across simple as that certainly now you hear a lot of stories about uh living in mexico reasonably are these true oh yes more and more americans are retired in mexico a mild weather a low cost guarantee a carefree life or limited budget well senior guy you you hear the the things spoken so often why travel to mexico why so many americans are going there well in mexico we have the slogan wonderful mexico has everything and we mean it from snoke volcanoes to tropical resorts beautiful cities with the modern comfort and the 17th century atmosphere music folklore makes it that everybody that goes fun is so different they always come back and they recommend mexico to their friends the contrast is so great that there is such a it's so close at hand too that their people enjoy going there certainly now how about spanish do you have to be able to speak it uh fluently oh no everybody will try to speak to you in english and will always try to teach you some spanish so when you come back home you will have something of our beautiful language i know every time we've traveled into mexico we learn a little more spanish and we hope that we help teach a little more english down there it's a it's a grand pais as i said and that of course means a great country thank you very much senor gaiu ladies and gentlemen there you have an invitation from a man who knows and loves his native country to visit it i should have said muchisimus gracias which in my high school spanish means many thanks and of course after hearing senor gaiu speak and seeing our story perhaps you too will have a better spirit of a vagabond [Music] [Applause] [Music] you