27th February
On a hill at the edge of town we explored the reconstructed Contaduria, the Spanish fort and accounting office that once defended the town from pirates and recorded the riches collected by the colony. The town looked green and lush from the fort and miles of coconut-fringed beach stretched in both directions. San Blas had been hit hard by a hurricane in 2002 and, though much of the damage has been repaired, the modest visitors' facilities at the fort looked like they'd never quite recovered. Just down the hill from the fort was the ruins of the Church of our Lady of the Rosary, dedicated to the safe passage of those ships of old, and the inspiration for Longfellow's final poem,'The Bells of San Blas' which I think well captures the melancholy feel of the place -https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50628/the-bells-of-san-blas
We had a meal at Francisco's restaurant and by now the jejenes had started biting. The restaurant staff lit a small coconut-husk fire next to our table, which helps deter them. So that explained the patches of smoke that we spotted billowing up from the trees all around Matanchen Bay. Despite slathering on repellent, including the 'big guns', DEET - we were bitten like crazy. For their tiny size jejenes have an outsize effect, and are said to be one of the reasons for the decline San Blas over the centuries. It probably also explained why there were only a couple of other cruising boats in this lovely anchorage the three days we were there! 
Still scratching, we weighed anchor and headed for Chacala, 23 miles down the coast.