Welcome to Uncharted Words
As an aspiring author, Uncharted Words features my novel-in-progress, Winds of San Samora, along with flash fiction, author updates, and news stories about turtle conservation efforts in San Pancho, MX, and beyond. My writing is vibrant, comedic, and beachy, reflecting the tropical setting, while also addressing environmental threats and social concerns woven into the lives of my characters.
Inspiration
How a Small Mexican Beach Town Inspired My Novel
Discovering San Pancho
Just before COVID, I spent five weeks in a small beach town about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta. It’s called San Francisco on the map, but everyone knows it as San Pancho. Tucked just ten minutes north of the bustling surf town of Sayulita, San Pancho felt quieter, safer, and more human in scale. It immediately struck a chord.
Although I was newly married, I made the trip alone. I wanted to get a feel for what it might be like to spend winters in Mexico, beyond the walls of a resort.
“I needed more than a vacation. I needed to see if this place could feel like home.”
A Chance Encounter with Elvia
The year before, I had tried to book an Airbnb in San Pancho, but most listings didn’t share their address until after booking. Frustrated, I nearly gave up, but then I met Elvia, a vibrant woman standing outside a real estate office on the town’s main street, Tercer Mundo. She spoke fluent English and asked what I was looking for. “I have just the place,” she said, and pointed me toward a top-floor apartment across from the soccer field. I couldn’t see the inside, but she showed me photos. The location checked out. I took a leap and booked the apartment for the following year.
That space would later inspire the apartment my character Kimberly rents in the novel.
Settling In
When I returned for my five-week stay, I had arranged to teach Tai Chi twice a week at Entre Amigos, the town’s community center. It gave me a sense of purpose and a structure to my weeks. From my balcony, I saw red-tiled rooftops, rounded cupolas, and the soccer field below. San Pancho has a loosely enforced building ordinance that limits height to three stories, so the skyline felt open and grounded.
I was on the main road in and out of town. It was noisy with dogs barking, children laughing, vendors shouting, and scooters buzzing past. All this I try to depict in the novel. I grew to love it.
Each day, I went to the beach. That’s where I met Arnie, who rented lounge chairs and
umbrellas. He watched over me. One day, I left for an errand and forgot my wallet and phone. When I returned, he handed them to me safely with a firm but kind warning:
“Don’t ever do that again.”
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Fiction Born from Real Life
Much of the novel I eventually wrote is fiction, but it’s deeply rooted in this experience. I did discover a weaving studio, though I only spent about an hour there. The scenes in the book are imagined, but the inspiration is real.
Two events from that trip stuck with me.
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The Missing Woman
The first was the mysterious disappearance of Wendy Sanchez, a young woman who had been last seen driving to Guadalajara. Her face was posted all over town. Many feared she had been kidnapped. The sense of fear and community solidarity shaped the novel’s tension and tone.
The Turtle Hatchery Battle
The second involved a poured concrete foundation near the beach plaza with a huge STOP WORK sign posted on it. Elvia told me the construction had been halted. It was set to become an eight-story condo, on a federally protected turtle hatchery.
Elvia and a man named Eric were on the hatchery board. They helped expose falsified
environmental impact statements that claimed there were no turtles using the beach. They organized protests, confronted local officials, and rallied the community.
Their passion moved me. It became the emotional core of my novel.
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A New Home and a New Chapter
By the end of my fourth week, I felt at home in San Pancho. My husband joined me in week five, and we decided to buy a small rental property. It is one we still enjoy today.
Because of COVID, we couldn’t return for a while. But when we did, I saw that the contested condo building had been completed. Its units had stunning views, but most locals wouldn’t touch them. There was a stigma.
I lost touch with Elvia for a while but later learned that the developer had sued her and Eric. Their bank accounts were frozen, a punitive tactic meant to silence them. Yet they never gave up.
“In real life, Elvia wasn’t kidnapped, thank goodness. That section in the book is all fiction, But she suffered for her ideals and is a hero in my mind.”
Where Things Stand Now
As of this writing, the Mexican government has ruled the condo project illegal. Elvia’s and Eric's bank account is still frozen. It is unlikely the condos will be torn down, as they have since been sold to people unaware of the controversial history.
I was lucky enough to reconnect with her recently. She was full of energy, already focused on her next project: a campaign to clean up illegal garbage dumps throughout the region.
It sounded like a whole new story waiting to be told.
Want to Read More?
The novel inspired by this experience is called Winds of San Samora. While the town and characters are fictional, the story's heart was born in San Pancho.