I Want To Be In Baja

I’m sorry I haven’t written in a long time.  Due the media publishing so much negative information, I felt like things had just gotten bogged down and decided to hold off.  This has not stopped my traveling to EL Dorado and just to let people know, although business has felt the impact by the economy, people are still taking one day at a time and it is still a wonderful place to be.  I went down in June, July, and August, and although the days are warm, it does cool off in the evening and  one can be entertained just by going out at night to enjoy the stars in the  sky.

Building continues at El Dorado ranch and I will come back from time to time to update progress at El Dorado Ranch.  If anyone ever has any questions, you can always e-mail me at nancy@ICleanUglyCredit.com (my US job) and I will be happy to assist you.

I was listening to some of the chat on the El Dorado Ranch Yahoo Group this week and one of the subjects that came up was the rules governing what you could or could not bring into Mexico with you. There seemed to be some confusion over the Mexican customs rules and a couple of people had their goods confiscated at the border because they weren’t aware of the regulations. One thing that came out of the conversation, though, was a very useful website resource that will answer all of your questions, which I thought I would share with you so you don’t have the same problems. So if you want to know what you have to do when crossing the border, what you can bring in duty free, what items you need to declare, what goods are prohibited, the rules on temporary vehicle importation, and so on this will be a valuable resource for you - knowledge is power, as they say!

Click Here - Mexican Border Crossings - Passengers Arriving By Land

And, happy traveling!

San Felipe, Baja - One of the Baja resorts to have suffered a 75% drop in tourism revenue this year.

If anyone still has concerns over traveling to Mexico in general, or Baja in particular, I would direct you to read a new report published this week called  Baja California, Mexico: Impact of U.S. Media, an Analysis by Scott Hanning and Jeffrey Werner, Emerson Strategic Communication Group. Baja, which relies heavily on tourism dollars from U.S. visitors, has suffered a decline of 75% in their revenue this year - a subject we have visited many times. The analysis makes clear that fear of drug cartel violence, and later of  the H1N1 flu virus, has kept huge numbers of visitors away.  What is also made clear is that these fears were wholly unjustified and unnecessarily overblown by the U.S. media.

“One critical fact remains clear, however: there is no evidence or history of tourists being harmed by cartel-related violence. Further, the threat of so-called “spillover” violence into the border states that spawned a great deal of coverage in the pre-April period has failed to materialize.  Nor has Mexico become the failed state so vigorously predicted earlier in the year.  None of these facts are actively reported to the American public.”

If the reports of drug cartel violence are still a concern for you, please read this report. I would also venture to suggest that you might like to think about what other stories in the press might be exaggerated - and why.  The fear of North Korean missiles reaching Hawaii is the latest one that springs to mind. There are factions within this country that have a vested interest in keeping people  fearful - don’t buy into their lies. It is you who ends up being the loser if you do.

I have been asked about camping in the San Felipe area. Due to the construction of developments such as El Dorado Ranch and others, camp grounds and RV parks have been disappearing over the years. However, right in San Felipe, there is a campground
just south of the Malecon, next to Bandidos bar and restaurant. Called Campo San Felipe, it doesn’t have an office to pull up to, and I was not able to find a phone number or web site. There is a woman who is available around the grounds and all one has to do is pay her $30/night for a place right on the beach, or $25 just off the beach and they can stay as long as they like. There is a bathroom and shower on the premises and it appears to be clean.

Most of the spots have a shaded picnic table and there are trash cans around for waste. I didn’t get a count of the number of sites available but the day we checked it out (weekday) there were plenty of sites available and this was in April when the temperature is ideal.
The Malecon is only a block away and can be accessed by beach. Once people are settled in the campground, there is no need for a car to get around town. San Felipe has a wonderful Malecon that runs several blocks along the beach and there are many restaurants and shopping within easy walking distance.
For those looking to rent a house or condo, there are many available at El Dorado Ranch which is just 7 miles north of town. People who rent here have access to the pool, tennis courts, private beach and the golf course.

In spite of the media coverage, those of us who travel back and forth to the area realize that Mexico, and particularly the area around San Felipe area, continues to be a gentle and quiet area with no shortage of outdoor things to do.

Now that the (non) flu crisis seems to be over in Mexico - the U.S. government lifted its travel warning on 15th May - get ready to take advantage of some bargain Mexico vacation deals!  According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle virtually none of the popular Mexican tourist destinations like “Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit, Los Cabos, Mazatlán and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo” had a single confirmed case of the H1N1 flu virus. Nevertheless, the effect on Mexico’s tourism industry has been devastating. As such, President Felipe Calderon has a big $1.3 billion stimulus plan to help Mexico’s tourist industry to get back on its feet.  This is likely to mean that there could be no better time to visit Mexico than now - there are likely to be plenty of bargains to be had, both in terms of accommodation and flights.

If have been reading our blog and you like what you see and hear about El Dorado Ranch and San Felipe, there may be no better time than now to visit the area.  There are many private houses for rent at El Dorado Ranch as well as hotels in nearby San Felipe.  Nancy always has weekend trips to view the El Dorado Ranch project  and is happy to be contacted for details - but don’t think about it for too long, places tend to fill up quickly!

Just when you thought that things couldn’t get any worse for business owners in San Felipe along comes Swine Flu!  San Felipe, lying on the Sea of Cortez about 124 miles south of the border town of Mexicali, relies heavily on tourists coming to the town and spending their dollars.  San Felipe’s businesses are still suffering the economic effects of of the drop-off in visitors due to the reports of drug violence between the cartels and the Mexican army, particularly over the aborted Spring Break period.

I have been monitoring the chatter on the El Dorado Ranch Yahoo community, many who know the local doctors or medical staff, and there are no reports of Swine Flu cases in San Felipe - at least not so far.  However, it is almost besides the point for San Felipe now that the U.S. government have put out a travel warning urging people not to travel to Mexico for the next three months unless absolutely necessary.  For those who have property at, or are planning to visit El Dorado Ranch I am sure that this won’t prevent you from going. However, the travel warning is likely to all but kill off any remaining tourism to San Felipe until the Swine Flu epidemic is over.  It is a real shame for those businesses hoping to see some signs of recovery from both the U.S. economic downturn and the bad press about the drug violence. Let us hope this particular Swine Flu outbreak can be quickly contained.

The annual Hobie Cat Regatta at San Felipe, Baja seems to have been enjoyed by all who attended last weekend’s event, despite the ongoing scare-mongering by the U.S. mainstream press over the ongoing drug violence along the Mexican - U.S. border. Although I have heard reports of some Regatta-goers being put off from traveling to San Felipe for this year’s event, every comment I have seen says that a great time was had by all and that no-one had any problem, either at the event or in their journeys to or from San Felipe.

By all accounts the citizens of San Felipe were eager to make the Regatta-goers feel welcome and did everything they could to help with the event. Many local business owners are upset that the bad publicity has made a considerable impact on visitor numbers, especially in respect of students visiting for Spring Break. Don’t let the press put you off going to the Blues Festival there this weekend!

After all the nonsense that has been written lately about the dangers of visiting Mexico - “a potentially failed state”, and all the other nonsense that has appeared in the mainstream press lately, it is nice to see a more measured story for a change!  Thank you ABC News’ Maria Finn for her story entitled  Safe Travels in Sensational Mexico - Remember: ‘It’s Not a Theme Park, It’s a Sovereign Country With Laws.’  And thank you to the El Dorado Ranch Yahoo Group member who bought this story to my attention.