It’s August. Prime holiday time. And we have been a bit
quiet on our daily news posts this last week. To make up for it we thought we
would give you a quick round up of what has been happening in Cabo over the past
week. We’ve included news on beaches, hotels, real estate, the Cabo Arc, nature
stuff, nat geo filming, museums, fishing competitions and the weather. It’s a
bit longer than our usual posts – but here goes…
Beaches - Everybody loves Cabo’s beaches. And right now
they are looking pretty spectacular. Last week
3 were re-awarded blue flag status (the
international symbol of excellence in quality, cleanliness, environmental
management, safety and services) –
Palmilla, Santa Maria and Chileno beaches. Coromuel
beach in La Paz also got a blue flag in July – making Baja California Sur the
state with the second highest number of blue flags. And local clean up programs
have been working tirelessly across the beaches of La Paz, Loreto and Cabo to
keep up the high standards.
Hotels - Have been very busy too. The summer months are usually referred to as low season - but the
Hotel Associations of La Paz, Cabo and Loreto have all said that occupancy
rates (La Paz 68%, Cabo 70% and Loreto 80%) and last minute bookings have been
better than ever before.
Los Cabos International Airport - The airport has been busy
with loads of new flights and record numbers of passengers. And serious
expansion and improvement programs have just begun this week. Namely, extending
of the business aviation platform to double executive capacity, and the expansion
of Terminal 2. Works will continue until 2019.
Most expensive Real Estate - We all know that Cabo has some of the
finest, luxury real estate on offer. But did you know that Cabo occupies first
place in the sales of the most expensive
houses in Mexico. Yes, first place. And prices can go as high as
$25million. Sales are expected to grow by 20% this year. And this boom is being
classified as ultra luxury, with new profiles of buyers who want more exclusivity
and contact with nature.
Sand at Los Cabos Arc – Apparently a cluster of sand
around Cabo’s famous Arc is causing a sensation with tourists desperate to walk
on the “beach” through the arch. Except it’s not a beach. And it’s not safe to
walk there. The temporary formation of sand is a naturally occurring phenomenon
that is related to climate changes. It happens once every 4 years when 3 ocean
currents converge - the Gulf of
California, the California and the Pan American. The sand is in place for only
2-3 weeks. For safety and security reasons the authorities are constantly
monitoring the area to prevent accidents. Landing is prohibited. So don’t even
think about it…
Nat Geo Wild TV Channel - The Bay of La Paz is to feature
in “Tous les Matins du Monde" a television series issued by Nat Geo Wild.
The series focuses on different eco systems and the Bay of La Paz enabled
filming of the world largest fish – the whale shark, plus grey whales, sea
lions, and dolphins as well as the surrounding desert eco system. The natural
wealth of the region made it an ideal location for the series. Loreto, Comondu
and Mulege will also be featured. Check it out on the Nat Geo channel - "Tous les Matins du Monde" airs
every Monday from July 18, at 7:00 pm Mexico City time. Nat Geo Wild signal can
tune into channels 406 and 955 (HD) Dish and 1254 (HD) on Sky.
Whale Sharks – And talking of the whale sharks, despite 16 years of
conservation efforts they are now officially an endangered species. Continued illegal
fishing, ensnared as by catch, and pollution have all played a role. And despite
increased numbers in the Bay of La Paz in the last couple of years (favorable effects
of la nina) the species could well be heading towards extinction warns xxxx. The
Whale Shark Project of Mexico is making tremendous efforts to reverse this
trend and raise awareness. But they reported that an alarming 56% of whale sharks that entered the Bay of La Paz last season were damaged by tourist boats.
With the new season having just started in July, the Whale Shark Project have
been working with Profeca, Semarnat and tourist agencies to put new safety procedures in place. A special protected zone for these creatures is also be to created in El Mogote, in the Bay of La Paz. Please play
your part and help save the world’s biggest fish.
Whale Museum – La
Paz’s Whale Museum has been so packed it has had to extend its opening hours to
8pm on Thurs, Fri and Sat nights. Receiving as many as 200 visitors per day, the
recently reopened museum has been a big hit with both locals and tourists.
As for museums, Cabo is in line for two new
ones. A Sea Turtle Museum, to be located on the site of the Natural History Museum.
And an Anthropology Museum, which has already attracted investment of 27
million pesos.
Bisbee’s 2016 East Cape Tournament – Bisbees famous East
Cape Tournament took place last week. 65 teams took part in the 3 day
tournament where teams fight to catch the largest tuna, dorado or marlin. Congratulations
go to Rick Twamley and team Bull Rider who won with an immense 427lb blue
Marlin.
Weather – lots has been happening weather wise in Cabo.
August began with two small earthquakes – one 3.6 degrees south of Cabo and
another just an hour later east of Santa Rosalia. No damage reported or warnings
issued. Much of the week was sunny with
blue sky and temperatures in the high 30’s C. And of course in the last couple
of days, tropical storm Javier has been forming and is expected to hit Cabo
tonight, around 7pm. Expect serious rain and strong winds. We promise to provide regular updates.
Well, that’s a quick round up of last week’s news in
Cabo. This week we will be back to our regular short, sharp news posts - much easier to digest, we know.