Semana Santa

[moisheh]

This forum is almost ready to be pronounced dead. Where are all the regular posters: Chris, Tequila and more??? I will try to start a discussion: Describe what happens in your area for Easter Week.

Kino has transformed from a fishing village with American and Canadian tourists. The town has been gifted to Mexicans. Since Covid
construction of homes, hotels and rental units are being built everywhere. One can hardly see the beach as the homes are glued one to the other. Prices are out of sight. 99% of this development is by Mexicans for Mexicans. The Puente for Benito Juarez had 7000 visitors They are expecting 10,000 vehicles for the Easter weekend. Here are some of the changes for what used to be Sleepy Hollow:
5 garbage trucks and 100,s of contendors are coming from Hermosillo along with more workers to handle the tons of garbage. Instead of driving the 25km to the dump an intermediate temporary dump will be just outside Kino. 100's of police are coming from HMO. They have a highly technical Drone unit. A dedicated large van that also monitors some of the security cameras. There will be a "Green patrol". These are small vehicles that will issue tickets for environmental problems. The Red Cross will have a large crew. Extra Fire Trucks and Firefighters are also coming from HMO. The main street becomes one way on the weekend. We will be hunkered down in our home and using ear plugs at night.
The following weekend is Junior Week. The high school kids come here to be wild. Fortunately, the police started to crack down on the kids a few years so most go elsewhere. Fun!

[charlestonsouth]

Chris, I noticed on, I believe, your blog that you and Juan were thinking about shopping for another tow vehicle; good time to go shopping (with a wide selection) while on the US side of the border.

[qtla9111]

We are in South Padre Island. Not a soul in sight. We are going home tomorrow. Maybe they will becoming this weekend. Even the locals are wondering what's up.

[navegator]

The madness of Semana Santa has started, long lines at toll roads outgoing from big cities and crouded beaches at sea side resorts, what ever you do be patient and be safe.

navegator

[Talleyho69]

Just as a side note, the price of diesel here in Zihuatanejo this morning was 24.99 pesos per liter. Not inexpensive.

[Wm_Elliot]

Talleyho69 wrote:
The " overarching political haughtiness here" were due to the moderator stating her personal opinions in a private message. I was out of line.

It wasn't that - I'd never condemn anyone for anything said in a private message although you might have understood my displeasure better if your opinions didn't mirror the regular's opinions. It was the remarks from other regulars here. I don't dislike the US or the same public figures the regulars do. I didn't believe everything I was told about Covid, and as it turns out, it looks like some of my beliefs then are being found to be accurate now.
Anyhow, my comment wasn't intended to insult or offend but to explain my reason for leaving. The private message had little to do with it - you had always been cordial and helpful previously.

[qtla9111]

We were going to opt for a van and ditch the travel trailer. I can't do that. We are now looking for a new tow vehicle and want to continue rving in Mexico and the U.S.

We spent Christmas in Oaxaca (Radish Festival). We flew down, spent a week with rving friends, and had a wonderful trip. It was much cheaper than rving with the price of fuel and tolls. Now that we are retired and have all the free time in the world it would be nice to do some long-term exploring and stretch out those expenses over time.

Europe is on the radar as well.

[Talleyho69]

The " overarching political haughtiness here" were due to the moderator stating her personal opinions in a private message. I was out of line.

[Wm_Elliot]

Besides the overarching political haughtiness here my absence is due in large part to Covid and our responses. We were in Morelia in March 2020 when we bugged out and fled for home. We broke down (new SUV) in Tennessee and were stuck waiting for parts for 4 days while the world was closing down. That whole event killed the wanderlust in both of us until now. We didn't travel much at all since then, and even now it's an effort to start back up again. In an hour or so we're returning to Mexico for the first time in over 3 years - but in an SUV this time instead of an RV or a motorcycle as we have in the past. Covid (and our reactions to it) did copious damage to modern society.
Another big turn off was the media's handling of the North Carolina medical tourist incident. It's the same old song... Mexico is just too dangerous - that the media tells us.
Diesel just to get to the border and back is now approaching $1,700.
These are all reasons why I'm so thankful we started RVing in Mexico in 1999 before all this happened.

[qtla9111]

It seems to have been a productive winter for rvers. We had a small group of three rvs here at the house in November. We went with them as far as San Miguel de Allende. In SMA, Weber's was full as well as Hotel San Ramon. We were there this last week also and it was still going strong. That said, we haven't seen many rvs on the highway.

As part of Harvest Host and Boondockers Welcome, we hosted several rvers who were heading south in December all with different destinations.

We won't be here in Monterrey for Semana Santa as we are headed to Kansas City (tomorrow) and then the coast of Texas on the way back. Better to get out of town while everyone comes to town. Our area of Santiago will be packed for those two weeks.

The border crossings of Nuevo Laredo and Reynosa will be a two to three-hour wait to cross starting Friday the 31st of March. Laredo continues to be a problem area so be sure to take advantage of the state police caravans that run every half hour (in both directions) between the toll highway and the immigration office at the bridge. If you can, use the Reynosa/McAllen/Donna/Anzalduas crossings. Much safer than any of the Laredo crossings.

[rocmoc]

No changes around our home base in AZ during Easter. Yes I know it's not MX but just a way of checking in.

rocmoc n the Great SouthWest USA

[Talleyho69]

Semana Santa in Zihuatanejo is a very busy time. The highlands seem to empty into the area. It starts on the Wednesday before Easter, that would be the 5th of April. The next day, the beaches will be absolutely packed with people and it will remain that way through Easter, the 9th. Almost everyone drives back home late Easter or the next day. We enjoy taking our chairs and umbrella to the beach to watch. It's fun!

Planning in advance to make the most of the time, we plan on not going into town, out for a meal or to the stores during this time. No sense setting ourselves up for frustration. Living in a tourist town has it's definite positives, and it's pretty easy to avoid the few negatives with a little planning.

Officials have announced that the hotels are already at 99% reserved occupancy and have been for a couple of weeks.

We also get the "bus people" those that buy a bus ride, hotel and a meal or two. These range in length from a full day with no hotel to two nights. It got so bad that last year in May they changed a lot of rules for the buses, and now they are not allowed to drive to Playa la Ropa, they must stop at the bus unloading area, which holds probably 100 buses, then move over to a larger area inland, and when that is full they fill the center of the bus station. People are welcome to go to any beach they want, but they have to get there, and the people on buses are on a budget, so generally walk to the two closest beaches, Madera and Playa Principal.

It's been a couple of years since we drove out of town during this time, but when we did, the toll booths coming down the mountain had lines over a mile long. The lines for the restrooms were absurd too. Uphill? No one at all!

Five years ago Easter we made our trek back to California to sell off everything prior to being here permanently. We had planned on hitting the border on Easter, but you know how RV's are. Hit a piece of metal, it kicked up, did damage. Better to fix it here than in California. Stopped in Tepic, nice place to park and a lovely city with great facilities. Not during Semana Santa!!! After not even being able to buy bolillos in the market, we were told that there was no one to make them-everyone had gone to the beach. It was true, there were very few employees, and little food to be had. Enlightening!

So, if you are in Mexico, make your plans so you can have a great Semana Santa!