U.S. Authorities Recognize Surge in Visitors to Puerto Peñasco

Over the past month, which was filled with numerous recreational and cultural events, Puerto Peñasco registered a 70% increase in tourism.

From October 10^th - 16^th alone, the beachside destination was host to the Puerto Peñasco extension of the International Cervantino Festival, a mixed martial arts event of the Mexico World Fighting Federation, the 2016 Hobie 16/18 North American Championship, as well as to Point-to-Point off road racing.

According to information from the U.S. Office of Customs and Border Protection (CPB), during this one week period more than 3400 vehicles made their way through the border crossing at Lukeville, Arizona. The historic average during this period had been 2000.

The report, signed by Tucson Field Program Manager Armando Goncalvez, indicates this increase is attributed to "weekend activities held in Rocky Point."

Mayor Kiko Munro stated to be motivated by the 70% increase in the number of visitors to Puerto Peñasco, as this means the intense promotion of the destination has paid off in reviving the economy.

Since experience has taught us that Olive Ridley Sea Turtle eggs rarely survive the heat in Rocky Point long enough to hatch, CEDO and Itzel Cardenas, a biologist from Grupo Vidanta (Mayan Palace), came to the rescue. The team arrived at the scene and carefully collected the eggs to be taken back to CEDO, where they will be incubated until they hatch. CEDO has had much luck in caring for turtle eggs on the beaches of Rocky Point and last year alone, 6 nests were found resulting in over 100 sea turtles which were hatched and released.  

After collection and transport back to CEDO headquarters, they care for the eggs and they wait. The cute (can you call a turtle cute?) baby turtles will hatch in approximately 6 weeks and at that time they will be returned to the exact spot that the eggs were laid. Olive Ridleys remember the spot where they are born, and they return to that location when it's time to lay their own eggs.

Sea turtles are migratory creatures, living their lives traveling between two important places: their nesting beaches and their feeding grounds - which can be very distant from each other. The Northern Gulf of California is primarily a feeding ground for sea turtles, yet some species do occasionally nest near Puerto Peñasco.

In the past few years there have been reports of nestings in a number of area beaches, though, as might be expected due to the extreme climatic conditions of the region, none of these nest were successful when left to hatch on their own.

When newly hatched turtles enter the sea, they begin a long voyage, carried along by the currents. This period is known as the "lost years" since so little is known about what occurs during this time. While some sea turtles have been observed in Sargassum seaweed beds in the open sea, in general, their whereabouts are unknown.

Sea turtles are migratory creatures, living their lives traveling between two important places: their nesting beaches and their feeding grounds - which can be very distant from each other. The Northern Gulf of California is primarily a feeding ground for sea turtles, yet some species do occasionally nest near Puerto Peñasco.

In the past few years there have been reports of nestings in a number of area beaches, though, as might be expected due to the extreme climatic conditions of the region, none of these nest were successful when left to hatch on their own.

When newly hatched turtles enter the sea, they begin a long voyage, carried along by the currents. This period is known as the "lost years" since we know so little about what occurs during this time. While some sea turtles have been observed in Sargassum seaweed beds in the open sea, in general, their whereabouts are unknown.

Until recently it was not well understood just how important the Northern Gulf of California is for juvenile turtles - information crucial for worldwide efforts to protect these animals. In the Puerto Peñasco region, the beaches where nestings are observed need to be protected, but it is even more important to protect the feeding grounds in the Gulf where sea turtles spend so many formative years. Their successful reproduction depends not only on the healthy environment in there nesting sites but also in the places where they develop, like here in the Northern Gulf of California. 

The Municipal Government of Puerto Peñasco through the Department of Ecology and Sustainable Development, ecology club "Children in Action for the Environment", and DIF Municipal Charity recently held a citywide plastic bottle top recycling drive which ended on October 30th.

The effort concentrated mainly on local school children and offered a contest to see which schools could collect the most plastic bottle tops in an effort provide chemotherapy treatments to children with cancer. For every 1,000 caps collected one chemotherapy treatment would be given to a child in need so, besides the obvious positive impact to the environment by recycling, the efforts may very well save lives.

CIMA Elementary and Middle school took top honors, collecting 47,380 plastic tops.  At the conclusion of the contest,  the Department of Ecology and Sustainable Development traveled to the city of Hermosillo to deliver more than 100,000 caps collected by the community of Puerto Penasco. Thanks to our Mayor Kiko Munro and to the entire community for their participation and assistance. 

Not to be Confused with Mexican Independence Day or Cinco de Mayo 

November 20th marks the anniversary of  the start of the 1910-1917 Revolution- specifically the call to arms by Francisco I. Madero to unseat the dictator Porfirio Díaz, who had remained in power for more than three decades.

2010 marked the centenary of the event, during which time a number of special events were held, and a limited edition commemorative $100 peso banknote (now a collector's item) was produced.

While Mexico's annual Independence Day festivities celebrated with vigor on September 16th each year involve parties, fireworks, gatherings of family and friends to eat traditional dishesand enjoy the 11 p.m. "grito"-either watched on television or attended at the local plaza-Día de la Revolución is little more than another día festivo - a day off school or work - and the reflections and orations on the achievements of those years of turmoil are left almost exclusively to the political classes.

Mexico's Revolution Day is one of the public holidays which was folded into a selection of designated "long weekends", or bank holidays, introduced in 2006 and today, the closest holiday weekend to the anniversary is now known as "El Buen Fin" ("the good weekend")-an event where retailers and travel companies across the country join in a promotional extravaganza offering discounts and other savings, emulating the U.S. tradition of Black Friday, when stores begin their holiday season sales.  The initiative, which was first introduced in 2011, has become a de-facto annual shopping event in Mexico.

While few Mexicans question the importance of the birth of an independent nation after three centuries of colonial rule, the 1910-1917 period of conflict that led to the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution was far more complex, and to a certain extent inconclusive. A number of the better-known heroes of the Revolution were themselves killed in acts of treachery well after 1917. Emiliano Zapata in 1919, Venustiano Carranza in 1920, Francisco Villa in 1923, and Álvaro Obregón in 1928.

Disagreements continue to this day on the significance of the events that made up the "Revolución" with ideas usually influenced by political views. The revolution is not the same thing seen from the left as from the right, and its success or failure from either of those viewpoints is not something that can be easily settled... Sound familiar?  

Nopalitos are the edible young paddles of the prickly pear cactus, grown throughout their native Mexico, the Southwestern United States, and the Mediterranean (brought back by the conquistadors).

The paddles are widely available in Mexican markets in the US, either whole (with spines) or prepared (cleaned, spines removed, chopped).

They are tasty cooked, and are used in many traditional Mexican dishes. Here is a quick, easy, and delisioso nopalitos recipe.

Nopalitos with Tomatoes and Onions Recipe: