CozumelWaterSports's Blog

TOURISM TO MEXICO UP THANKS TO CHANGE IN ATTITUDE

cozumelwatersports — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:52:58 +0000

Many tourists, mainly from the neighboring USA, now consider Mexico to be a bargain and not the dangerous drug-ridden country it has often been depicted in the media.

Tourists can be forgiven for not wanting to take their holidays in Mexico. The country has suffered from a terrible reputation in recent years, especially in the southern part of America, where Mexican immigrants often do little to help the country’s cause. Majority of newspapers also write about problems with drugs and violence across the border. However, tourists have, understandably, decided to reduce the risk of getting shot and have started heading to beach resorts. Riviera Maya and Cozumel are now full of American and British tourists, who simply turn a blind eye to the problems inland.
This, naturally, means visiting Mexico by air, something which 7.1 million tourists have managed to do in the first 8 months of this year. Despite the outbreak of swine flu, Mexico has now become a bargain hunter’s paradise-a much cheaper option to a beach holiday in the US or in Europe. US citizens made up 4.33 million of the above figure, meaning that advertising campaigns are focused mainly on them.
Much of the newfound success has been credited to a marketing campaign, which started in July. The logo of the campaign is “Mexico, the place you thought you knew” and has already been labeled a success. To put a percentage on this success; Mexican tourism is up 20% this year alone. If the beach resorts are talked about more and the bloodthirsty drug barons are ignored, the percentage should increase.

Tropical Storm Richard

cozumelwatersports — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 19:38:02 +0000

Tropical Storm Richard suddenly overcame its struggles with dry air and wind shear this morning, took advantage of low wind shear of 5 – 10 knots and warm water temperatures of 29°C, and intensified into a strong tropical storm. Richard will continue to move just north of west today, in response to a ridge of high pressure that is expected to build in over the Caribbean. This path will bring the center of Richard very close to Guanaja and Roatan Islands off the northern coast of Honduras near 8am EDT Sunday. Residents of those islands can expect tropical storm force winds of 39+ mph to arrive at the islands between 8 pm – midnight EDT tonight.

Positive Mexico

cozumelwatersports — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 00:54:51 +0000

The MEXICO Report
By Susie Albin-Najera

On the plane from Los Angeles to Cancun, a mother was traveling with her husband and two children. Since she and her husband were not seated together, and one of their seats was next to us, they each took turns sitting next to us. She sat next to me the last half of the flight. This was their first vacation to Mexico and it just so happened that they were going to be staying at Hacienda Tres Rios in Riviera Maya, a place my husband and I know well. We were able to tell her all about the resort, its surroundings, ambiance, eco-practices, kids club, Chef Oscar, and so forth. She said she wanted to do something special for her husband for his birthday while they were there and I recommended dining at the ‘Chef’s Table’ with Chef Oscar. She could get childcare on site or have the kids go in the Kids Club.

She said, “Do you think that’s safe?” and I said, “I’m POSITIVE it’s safe.” I knew that this was a very kid-friendly place.

This led me to really think about the ‘Is Mexico Safe?’ comment I hear all too often. Like any other country, isolated crimes will happen, and you always have to be a smart traveler, be respectful of the country you are in and don’t go asking for trouble.

For anyone who has not been to Mexico (and/or who tells other people not to go because of what they see on the 6 o’clock news), please think twice. I have been traveling to Mexico for more than 20 years and will continue to travel to Mexico for the next 20 years, unless we end up moving there first!

So, here are 16 Positive Things About Mexico (and yes, I’m only getting started!)

I am positive that no matter where you go or what you do in Mexico, it will always be an adventure.
I am positive that someone will always be around to help you.
I am positive that no matter how hard you try, some words will be lost in translation, and most likely it will be comical.
I am positive that having a sense of humor is key for any travel.
I am positive that experiencing new foods in Mexico will never get old.
I am positive that your eyes will be dazzled by the bright colors of Mexico.
I am positive that Mexico’s greatest natural beauty is in the eyes of her children.
I am positive that Mexico will always amaze and never cease to confound.
I am positive that Mexico is ancient and modern at the same time.
I am positive that Mexico still is a place of dreams.
I am positive that the natural beauty will replenish your soul.
I am positive that you can see the history of Mexico in the faces of its people.
I am positive that when you visit (and you’re not acting like a jerk), you will be treated like family.
I am positive that the many speed bumps are good for your abs.
I am positive that you will always find an outdoor taco stand or street cart open late.
I am positive that for me, the best part of Mexico is the children.

Southwest Airlines Could Come to Cozumel

cozumelwatersports — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:09:11 +0000

The travel industry is abuzz with the announcement that Southwest Airlines will be acquiring AirTran Airlines. What makes this especially interesting is that Air Tran currently has routes to Aruba, Punta Cana, Montego Bay, San Juan, Cozumel, and Nassau. Insiders are saying this is good news since Southwest Airlines has a reputation as a discount airline, and has a history of reducing fares when entering into a new market. Could this mean cheaper travel to Cozumel? For more information, check out http://gocaribbean.about.com/b/2010/09/27/southwest-airlines-could-be-coming-to-the-caribbean.htm

New tropical depression in the Western Caribbean

cozumelwatersports — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:08:02 +0000

A tropical disturbance about 100 miles south of west-central Cuba is close to tropical depression strength, and is bringing torrential rains all across the Western Caribbean. This disturbance is expected to develop into a tropical depression later today, and could be a 50-mph tropical storm when it moves over Cuba, South Florida, and the western Bahamas on Wednesday. The storm is expected to bring 4 – 8 inches of rain to coastal North Carolina late this week, including in Wilmington. That city had 10.33 inches of rain yesterday, its 2nd greatest daily rainfall in history, so the new storm is likely to cause serious flooding when it arrives.

More western caribbean weather disturbance…

cozumelwatersports — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 01:22:32 +0000

Today, for the first day since August 20, the National Hurricane Center will not be issuing any advisories for an Atlantic named storm. Thus ends a remarkably active 36-day period that saw the formation of ten named storms, six hurricanes, and five hurricanes–an entire hurricane season’s worth of activity, compressed into just five weeks of the six-month season. This season is not done yet, as we still have three more weeks of peak hurricane season left to go, and the Western Caribbean is looking poised to generate a tropical storm sometime in the next ten days. In the Western Caribbean, a few hundred miles east of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, a region of concentrated thunderstorms has built this morning, and has a 30% chance of developing into a tropical depression by Wednesday.

Storm Matthew

cozumelwatersports — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 18:47:17 +0000

Tropical Storm Matthew continues to dump heavy rains over Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and neighboring regions of Mexico today. Puerto Barrios, in northern Guatemala, has received 4.57″ of rain in the past 24 hours. With Matthew expected to slow down and dissipate by Sunday, the storm’s heavy rains of 6 – 15 inches can be expected to cause severe flooding and dangerous mudslides. The rains are of particular concern for Guatemala, which suffered its rainiest August in its history, followed by the landfall of Tropical Depression 11E during the first week of September, which dumped torrential rains on the country that triggered flooding and mudslides that killed at least 48 Guatemalans.

Cozumel Weather

cozumelwatersports — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:41:25 +0000

Tropical Storm Matthew is bearing down on the Nicaragua/Honduras coast, but wind shear is keeping the storm from intensifying this morning. A hurricane hunter aircraft is in Matthew, and found the center pressure had risen slightly, to 1002 mb, at 8:24am EDT. Top winds seen at the surface remained at 50 mph, but winds at their flight level of 5,000 feet peaked at an unimpressive 48 mph. Satellite loops show that Matthew’s heavy thunderstorm activity is mostly on the storm’s south side, and this is due to strong upper level winds out of the northeast creating a moderate 10 – 20 knots of wind shear over the storm. Heavy rain squalls have moved ashore over northeastern Nicaragua and Honduras, as seen in the latest observations from Puerto Lempira, Honduras.

Caribbean weather disturbance

cozumelwatersports — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:07:46 +0000

Forecast for 95L
An upper-level high pressure system lies to the west of 95L, near the coast of Nicaragua. The clockwise flow of air around this high will bring a moderate 10 – 15 knots of wind shear over 95L today. By Friday, 95L will move more underneath this upper-level high, causing the shear to decline. The SHIPS model forecasts that shear will fall to the low range, 5 – 10 knots, by Friday afternoon. This drop in shear may allow for rapid intensification of 95L as it approaches landfall near the Nicaragua/Honduras border on Friday night and early Saturday morning. NHC is giving the disturbance a 60% chance of developing into a tropical depression by Saturday.

Tropical Depression 92

cozumelwatersports — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 01:58:21 +0000

Dangerous Caribbean disturbance 95L growing more organized
A tropical wave (Invest 95L) moving westward at 15 mph though the south-central Caribbean is bringing gusty winds and heavy rain to the northern coast of Venezuela and the islands of Curacao, Aruba, and Bonaire this morning. A wind gust of 38 mph was recorded at Curacao last night. Radar from Curacao and satellite loops show that 95L’s thunderstorms have a pronounced rotation, with a center of circulation located just off the coast of South America. Thunderstorm activity is fairly limited, but is slowly increasing in areal coverage and intensity. Wind shear over the Caribbean is low, 5 – 10 knots, and is forecast to remain low to moderate, 5 – 15 knots, for the rest of the week. NHC is giving the disturbance a 60% chance of developing into a tropical depression by Thursday. I’d put the odds higher, at 70%. The Hurricane Hunters are scheduled to investigate 95L this afternoon.