News

Happy Holidays

A commentary on San Felipe

Happy Holidays

San Felipe is quiet and tranquil. The border between Mexico and the U.S. is now open. Just be sure that you bring your Covid vaccination card to show if asked at the crossings. We are all looking with trepidation at the coming wave of Omicron infections. Tourism everywhere is suffering. Please get your vaccinations and booster shots; it is very important for the protection of yourself and others.

I hope that in the coming year I will be able to bring you more information on the progress being made in the formation of the new Municipality of San Felipe. The pandemic has caused disruptions in every phase of life here and the municipalization is no exception.

t.c. 21 December 2021

Borders closed to tourism for one more month?

27 September 2021

The US, Mexico and Canada border closure to non-essential travel and tourism has been extended till “at least 21 October”. At this point, it looks as though we will have to wait until the USA re-opens borders for International Travel in November.

Tourists from California and elsewhere are, in fact, cautiously coming to the Baja resorts. There can be disincentives, like 3-4 hour waits to get beck to California, but most people are worried about breaking a federal regulation. One suggestion is to get a teeth-cleaning or filling replaced while here in San Felipe. Medical and dental visits qualify as “essential travel”.

Upcoming Events

The New Esplanada Monumento Los Arcos

Baja California hopes to re-open for international tourism soon

4 September 2021

Since March of 2020, the borders between Canada, the United States and Mexico have officially been closed to tourism and non-essential travel because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now that mass vaccination campaigns have been conducted, authorities have started discussions on the re-opening of the borders. For the US-Mexico border, this could take place as early as 21 September 2021.

However, we are now seeing countries around the world re-imposing travel restrictions as the Delta variation of the Covid19 virus is spreading rapidly. It is critical to remember that every new, unvaccinated, person that gets the virus is a potential “factory” for the virus to mutate and cause other, possibly more infectious variations to start circulating in the population.

The graph above shows the percentage of fully vaccinated people in Canada, the US, Mexico and the world as of 4 September 2021. Sadly the world average is only about 30%

This pandemic has got a long way to go before it is over. Please get vaccinated !

Tourism

It has been impossible to block all tourism across the border during this past year even though the authorities have tried hard to make it very difficult. At times, border wait times have extended into many hours delay in both directions to act as a signal to other travelers not to cross.

San Felipe has survived on the flow of national tourism from Mexicali and Tijuana and the significant influx of money from the officially sanctioned Baja off-road races and rallies. Even though the races only account for 2-3 days of “activity”, the support logistics can bring up to 10,000 personnel involved in pit and course work. These people enjoy the perks of excellent San Felipe cuisine and beverages for their hard work.

Local News

San Felipe became a municipality by a vote of the state congress in May 2021 but it remains for the new city to organize and develop its own services, organization and management structure. Until that time, it will be managed by the municipalities of Mexicali and Ensenada as is the situation now.

Crucially, the new city has to fight for some control over the money that is generated locally but sent to the State Capital. At the present time only around 12% of this money (estimated at $1.4 million USD equivalent) makes its way back here to be spent on the local infrastructure, services and governance.

It is expected that San Felipe will elect its first city council in the election process of 2024, with that council taking power on October 1st 2024. Much work has to be done!

The Covid virus resurges

Update 7 December 2020: Both California and Baja California face new restrictions starting 7 December.

The pandemic is swamping the United States and the trend in Mexico is similar but smaller. Health organizations around the world fear that the period from January through April 2021 will bring the most severe and stressful conditions yet. New infections caused by families and friends celebrating in the Christmas/New Year holiday period will accelerate the virus spread.

As of today, Baja California re-enters the “Red Traffic Light” phase and residents are required to stay at home and shelter in place as much as possible. Restrictions will be placed on businesses and public events as shown in the graphic below.

San Felipe remains calm and quiet. Very few tourists are able to come here as the Mexican and US governments have extended the border closure for “non-essential” travel until at least 21 December 2020.

Update 21 December 2020 : The border closure between USA and Mexico has been extended to at least 21 January 2121. The virus has made a big comeback both in California and Baja California. Lockdowns continue. Stay calm, Stay at Home. We all need to follow the public health guidance and protocols.

“Sanitary filters” may periodically be imposed on vehicles driving south across the Calexico-Mexicali border to ensure that only people with legitimate work or business reasons are on the roads.

While a vaccine for the virus is being prepared for emergency use in both countries in the next few weeks, it is clear that the millions of doses needed will not be available to the general public until around the middle of 2021. Until around 70% of the population has been successfully vaccinated (2 shots) it is unlikely that tourism in the form that we remember it will be able to resume. It is possible that some form of “family bubble” travel could work, where a group driving in a single car could come and stay in a condominium or rental house, but they would have to agree not to socialize with other visitors or to party in town. Easter Week in San Felipe in 2021 would likely be cancelled.

San Felipe to vote on 13 December 2020 on whether to become an independent Municipio

On 13 December, a plebiscite will be held for citizens with elector credentials to vote on whether to separate from Mexicali and become the seventh municipality in the state of Baja California. Some 3500 votes are needed for this to pass. This is the culmination of a process that has been ongoing for more than 30 years. If it is successful, the new municipality would be eligible for grants and development programs funded by the Government of Mexico. It would also gain access to the considerable tax money generated in the region and open up its rules and regulations to benefit the new entity. The new “city” would extend from just north of La Ventana to just south of Punta Final as shown conceptually in the diagram below.

This is a big deal and is the key factor in the future growth of San Felipe. I hope to discuss the possibilities once the vote has passed.

San Felipe – quiet and cautious

Update Saturday 24 October 2020

As with every other village, town and city around the world, we wonder what the next 12 months will bring us. Many of the plans for tourist activities and regional development are on hold, waiting to see what our governments will do in light of the continuing Coronavirus pandemic. Even the leaders of the most powerful countries in the world seem unable to come up with ways to keep the economy steady while we switch to a new way of living our lives.

The only thing that is emerging from all the chaos is that we will never go back to the “old normal”. We now shop differently, we work differently, we travel differently. We wear masks, wash our hands frequently and expect disinfectant hand gel at the entrance to every place of business (this should actually be a significant benefit to us in avoiding the flu and colds in the future!).

Our restaurants and bars are moving outdoors so we have plenty of fresh air and breezes to dilute any viruses we may carry. (Our Malecon in San Felipe is a wonderful location for future cafes and restaurants!) Personally, I have not dined indoors since the pandemic lockdown began in March. Even at home, I barbecue in the garden and prefer to watch a video on my iPad by a blazing chimenea. My habits have changed, your habits have changed, everything is different now.

Meanwhile, in San Felipe, we are conscious that gatherings of people must be small and safe. In Mexicali a week ago, a wedding with 300 guests resulted in 100 people being infected with the virus. In the United States, Mexico and in virtually every country in the world, the second (or third?) wave is taking hold. The figure below shows the dramatic rise in the number of new daily covid cases per 100,000 people for the USA (blue curve 18 daily cases/100,000) and Mexico (orange curve 4 cases/100,000 people). Individual cities are experiencing similar trends.

San Diego is teetering on the edge of re-entering the most restrictive tier (purple) where many businesses will be shut down again. Mexicali has the highest rate in Baja and is also facing the possibility of new travel and business restrictions (website).

The Governments of the USA, Mexico and Canada have extended their ban on border crossings for non-essential (e.g. tourism) purposes until at least 21 November. (website)

The bad news for San Felipe is that our famous Shrimp Festival, traditionally held during the first weekend in November, appears to have been cancelled for this year. No possible rescheduling dates have been announced. It is also possible that the Día de Todos los Santos and Día de Muertos pilgrimages of families to the local cemeteries will be forbidden this year.

The Baja 500 race was based in San Felipe near the end of September and we are very grateful for the estimated $4 million dollars injected into our local economy (website). However, it also brought an incredible 17,000 crew and “support personnel” to the town. We do not know if this gathering has yet shown up in increased infection statistics.

The Baja 1000 race is still scheduled to take place 17-22 November 2020 starting and finishing in Ensenada. The crowds for this event should be much larger than for the Baja 500. The race does go by San Felipe and the relevant part of the course, courtesy of pizzamanagement.com , is shown below.

Great News for the Northern Gulf

Some of the best news that I have heard in years came this week. A British Cruise company is bringing one of its 500 passenger ships to the Northern Gulf of Cortez this winter.

Cruise and Maritime Voyages will station its boat, The Astoria, in Puerto Penasco this December and provide 11 night tours from Penasco to Topolabampo, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, Santa Rosalia, Guymas and back to Penasco. Prices are in the range of $2000/person. You can see the sailing dates and make bookings by visiting their website.

There is a proposal to run buses between Phoenix and Puerto Penasco so that travelers from around the world will be able to fly into a major airport and have all the details of border crossing and immigration formalities taken care of in association with  the cruise line.

The Mar de Cortes International Airport (MMPE) at Penasco also offers charter service to Phoenix via Westwind Air Service. This airport can handle Boeing 737-800 planes.

Of course, it is a pity that San Felipe is not the starting point or a port-of-call for this trip but it is still remarkable that the world is slowly awakening to the possibilities of international tourism to our region of Mexico. Eventually, we will get the infrastructure needed in San Felipe for air service and Cruise Ship docking. Possibly someone will even provide a day trip boat ride/shuttle service between San Felipe and Puerto Penasco. We certainly need to be far more connected to the outside world if San Felipe is to flourish.

tc 9-24-19

December Update

There is always a lot of interest in the San Felipe Blues and Arts Festival that is hosted by the Lions Club. This year, it will be held on 22-23 March 2019 at El Dorado Ranch.

The new shopping center at the south end of Av Mar de Cortez, near the El Cortez Hotel, is taking shape. It looks like it will be a fantastic place to visit when it is finished. One can only wonder if more shops and restaurants will move from Curio Street (where Bancomer is located) to this attractive new area of town when it opens.

October 2018 Updates on the Storm conditions in San Felipe

Monday 15 October 2018 2 p.m.

San Felipe is in good condition and the weather today brings us crystal clear skies with temperatures in the mid-70’s but with lots of wind. The sea is rough!

These are ideal conditions for kitesurfing and I see at least one person out on the bay in the 30 mph steady breezes (though with occasional gusts to 45 mph).

I have been checking most of the roads around town and only the highway south from the Marina Resort area towards Percebu is in bad condition. In many places the storm waters penetrated into the asphalt and now large potholes are appearing.

Heavy trucks seem to be making it through from the south so off-road bypasses of the major areas that were damaged must have been constructed.

Friday 12 October 2018  Noon

High winds hit San Felipe at 4 a.m. and persisted till 8 a.m.

Rain squalls have hit us throughout the morning. Although they have been heavy at times the total accumulated rain is less than 0.2 inches so far. Much more rain in Puerto Penasco.

Friday 12 October 2018  12:30 a,m.

Calm and quiet in San Felipe. The bay waters are still and 12 big shrimp trawlers have come in for the night to shelter from winds that may spring up in the central gulf as TS Sergio crosses the peninsular in a few hours.

The lights of houses on Punta Estrella are in the distance on the right. The Sandollar Hotel is right foreground. Skies are mostly overcast with a few bright stars visible.

Yuma Doppler Radar shows potential rain bands around 80 miles south of San Felipe:

The latest graphic at 1 p.m. Wednesday 10 October 2018 showing the size of Tropical Storm Sergio and its progress towards the Baja Peninsular.

Tuesday 2 October 5 p.m. Update

Goodbye Rosa 

This morning’s view across the bay of San Felipe tells the good news. The remnants of Rosa are moving over the Northern Gulf towards Arizona. San Felipe has suffered from 4-6 inches of rain over the past 24 hours but winds have typically been quite light (under 20 mph).

We now need to take stock of the damage and get ready for the upcoming U.S Columbus Day holiday weekend.

Downtown San Felipe is in good condition. The Malecon is in fine condition:

and the storm drain at the very north end, opposite La Vaquita Restaurant, is being cleaned out and is now open:

The area in front of the Costa Azul Hotel at the entrance to the Malecon has some standing water but is “navigable” by cars.

The Mexicali-San Felipe highway is in good condition.

The San Felipe-Puertecitos highway is reported to be washed out around km 43 and only 4 wheel drive vehicles can make it around the break:

The highway south of Puertecitos to Chapala has suffered a major washout and traffic is halted (reportedly at km 128):

Several additional washouts of this road are reported before Huerfanito. Gonzaga is apparently impossible to reach and on Highway 1, Catavina is flooded.

Monday 1 October 3:30 pm update.

Torrential rain started in San Felipe around breakfast time and has continued on-and-off all day. Most parts of San Felipe report 3 to 4 inches of rain so far. Locally, I see roads failing and being undermined by flood waters. Do not drive till we get through this mess.

Rosa will soon become a tropical depression so winds are now of little concern. However, we can expect periods of heavy rain for the next 24 hours.

Sunday 30 September 2018   3:30 pm

Hurricane Rosa is expected to be downgraded to a Tropical Storm in the next few hours (GOOD!) but is still predicted to drop torrential rain on Northern Baja over the next 48 hours (BAD!). The first raindrops were felt in San Felipe at about 1 p.m. this afternoon but there has been no real precipitation in town. Visitors have been out playing on the beach and having quad races to wind up their weekend. Most are now leaving San Felipe to get across the border before there are any road washouts.

Looking south towards Punta Estrella. The SandDollar is in the foreground

The current satellite map of the Baja is below. Temperatures are still around 90 F and the winds are calm.

The center of Rosa is still predicted to be over San Felipe around 11 p.m. on Monday but the rain is likely to start this evening and become very heavy on Monday.

Some stores are making preparations by taping their windows to minimize damage if hit by flying objects, and around 1000 people who live in the Santa Catarina wash (that runs down to the north end of the Malecon) are being evacuated. The two storm drains, one by the old boatyard and the other by the Costa Azul hotel are going to get a workout.

Thanksgiving – the week of the King Tides in San Felipe

This is the week of the highest tides of the year for San Felipe. The full moon occurs on Wednesday 25th. November and causes astronomically high tides to occur between Monday and Friday. The effects can be spectacular if there are also strong onshore winds at the same time.

The week of the King Tides in San Felipe

It is a period when all beachfront property owners need to watch for strong erosion of the shoreline, particularly those living in some of the south campos where waterfront living is both a pleasure and a peril. Take a stroll down to Club de Pesca and enjoy a drink on the Ramada there around lunchtime and you will be able to appreciate the huge tidal swings that occur in the Bay of San Felipe.

Although there is a potential storm brewing in the Pacific south of Acapulco, it is not expected to turn into a late season hurricane that will affect the Baja peninsular. In addition, the high pressure area that is sitting over Arizona and bringing record-setting temperatures to Southern California, is expected to move east in the next couple of days. That should lessen the effects of the strong north winds that have been giving us the blowing sand and strong wind-driven waves over the past week.

Visitors to Baja now must get tourist cards!

If you want to visit San Felipe and you are not a Mexican citizen or the holder of a Mexican residents visa, you must now get a Tourist Card (FMM) when you cross the border into Mexico. This has been a requirement for air travel for many years but land crossings had some “unofficial” exemptions for tourists visiting in the “border region” for a few days.

As of September 2015, there is no longer a “free zone” for FMMs. Every non-Mexican citizen entering Baja will need to obtain an FMM regardless of length or location of visit. Also as of September 2015, visitors are no longer required to return their FMM to the Mexican government when exiting the country.

When you cross the border you will find an office of the Mexican Immigration service immediately adjacent (for example on the extreme left hand side of the crossing from downtown Calexico to Mexicali). Present your passport at that office and pay the 332 peso fee for each person’s card at the bank next door and you will be good for 180 days of unlimited visits to Mexico. If you are going to San Felipe for only a few days (less than 7) the immigration office will issue you a free FMM for this one-time trip. However, you and all the passengers in your vehicle MUST get the card.

Your Mexican car insurance will may also only be valid if the driver can show his or her FMM card when required by the authorities in the event of an accident. This may depend upon the policies of the insurance company that you deal with. If you have concerns because you fail to buy the FMM, you should talk to the company and get a written statement from them that they will cover you in the event of a claim.   See update below.

Update 28 October:

Immigration is NOT presently stopping vehicles to check if occupants have the FMM cards, but this policy could change at any time. You should decide for yourself if you wish to ignore the law and drive to San Felipe without getting an FMM card. People crossing the border on foot at some ports-of-entry are already subject to FMM check and are required to obtain the card to proceed into Mexico.

The Mexican Immigration Service is setting up a website to enable visitors to obtain the FMM Tourist Card online and pay by credit card for the fees involved. It is likely that this website will not be operating until sometime in November.

See more details in our Immigration section.

Relevant FMM online application website (in Spanish): INM 

Update 18 November 2015 – I have had confirmation from three different insurance agents that tourists who buy Mexican vehicle insurance for their trip to San Felipe, but do not get an FMM card, will be covered in the event that they are involved in an accident.

Visitors that buy their FMM online using the link to the Mexican immigration website above will still have to stop at the border to get the paper printout validated at the immigration office. You will show your passport or passport card to the official along with the printout to receive the validation seal. Note that ONLY a passport or passport card will be accepted for the validation process.