Manzanillo, Mexico

A day at Immigration

2012-01-13T16:19:00.000-06:00

I went to Manzanillo Wednesday to do my yearly Visa renewal and here's a few fotos from my new IPhone, that lost Internet BTW. Smart phones are cool until they mess up your account. I stopped by Telcel on the way back but I still don't have service.

Anyway, I always plan on a couple of hours in the Immigration office so there's time to walk around an get a few fotos of the port activities. The new office entrance is just past this sign to the right instead of inside the main building like before. Got there about 10am after trying to find a place to get my fotos. One Farmacia Guadalajara's machine was broken, the other no people to serve you and the girl that works in the Kodak place in Commercial Mexicana was not there yet. No problem I was told, bring your fotos in when you pick up your visa in 3 weeks.

After paying my renewal fee at the Military bank I returned and was the last one out at about 12:30. Last year when I payed there the payroll clerk from the Navy base was getting cash for payday. Must have been 30+ people in line waiting well over an hour. This time not so bad. You can pay that fee at any bank if you get caught in that situation. I payed downtown a few years ago while waiting for fotos.

Sign on the Port Offices

Ship being loaded with containers

An hour later the same ship leaving port

View of downtown Manzanillo from the small pier near the port

Iphone fotos are not bad but there is no lens adjustment

Another facelift for the Manzanillo Airport

2011-05-22T09:03:00.001-05:00

Took 3 people to the airport last weekend and it's the first time I've been there in over a year. Not a lot of changes but new paint and a new marquee moved down to the departures door.

The airport (Playa de Oro International - ZLO) is located about a half hour north of Manzanillo near the Jalisco border. Like most airports in Mexico the only transportation leaving is by taxi or rental car, no bus service.

Whale rescue on Manzanillo beach

2011-03-05T08:51:00.003-06:00

After almost 24 hours of work, personnel from the Mexican Navy floated a humpback whale about a year old, 9.40 meters long and weighing six tons, which was stranded on the beach Eden , south of Punta Campos, in Manzanillo.

The rescue operation began on Saturday the 28th of February after a fisherman's alert of the whale in the vicinity of Punta Campos.

Over 100 men were involved in the rescue along with two bulldozers belonging to the company DRAGAMEX, which made pools on the beach to provide buoyancy.

Within eight days Mexico's Department of the Navy has made the rescue of two whales stranded on the coasts of Colima. Biologists report that this situation occurs due to changing sea temperatures when the whales look for warmer water near shore.

Third annual Artisan Fair at Walmart

2011-01-16T08:22:00.002-06:00

Moisés Sánchez, coordinator of the Third National Meeting of Artisans in Manzanillo 2011, announced the start of the event that has the participation of over 150 artisans from 20 states of the Republic, along with invited countries of Peru and Ecuador.

Among the products offered is the traditional Ice Cream of Oaxaca, Michoacán coffee, bread of the State of Mexico, and textiles of Chiapas, Yucatan, Oaxaca, Guerrero. Also in this exhibition are products made base of clay, handmade jewelry, sandals, toys, straw hats, beads and silver jewelry.

Sanchez said the goal of this event is to make people value the country's original crafts which are major tourist attractions.

Artisans and the public are invited to experience this holiday tradition, which is located in the parking lot of Walmart department store, Monday through Friday from 10am to 10pm and weekends from 10am to 11pm.

This event has the support of the Federation of Mexican artisans and will end on 31 January.

Federation of Mexican Artisans

Revillagigedo Islands

2010-10-06T16:23:00.001-05:00

The Revillagigedo Islands (Spanish: Islas Revillagigedo), or Revillagigedo Archipelago are a group of four volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, known for their unique ecosystem. They have been part of Manzanillo municipality of the Mexican state of Colima since 1861, but are nevertheless under Mexican federal jurisdiction, and lie 386 km southwest of Cabo San Lucas, the southern tip of Baja California peninsula, and between 720 and 970 km west of Manzanillo.

Revillagigedo Islands on Wikipedia

U.S. frigate opens tourist pier in Manzanillo

2010-06-17T13:55:00.001-05:00

Manzanillo - Around 7:30 am on Saturday April 10 an American frigate arrived at the port of Manzanillo. This is the first ship to dock at the new cruise ship pier.

The USS Freedom is the first of the Freedom class combat ships. The video says that buses are waiting to take the sailors to one of Manzanillo's beaches

Pepe's Hideaway

2010-06-01T17:47:00.002-05:00

Last week I had a pleasant experience running into Pepe and his Hideaway. Pepe has another Blog about Manzanillo and I was reading about his interest in Neem (Nim) trees. I'm looking for shade trees for my place in Melaque. Without knowing who this Blogger was I emailed him asking where to get these trees ... and I guess because we are fellow Bloggers he offered me a few. I was in the Chapala area at the time and he said I could drop by on my way to Melaque and pick them up at his place in La Punta.

I'd never been out the Santiago Peninsula further than Las Hadas ... but you can't go much further. La Punta is 'the point' and I assume that property takes up the rest of the point.

After much wandering around in La Punta I found the tennis courts and beyond the monkey house at the entrance to his drive. What a surprise to find a number of palapa buildings perched on the cliffs at the head of a rocky inlet looking north over Santiago Bay. It seems Pepe bought this property back in 1974, probably before La Punta existed or there was much else on the peninsula. Really an exotic gem hidden among some very upscale realestate.

More or less the entrance and restaurant

The pool looking over Santiago Bay

Looking west from the pool area

Looking down on palapa casitas

Another palapa below and small beach
Pepe's Hideaway

Cruise Lines cutting back on West Coast

2010-05-16T15:04:00.002-05:00

It sounds like two ships and two cruise lines will be leaving the west coast and the Mexican Riviera next year.

Royal Caribbean to pull Mariner of the Seas from Mexican Riviera

Royal Caribbean today announced plans to redeploy the Mariner of the Seas from the Mexican Riviera to Europe, effective in early 2011.

The line says the 3,114-passenger ship, which has been sailing to the Mexican Riviera year-round out of Los Angeles since early 2009, will set sail for a new home at the port of Rome (Civitavecchia) in January.

Mariner is the largest ship ever to regularly sail out of a West Coast port, and it's arrival in Los Angeles last year was heralded as a major development for the city. It's removal is just the latest sign that the market is not living up to expectations. Another line sailing in the region, Carnival, is pulling a ship out of nearby San Diego later this month, and Norwegian Cruise Line recently announced it would end seasonal cruising out of Los Angeles in 2011.

With Mariner's withdrawal, Royal Caribbean no longer will have a presence in Southern California or the West Coast of Mexico -- destinations it has served for many years.

USA Today Article

Manzanillo and Colima Tourist developement

2010-05-09T12:07:00.001-05:00

Colima's state governor and the head of FONATUR (the national tourist development fund) just signed papers to start development of a Mega complex in the Isla de Navidad area. To avoid the border conflict with Jalisco they conclude - "We can make a real Cancun in Manzanillo and not go through Jalisco" - which I assume means build a new highway from the airport up the beach all on the Colima side.

This plan is not only for the northern end of Colima near Playa de Cocos and Isla Navidad - but also for Playa de Oro, Santiago Bay and the southern coast of Colima. Colima currently has around 5000 tourist units and they want to compete with Cancun by building 30-40 thousand units

Map of Development Plans

Manzanillo's new cruise ship pier

2010-04-21T08:44:00.003-05:00

The new pier is finished just off the central waterfront and the ship Radiance of the Seas is testing the new facilities.

Radiolevy — April 20, 2010 — Radiance of the Seas es el primer crucero turístico en llegar al centro de Manzanillo. Tiene capacidad para 2 mil 500 personas. Sirve para probar las instalaciones del nuevo muelle y la oferta de los servicios turísticos.

Radiolevy - April 20, 2010 - Radiance of the Seas is the first tourist cruise ship in the center of Manzanillo. It sleeps 2 thousand 500 people. They are testing the new dock facilities and tourism services.

New gas power plant in Manzanillo

2010-03-30T16:06:00.000-06:00

On my way back to Chapala I drove thru DT Manzanillo so I could go past what I thought I saw from the highway a few weeks ago. Sure enough just south of the new gas tank terminal they are building the new gas power plant. Looks like two nuclear reactors plus lots more. They are also building breakwaters, channels, pipes running everywhere. "El Campo" seems to be the staging area for much of it and may be a boom town for a few years. The never open palapa restaurants on the beach were clean and open and may be feeding the workers

Howard from Manzanillo added this extra info below

The two large structures in your photos are the storage plants for the gas. They put the "lid" on one of them about a month ago - reputed to weigh 1,000 tons!

At about the same time the Zeta gas terminal took delivery of 10,000 tons for gas from the Ukraine. That sort of shipment is likely to become much more common.

In addition, a gas pipeline is being built from the Manzanillo terminal to Guadalajara.

The largest fish in the world in Manzanillo?

2010-03-24T16:01:00.001-06:00

¿El pez más grande del mundo en Manzanillo?

February 20, 2010

It was discovered on the sands of Boquita Beach. It is more than 4 meters and fishermen claim to have never seen anything like it.

New Year Celebration Manzanillo

2010-01-03T08:08:00.000-06:00

Fireworks show. Over 3 thousand rockets were launched from 30 points in the bay of Manzanillo, including boats at sea.

Manzanillo Skim Contest

2009-12-17T09:21:00.009-06:00

This from back in November. I've never been to this one but have been to many in the Melaque area an hour north. Always a lot of fun and these guys are really amazing

Manzanillo Skim Fiesta

Manzanillo will also be hosting a National Tournamentevent on 11/14-16/2009 on the beach in Salahua. Therewill be radio and TV coverage of this event along withparticipation of National Brand Names. This eventpromotes surf and skim boarding activities among highschool students.There will be competition at theIntermediate and Advanced levels.

This event in the past has drawn observers andparticipants from Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City,Oaxaca, Melaque, Acapulco and Guadalajara so it’s anevent that will be of interest to all Manzanillo residents. Manzanillo Real Estate Professionals are one of themany sponsors of this event in addition to helpingsupport two local surfers and a skim boarder. Othersponsors include Squalo and Victoria Skim boards

Beach Zamboni

2009-11-22T13:32:00.004-06:00

Ever wonder how they keep those Las Brisas beaches so clean. Well maybe not a Zamboni - but a beach sweeper. Cute little guy. At times the plastic gets pretty thick. There's also no lagoons nearby or many overhanging palms

Puerto Santiago - Manzanillo needs it?

2009-10-29T17:05:00.007-06:00

Is this what Manzanillo needs at the expense of La Boquita beach, the palapa restaurants, the local fisherman, the mangroves and all the wildlife the mangroves support. Well, below is their dream ....

Imagine a Mediterranean-style seaside village constructed from bricks, freestone, masonry, adobe tiles, and wood. Soothing earth tones will complement the natural materials. Imagine Puerto Santiago:

Marina: The village-like marina will enchant visitors with over 150 boat slips, seaside benches, open plazas, and softly illuminated walkways.

Beach Hotel: Puerto Santiago looks forward to the addition of a quality, five-star 220-room hotel, committed to building in the development.

Shopping and Entertainment Center: Over one million square feet of retail space will enhance Puerto Santiago with a premiere shopping and entertainment district.

Condominium Projects: Condominiums will anchor the Puerto Santiago development. Approximately 132 condominiums will line the beach, while another 800 condominiums face the lagoon and boast a community-style center with tennis courts, an exercise facility, and other amenities.

Single Family Homes: Roughly 240 single-family lots rest alongside the marina and shopping area, as well as throughout the beach area.

Puerto Santiago Web Page

Manzanillo Tourist Website

2009-10-10T11:28:00.006-05:00

A blurb and video from the Manzanillo Tourist Website. Pretty typical for tourism but the website is well done as well as the video

MANZANILLO COLIMA MEXICO
Manzanillo is located in the State of Colima in the Mexican Pacific Gold Coast, considered the most important port, is located in the path of the shipping lanes in the Far East, North, Central and South America. Its geographical location allows it to offer stunning scenery, exotic sunsets, beautiful beaches, mixed with golden sands, spectacular view of the bay and sunny days with average temperatures above 22 ° C make the beaches of Manzanillo a very attractive destination. In recent years its growth and development benefited the tourism industry with facilities Resorts, Hotels, Golf Courses and service first class domestic and foreign.

Manzanillo Tourist Website

Faro de Campos - Manzanillo

2009-08-08T10:16:00.006-05:00

The reason I've never found the light house before is it's a little hard to find. Finally we tried a little harder and asked a number of people. You find the access road in the small community across from the power plant south of downtown Manzanillo on the road to Campos. It's about five blocks toward the beach at the base of the hill on the north side.

The road is paved with brick but is narrow so watch for traffic and be prepared to backup some distance to allow passing. Great view and I wanted to get a foto when it was green. So many pictures I've seen were taken in the dry season. There is another great view spot about a quarter of a mile before you get to the lagoon inlet. If the gate is open check it out. The caretaker will welcome you

Faro de Campos - Lighthouse

View over the edge

From the road looking back at the power plant

Tropical Storm Andres

2009-06-22T15:03:00.002-05:00

By NATALIA PARRA, Associated Press Writer Natalia Parra, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 28 mins ago

ACAPULCO, Mexico – A strengthening Tropical Storm Andres headed toward Mexico's Pacific coast Monday, prompting emergency preparations for a storm that forecasters said might become a hurricane.

Forecasters said Andres was likely to bring tropical storm force winds ashore between the port cities of Lazaro Cardenas and Manzanillo within a day, and the forecast track showed its center might scrape land at minimum hurricane force late Tuesday near picturesque towns such as Barra de Navidad that are home to some American and Canadian expatriates.

A hurricane watch was declared from Lazaro Cardenas to Cabo Corrientes.

The Acapulco city government prepared 120 shelters and warned residents to stay indoors, especially some 15,000 people in 20 zones most at risk for flooding. Heavy rains late Sunday downed a few trees in the resort city.

Late Sunday night, Andres became the first named storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season, which began May 15 and ends November 30 and is typically busiest between July and September.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Andres was centered about 240 miles (390 kilometers) southeast of Manzanillo at 11 a.m. PDT (2 p.m. EDT; 1800 GMT) Monday, and it had sustained winds near 60 mph (95 kph), with higher gusts.

It was moving toward the west-northwest near 5 mph (7 kph).

The forecast track showed it brushing the central Mexican coast on Tuesday before weakening and bending toward the west a little short of the Los Cabos resorts at the tip of the Baja California Peninsula Thursday night or Friday.

Forecasters said Andres could become a hurricane with sustained winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) by Tuesday night.

It has been 40 years since it took so long for a named storm to develop in the Eastern Pacific.

"Normally that season gets under way somewhat earlier," said Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. "But it's not necessarily an indication that it'll be a quiet year in that basin. We've seen some years starting late and become quite active. We're just going to have to wait and see on that."

Federal forecasters have predicted a near-normal or below-normal season, with the possibility for 13 to 18 named storms, including six to 10 hurricanes.

Yahoo weather News

Jellyfish in the harbor

2009-05-30T15:12:00.004-05:00

I was in town last week to get my auto air conditioning fixed and check on Notario #1 downtown. I had to leave my car most of the day so took a taxi downtown and after locating the Notario decided to kill some time by walking back the waterfront to the Port Offices (port entrance).

Right in front of the sailfish and main malecon I noticed all these jellyfish bobbing around next to the docks. I've seen the very small ones wash ashore up the coast but never this size. Most were nearly a foot across. I guess they are just blown by the wind but I saw none on the Las Brisas beach. Must have been thousands of them all the way to the port offices. Nice walk by the way.

Jellyfish off the malecon

Port offices where Immigration is

Jellyfish in Manzanillo harbor

TransCanada wins CFE pipeline deal

2009-05-09T09:21:00.004-05:00

From The News

Canadian energy firm TransCanada Corporation has won a bid to build and operate a 304-kilometer (190-mile) gas pipeline in western Mexico, the Federal Electricity Commission, or CFE, said.

CFE said in a statement that the proposed Guadalajara Pipeline will transport gas from a liquefied natural gas, or LNG, terminal under construction near Manzanillo, Colima, to Guadalajara, the nation's second-largest city.

The pipeline will be 30 inches in diameter and will have the capacity to transport 500 million cubic feet per day. The CFE said the 25-year contract will be signed on May 27 and that the construction phase will last 22 months.

According to the CFE, the project is part of electrical infrastructure works that it is developing in the western part of the country that include building a LNG terminal in Manzanillo and converting the thermoelectric plant in that Pacific coast city to use natural gas instead of fuel oil.

The LNG project will supply gas to thermoelectric plants in the states of Colima, Guanajuato, QuerActaro and Jalisco.

The government began construction of the LNG terminal in Manzanillo last year with the eventual goal of processing 500 million cubic feet of natural gas per day beginning in 2011.

The $700 million plant will create 1,500 jobs and allow the CFE to save $230 million annually.

The News article

SECTUR (Tourism Ministry) invests 62 million pesos

2009-04-26T08:45:00.003-05:00

SECTUR (Tourism Ministry) invests 62 million pesos for tourism projects in the State of Colima

The federal government’s Tourism Ministry will invest an initial 62 million pesos into six touristic projects with the purpose of boosting the tourism sector of the state of Colima, the above was disclosed by the Mexican Government’s Tourism Minister, Rodolfo Elizondo Torres.

During a working session with Colima state governor, Jesús Silverio Cavazos Ceballos, both officers agreed to work in coordination to execute projects benefitting the entity’s touristic activity in order to increase the number of domestic and international visitors.

This year’s investments will be dedicated to the following projects: 8th stage of Manzanillo’s historic center refurbishment; building Manzanillo’s Convention Center, 5th stage of Tecoman’s historic center refurbishment; 2nd stage of Real-Pascuales pedestrian walk; urban image of El Paraíso beach resort and the state’s “señal-ética” program.

Source: Secretaría de Turismo (SECTUR)

Zeta Gas Terminal south of town

2009-04-03T16:55:00.008-06:00

Grupo Zeta in Manzanillo, one of the worlds largest distributors of LPG gas, now operates this deep water port which is the largest plant of its kind in Mexico and Latin America. Someday this site will also feed the oil fired electric plant located in the same area - after it's re-tooled. This plant was mostly funded by Pemex and CFE and is now operated by Zeta Gas.

Not many tourists get down to this end of town but it's interesting. The Cuyutlan lagoon inlet and outlet used for cooling the power plant, a company town across the street from the plant, a few large palapa restaurants, a second lagoon/ocean opening and finally the microscopic town of Campos

Improvements or just changes

2009-03-09T18:12:00.007-06:00

Improvements or just changes .... it's hard to say. Lots of gringos here don't like the changes because they came to Mexico for Mexico. Whatever your opinion or theirs below are some of the changes with the new Brisas Mall almost across from Walmart. Don't forget the first icon in this Plaza was Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). The most important changes I saw last weekend are the two new traffic lights on the highway in central Santiago

Dairy Queen

Office Depot

... and or course Starbucks with Dominos Pizza just around the corner

Manzanillo grows a bit more

Huizcolote behind Manzanillo

2009-01-04T11:20:00.004-06:00

The day after Christmas is not a good day to be shopping in Manzanillo so after giving up on hardware stores and a quick trip to Sorianas I headed east towards the mountains. Huizcolote and other small communities can be reached by following the road in front of Las Hades or from the road to Minatitlan behind the Port. If you rent a car and like cruzing in the country, these roads are usually in very good shape. Huizcolote is not the end of the road with much more valley beyond but it was getting late and over an hour back to Melaque.

Nativity scene in front of a very poor house

The river that runs next to Huizcolote