LOTS OF CONFLICTING REPORTS (SOUND FAMILIAR?)

La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report for May 7-14, 2020

MEXICAN MINUTE VIDEO REPORT

THE BIG PICTURE and the REST of the STORY…

Maybe the La Paz Malecon will be open after May 30th? Almost feels like there should be some tumbleweeds blowing across the street.

Police checkpoints are still in effect with “supposedly” only 2 persons per car and an 8 p.m. curfew.

A man in a beer store stands behind a sign reading “I don’t have beer” following the shortage of beer, after the breweries countrywide closed their production due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Monterrey, state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, on May 5, 2020. (Photo by Julio Cesar AGUILAR / AFP) (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)

View of empty fridges and freezers in a store due to the shortage of beer, after the breweries countrywide closed their production due to the COVID-19 coronavirus in Monterrey, state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, on May 5, 2020. (Photo by Julio Cesar AGUILAR / AFP) (Photo by JULIO CESAR AGUILAR/AFP via Getty Images)

TUEDAY May 12- Mexico recorded it’s highest number of deaths for a single day of 353 fatalities. (Mexico Daily News)

Short story…no fishing to report.  Ports and Marinas still closed down as well as beaches and hotels.

So…

Since the beginning of the Baja quarantine, I’ve been doing my best to keep y’all posted. Folks are asking where I’m getting my info. As I may have mentioned, I’ve become a news junkie lately.

For my wife and I and our employees in Mexico, our livlihood and your vacations depend on it.

So, here’s some links below that have daily updates. The three newspapers are in Spanish, but will translate to English automatically. Might not be grammatically correct all the time, but you’ll get the idea.

One thing you’ll notice is that what the governor of one Mexican state says is often different from what the Mexican President says…is different from what a city mayor says…is different from what the business people say…and is completely different from what the health officials and doctors say.

And everyone LOVES to point fingers!

The curve is up…the curve is down. This is “under control.” We are “not ready for this.” It’s the “President’s fault.” We don’t care “what the government says.” Face masks work. Face mask don’t work. Blah blah blah…

Sound familiar? As different as we are, the more we are the same.

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As of today:

Mexico – more than 40,000 cases / more than 4,000 deaths/ more than 123,000 suspected cases
State of Baja Norte (Tijuana, Ensenada/ Mexicali/ San Felipe ) 2,300 cases/ 365 deaths
State of Baja Norte (Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Loreto, Mulege) 373 cases/ 22 deaths

The Baja quarantine is still in effect until May 30th, with health officials saying the next week or two will be the apex of the pandemic.

HOWEVER…just as I was putting this report together, the governor or Southern Baja, Carlos Mendoza Davis, and the health officials are now saying they probably will NOT re-open June 1 as it is one of several Mexican states where the virus has not flattened.

Click this link:

BAJA ON HIGH ALERT – AS VIRUS SPIKES

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Here are the links with explanations with some of my comments:

WIKIPEDIA – COVID 19 Pandemic in Mexico

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Mexico

Great site updated daily. It chronicles almost a daily diary of the progression of the disease in Mexico from day 1 to the current day. If you like charts, graphs and maps, this is a one-stop information source.

COVID 19 DASHBOARD by Johns Hopkins University COVID 19 MEXICO by Johns Hopkins University

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.ht ml#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

https://conabio.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html #/06ab0b883d6b42e0bf4fef1ff0b56d25

Incredible interactive maps of every country, city, state, province, county IN THE WORLD that is infected with the statistics charted every day. You can spend hours on these. But, completely interactive press, click, enlarge, scan…very thorough.

BAJA CALIFORNIA NEWS

https://www.bcsnoticias.mx/lapaz/

Takes a bit getting used to having Spanish translated to English, but this covers La Paz/ Cabo/ Loreto/ Mulege and areas in between with headline news, government, politics, sports, tourism, etc. Stories are short and concise.

MEXICO DAILY NEWS

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/

Good writing and in English! Short stories like a smaller version of USA TODAY. Main stories are free. A few of the more in-depth stories you need a subscription for $2.50 a month. But, I haven’t needed it yet. I think even if COVID wasn’t around, I think I would enjoy this website.

THE INDEPENDENT DAILY NEWS

https://www.diarioelindependiente.mx/

This site IS EXACTLY like reading USA TODAY. Lots of good short articles about Baja, Mexico from news to sports to culture plus international news.

By the way, because a lot of these articles are translated from Spanish, “PEACE” is actually “LA PAZ” which is the the word for “Peace.” So, whenever you see that they are referring to the City of La Paz.

In a past life many many galaxies and lifetimes ago, I was a TV, radio and newspaper reporter. I was also a litigation attorney.  There’s always several sides to every story.   I learned to read and watch ALOT of different sources.  Everyone slants their news or their version of events one way or the other, either intentionally or unintentionally.

You’re really doing yourself a disservice if you only get your news and stories from one source.  That’s why I read from so many different sources and suggest you do the same.  You’re smart enough that you can sort out what’s truly relevant to you and where each source if really coming from.  Kinda like if you only get your news from CNN or FOX or only read the Los Angeles Times, etc.

My personal opinion, for what it’s worth, is that Baja Sur is gearing up to open after May 30th.  That includes restaurants, hotels and other facilities.

Many locals have been ignoring the restrictions from the beginning or finding ways to circumvent the quarantine whether that be having private parties; descending on the beaches; using social media to find their way around police roadblocks, operating past curfews and blackmarketing “non-essential items.”  Once businesses start re-opening, it’s going to be hard to shut them down again.  Or keep people inside.   Even if that is in defiance of the quarantine.

Remember, this isn’t like the U.S.  There’s alot of people living together in small spaces.  There’s often no TV.  There’s no internet.  Without work, there is no food.  I think they will have a difficult time keeping people inside.

But…also, just because businesses re-open does NOT mean tourists, the lifeblood of the economy, will return in right away or in big numbers.  That’s the key.  Hotels and restaurants might unilaterally shut themselves down if no one shows up.

And then again, it begs the question on all our our minds.  What will the new “NORMAL” be like?

I think fishing will be just fine.

But, if beaches are technically still closed.  If restaurants are still closed or no one is in them? If the bars and clubs aren’t really open or if not really anyone is on the street, that’s all part of the vacation and fun…it’s the “BAJA EXPERIENCE.” Will tourists still come?  Will fishermen still come?

Your guess is as good as mine.

We are planning to be back home the first week of June…all things considered.

Hope you find these interesting and informative.

That’s my story!  God bless.  Be well. Stay well, amigos!

Jonathan & Jilly