BajaNomad

Update on Cabo Pulmo Development, (Cabo Cortés Project) Links

jaymtb - 7-10-2010 at 09:33 PM

Information links re Cabo Cortés project:

You may have heard of this before. It is to cover 4000 hectares, have a large desal plant, golf courses, marina, homes, hotels. The scale and size are unbelievable.

I'm first a bit astonished that investment capital can be found for this size of project, given the over-built market, and reluctance of tourists to visit Mexico. However, the location is more troubling, given the sensitivity of the Cabo Pulmo reef.

Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park is a World Heritage Bio Reserve (UNESCO/United Nations program). It is a resource which is vital for sustaining the balance of marine and other life forms in the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez.

Links:
http://mexidata.info/id2688.html

http://www.laprensasa.com/2.0/3/309/712596/America-in-Englis...

http://www.wildcoast.net/site/index.php?option=com_content&a...

Cabo Pulmo Vivo site opposing project with petition:
http://www.cabopulmovivo.org/portal/index.php?option=com_for...

Thanks,
Jay

P.S.: If you don't read Spanish here is an English translation of the petition
If you cannot read the box for submitting the form: Nombre(s) = First Name(s) ; Appellido(s) = Last Name(s); Cuidad = City; Estado = State; and Correo Electronico = Email:

Petition translation in English:

We, the undersigned, respectfully request the immediate revocation of permits for the construction of the resort property "Cabo Cortés " consisting of 3,655 hotel rooms and more than 7,800 residences (a total of 30,000 rooms ), 2 golf courses with 27 holes and a marina adjacent Cabo Pulmo National (Marine) Park, Municipality of Los Cabos.Our reasons are as follows:... See More

• The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) filed by the company contains false claims and the authorizations issued by SEMARNAT do not respect existing environmental legislation.
• The project presents a serious threat to Cabo Pulmo National Park, which houses the richest ecosystem and with greatest abundance in the Gulf of California and, furthermore, represents one of the clearest successes of restoration of a marine area in the country.
• The Cabo Cortés project is inconsistent with the provisions of existing ecological regulations in the region, such as the Ecological Management Plan of the Municipality of Los Cabos and Management Program for Cabo Pulmo National Park.
• The project also violates international commitments made by Mexico, endangering an ecosystem designated as a priority site for conservation of wetlands (RAMSAR Convention) and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
• The main impacts this project presents include reef sedimentation caused by construction of a marina for 490 boats, disruption to marine life caused by discharges from the desalinization plant and other debris, alterations to the coastline by sand dune modification and loss of important beaches for sea turtle nesting.
• In Baja California Sur water is scarce. That is why the Los Cabos Ecological Management Plan provides that each new development must ensure its own supply of water. The water concession by the CAN [National Commission of Water] to Cabo Cortés represents an amount equivalent to what 82,000 people consume in a single day.

We are convinced that the only development that is sustainable is that which occurs without compromising our natural resources and the social wellbeing of our citizens. A project on the scale of Cabo Cortes (the largest that has been planned in Baja California Sur), so close to one of the best preserved marine ecosystems in the country, is contrary to any definition of sustainability.
The community of Cabo Pulmo, federal , state and municipal governments, academics, civic organizations, and thousands of people around the world have for 15 years invested human and material resources in the conservation of Cabo Pulmo. Today we have tangible results that make this a unique place in the world. Do not put what we have achieved at risk.
There is still time to correct this error. Do not let non-sustainable developments affect Cabo Pulmo National Park .
The first step is to revoke authorizations for the construction of the resort property "Cabo Cortés. "

Many thanks - Cabo Pulmo Alive!

[Edited on 7-11-2010 by jaymtb]

fishabductor - 7-11-2010 at 04:41 AM

Good luck...The spaniards have way too much money!! A petition won't do squat. The spaniards have already invested somewhere in the neighborhood of $250-$300 million in property in the area. They are already tight with the government.

You may get a ton of foreigner signatures, but you won't get many mexican signatures short of the local Castro family. Frankly I think for every signature you get...the spaniards will just throw in more cash.

Osprey - 7-11-2010 at 07:04 AM

Sorry Fishman, can't have just one view here >> this is the Nomad Forum. I will remind you that the S in PIGS, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, stands for the last one of the four European countries admittedly on the brink of sliding into the financial porceline receptacle. You might be talking about the money Hansa USED TO HAVE, the borrowing potential THEY USED TO HAVE. If they had so much dough and clout, why did they hire McCarthy to get their permits, put themselves through so much public ridicule when he was charged with INFLUENCE PEDDLING on the project?

I'm just saying....

monoloco - 7-11-2010 at 07:34 AM

I would be really surprised to see this project going forward in the current risk adverse environment.

fishabductor - 7-11-2010 at 09:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Osprey
Sorry Fishman, can't have just one view here >> this is the Nomad Forum. I will remind you that the S in PIGS, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain, stands for the last one of the four European countries admittedly on the brink of sliding into the financial porceline receptacle. You might be talking about the money Hansa USED TO HAVE, the borrowing potential THEY USED TO HAVE. If they had so much dough and clout, why did they hire McCarthy to get their permits, put themselves through so much public ridicule when he was charged with INFLUENCE PEDDLING on the project?

I'm just saying....


I hear you Osprey. I have had this same discussion about the Group with several others. We were talking how much the interest was alone on the properties they bought. If they are broke, then the project won't happen anyways. They will default on the loans they had, or they will lose everything they invested.

I hope they don't do the project, but I don't think a petition will help. I think it'd do about much good as a petition to stop police corruption in CCD.

The project would however be good for the economy, provide lots of jobs( in Plumo and la ribera as well), create revenue for government agencies (permits, EIS, profepa, semanac...etc) given all this and the possibility of greasing the wheels. I just think that the project will go forward( if they have the funds)... To much good for the local economy, regardless if we like it or not.

Just my .02.

wilderone - 7-11-2010 at 09:54 AM

Sign the petition - speak out - if you do nothing, you are allowing the force for development to continue.

www.cabopulmovivo.org

Osprey - 7-11-2010 at 10:03 AM

Abguy, won't help us locally while they are building as the workforce will be from Mexico. They gave us a clinic/hospital for their potential buyers, not for us --- WE HAVE A CLINIC. They'll need all our water (not like the guys in Loreto Bay Company whose grand scheme was to plant trees which would grow to become a forest which would create a Northwestern Washington rain forest and change everything forever for everone down here). They can't build a major airport because Mexican law forbids that within 100 miles from a competitor (La Paz/Los Cabos) that's why the Gov is giving them a pass on an airport near his home/ranch at Santiago to be used FOR CARGO?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

tiotomasbcs - 7-11-2010 at 10:52 AM

Osprey is right about the locals getting very little good out of the project! Workers come from the interior who will work harder than locals and for less!! Not to blame the locals they are just too kicked back to work 10hr days! I'm with them, let's go fishing early and take siestas in a hammock all afternoon. Eventually the East Cape will all be developed but not in my lifetime. La Ribera w/new homes and marina is going very slowly, verdad? Few buyers to take the risk. I'm thankful the recession has slowed down Progress?!:lol::coolup: Tranquilo

fishabductor - 7-11-2010 at 12:12 PM

It still creates jobs. Materials will have to be bought somewhere locally, so will food for the workers, Gasoline...as well as fishing gear for the workers. the local government will get money in construction permits..etc. And this is just the construction phase.

Once(if ever) thoses 30k rooms are occupied, then there will be a huge demand, for local goods and services. It will create local jobs in one way or the other, The bad part it will create so many jobs that the locals who want to work won't be adequate, outside workers will be required to fill the labor pool. And workers from the interior will bring change and trouble.

I am totally against it. I moved out to the eastcape for solitude. I want the crappy dirt road to stay forever. this will change the eastcape for the worse, as will any other major developement out here.

I am just saying I don't think a gringo petition is going to stop the machine.
Hopefully they'll run out of money or go bankrupt. Maybe the project will be such a bust that others won't attempt this again for another 20yrs!!

Curt63 - 7-11-2010 at 12:51 PM

Cabo Pulmo is a wonderful rustic place. I dove the Coral Reef about 5 weeks ago and it is spectacular!

I was watching a presentation by some UCSD oceanographic researchers and they reported that the 15 years as a national park has allowed the the sea life to really recover from overfishing. They reported a thriving eco system, hammerheads and even mature tiger sharks. This may be one of the few places to see what the SOC was 20 years ago.

I also signed the petition at the dive shop. Let the developers develop something thats already over-developed. Not this pristine Baja beauty.










[Edited on 4-22-2011 by BajaNomad]

Unique coral reef at Cabo Pulmo spurs tourism battle

BajaNews - 7-23-2010 at 09:45 AM

http://www.canada.com/travel/story.html?id=3313374

By Sophie Nicholson
July 23, 2010

CABO PULMO, Mexico - A 20,000 year-old coral reef, the only one in the Gulf of California, is at the center of a dispute over a huge tourist development which could draw thousands to a remote part of Mexico.

At the moment, most only hear about Cabo Pulmo, where pristine beaches meet a turquoise sea, by word of mouth.

American tourist Lenny McCarl said he discovered the village thanks to his girlfriend’s family, during a visit in June.

"I like the little niche up here. You drive two hours outside of Cabo San Lucas and you’re only 80 miles (130 kilometers) away, but there’s no houses, there’s just a villa here, a villa there," McCarl said, standing on the beach.

The site is less than two hours north of Cabo San Lucas and its luxury hotels and Hollywood celebrity-owned mansions, which have transformed the south of the peninsula in the past few decades.

The village also lies next to the site for one of Mexico’s largest tourist development projects.

A wire fence marks out some 4,000 hectares destined to include several thousand hotel rooms and condominiums rising in five stages over 25 years.

The 500-million-dollar plan includes a tourist town "where school children will parade on the plaza," a jet port for private planes and golf courses.

Locals and environmental groups say the scale of the project is bound to impact on the land as well as the sea -- with runoff from golf courses, desalinisation facilities and large yachts in a new marina.

"The government is blocking its ears and allowing a project like this, right on the limit of the marine reserve. As if there’ll be no damage beyond an imaginary line," said Enrique Castro, whose family has lived in the area for five generations.

Commercial fishing is now banned and locals have spent 15 years changing their habits to try to preserve the reef under a government plan hailed as an example of conservation by ecologists.

Activities still revolve around the marine-rich Gulf of California, once nicknamed the "world’s aquarium" by French explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Spanish company Hansa Urbana has meanwhile gathered permits to start building the Cabo Cortes development, including requirements for protecting the environment.

Such measures, including a ban on lights on the beach to avoid disturbing endangered turtles, water recycling and solar power, make the project 40 percent more expensive, representative Sergio Tabansky told AFP in Mexico City.

More than 60 percent of the land would be left for conservation, Tabansky said, admitting the eco-friendly label was also a good selling point.

"We want to help Mexico by giving jobs to Mexicans," Tabansky added, as the country struggles to emerge from one of its worst economic crises in years.

The H1N1 swine flu and the global crisis contributed to a drop of 1.1 million tourists in 2009 compared with the previous year, and a two-billion-dollar loss in revenues, the tourism ministry said recently.

Promotions and development plans are again picking up in a country which hosts some 22-23 million foreign tourists each year.

"Development is inevitable. What we can avoid are the (bad) terms under which we develop, right?" said Alejandro Gonzalez, who manages the Cabo Pulmo marine park for the government.

A handful of security guards patrol the vast site for Cabo Cortes on quad bikes for now, as the crisis has slowed construction.

Juan Castro, a former diver for pearls, and other locals hope the delay will buy them time to stop it completely.

"If the government allows this development, we can say that the government is the only one responsible for whatever damage is done to the reef," Castro said.

"It’s the heritage of humanity. It’s not mine, it’s not yours."

Development Threatens Lone Coral Reef in Sea of Cortez

BajaNews - 7-23-2010 at 09:49 AM

http://mexidata.info/id2688.html

Cabo Pulmo (Mexico), June 4 (EFE) – Cabo Pulmo, the only coral reef in the Gulf of California [Sea of Cortez], and the northernmost in the eastern Pacific Ocean, is in danger as a result of the permit granted by the Mexican government to the Spanish builder Hansa to develop a huge tourist complex adjacent [to the coral reef].

The reef is about 20,000 years old, which makes it one of the oldest in the American Pacific, and it is home to 226 of the 875 species of fish that exist in the Gulf of California, according to official information.

In the area it is common to see four species of sea turtles; dolphins; sea lions; whale, tiger and bull sharks; and it is a transit route of humpback and blue whales.

It was declared a protected area in 1995 by Mexican officials, and today it is a national park with 7,111 hectares [27.5 square miles], 99% of them in the sea.

There is a small community of 80 residents on its coast who take care of this natural heritage, and provide tourist services such as diving, water skiing, boating, sportfishing and camping.

However, the Alicante (Spain) group Hansa Urbana, with approval already granted by environmental authorities, will build an integrally planned massive tourist [resort] on an area of 4,000 hectares [15.4 square miles] adjacent to Cabo Pulmo.

The tourist town, called "Cabo Cortés," will include hotels, homes, condominiums, marinas, golf courses, shopping centers, a village for workers, a church, medical services and an airport for private planes, among other facilities.

The director of the Cabo Pulmo National Park, Javier Alejandro Gonzalez, said in an interview with EFE that the project's plans are to build up to 30,600 hotel rooms, or 10,200 more homes.

Gonzalez, an official with the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), noted that said agency produced a technical report that concluded the Environmental Impact Statement of "Cabo Cortés had inaccuracies on several points," and data that "was not validated."

According to Gonzalez, Conanp fears that after construction begins on the marinas, which will berth boats and luxury yachts, "a significant sediment suspension" may be produced in the water, and that in the future the boat traffic and greater number of visitors to the Cabo Pulmo area may exert "increased pressure" on the reef.

In his opinion, authorities must be able to confront these environmental risks of the development, to which he is not opposed.

A more negative view is shared by a group of environmental NGOs that have formed a coalition to fight for the reef and to stop the development.

That group is led by the U.S. [NGO] Wildcoast; the Mexican [NGOs] Niparajá, Pro Natura Northwest, Community and Diversity, [and] Friends of Cabo Pulmo; [and] academics from Scripps Center in the U.S., and the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur.

One member, Mexican oceanographer Octavio Aburto from Scripps Research Institute, told EFE that the value of Cabo Pulmo is that it is an ecosystem that helps to repopulate fish communities "in areas adjacent to the park, which allows fisheries production that is the basis of some economies on the Gulf of California to increase."

Aburto's calculations indicate that the reef has on average five tons of fish per hectare, 60% of which are large predatory species such as sharks.

For her part Fay Crevoshay, the communications director of the NGO Wildcoast, argued that the several golf courses the tourist citadel will have "use chemicals that will flow into the sea when it rains and kill the coral."

She also said it is "schizophrenic" for Mexican authorities [to have created] a national park, which they preserved for years, and then "they grant a permit to a developer in order to destroy it."

"What will the next generations that come here, not only from Mexico but from the whole world, see: a reef destroyed and dead," lamented Juan Castro, a leader of the community that resides on Cabo Pulmo and that has been in charge of taking care of the fragile marine ecosystem for about 15 years.

Cardon Man - 7-24-2010 at 02:48 PM

I wish them no luck at all. There are more than enough hotel rooms and golf courses in the Los Cabos corridor.

Bob H - 7-24-2010 at 03:16 PM

There goes another wonderful, natural place, in Baja.

http://www.cabocortes.com/

wilderone - 7-25-2010 at 08:18 AM

sign the petition

http://www.cabopulmovivo.org/portal/index.php?option=com_for...

Cabo Pulmo threatened by Spanish resort mega-development

Kimpatsu_Hekigan - 1-2-2011 at 10:58 AM

Here's a brief article and a great photo essay about the planned resort mega-development at Cabo Pulmo on the East Cape in BCS. Click on this link:

Sea of Cortez World Heritage Site Threatened by Resort Development
                              

"If the development goes through, the sleepy and white sand fringed Cabo Pulmo will be joined by 40,000 new residents in a complex that will include hotels, condominiums, a 490 slip marina, two golf courses, and shopping centers."
                              

FWIW,

-- K.H.

Cap - 1-2-2011 at 11:19 AM

Que lastima,
inevitable though. The place is beautiful! I have fond memories of landing on a sandy strip for a day trip, and leaving the following month.

Half full glass:
Spend time with loved ones there ala- Resolve to take Nena and Steve there to see it before it gets developed in hopes they will photgraph/document it.

Send nicely worded emails to the developers in hopes of them preserving the environment of the area as much as possible and maybe even an airstrip.

Not get too worked up over this as many of the best layed devastation plans in Mexico find insurmountable obstacles. :bounce:

Update on Cabo Pulmo development project

wilderone - 1-30-2011 at 09:24 AM

I received this email from the Cabo Pulmo group that organized against the development: (see - your individual action can make a difference)

"Cabo Pulmo Vivo collective likes to thank you for your support in the campain of Cabo Pulmo National Park protection, a global example of sustainability facing mass tourism and real estate growth threats.
Your signature, together with more than 11,000 people, managed that SEMARNAT temporarily suspend the Cabo Cortés project, which would bring more than 30 thousand rooms, 3 golf courses and a marina to this unique region, ecologically fragile and with severe water scarcity problems. Cabo Pulmo requires a different regional development model with a positive impact on the local community well being.

Thanks to your support, SEMARNAT is now considering fundamental aspects that had left out of its initial analysis. In the days to come, SEMARNAT will again resolve if it grants authorization to the environmental impact study to Cabo Cortés.

We invite you to sign in www.cabopulmovivo.org, to remind our authorities that we are very aware of its decision.

Your support has made a difference, but the future of Cabo Pulmo still at risk. If you allow us, we will continue to contact you, sharing news and ways in which you can continue to work to ensure the effective protection of this reef, a natural heritage site.

Thank you!

Cabo Pulmo vivo

http://www.cabopulmovivo.org"




[Edited on 1-30-2011 by BajaNomad]

Sharrone - 1-30-2011 at 10:12 AM

Just signed. Thanks for posting.

captkw - 1-30-2011 at 12:32 PM

maybe Ive seen too many development,s down here,, turn into destructionment and were are all these gringo's ?to fill em up???

LaloinBaja - 1-30-2011 at 04:14 PM

Lived at Pulmo in the late 60's and early 70's...Hate to see this new project even thought about..I remember the fabuulous fishing and diving there...Oyster bed just to the North...Yellowfin about 2-3 miles off the beach...All the Cabrilla we could eat from the beach .Even an10 lb. black snook one evening on 8 lb line!!!! What times those were...

wessongroup - 1-30-2011 at 04:58 PM

Hang in there wilderone, and good for you ..... They'll be back... they are like herpes.... they don't go away....

Bajahowodd - 1-30-2011 at 05:09 PM

It certainly would be wonderful if public pressure could at least alter the scope of this project and have the developers redesign aspects to reduce the potential impact on the eco-system. But, it just seems to me that the main reason for the present moratorium has more to do with current international economic conditions than it does about concern for the environment. Face it. Throughout the Los Cabos area, there are several large scale projects that are currently on hold simply because both capital and demand are lacking.

At the end of the day, this chunk of real estate is incredibly desireable and given time and the likely economic turnaround, it will be for real. Just keep fingers crossed that as many concessions as possible can be squeezed out of the developers before the project breaks ground.

mcfez - 1-31-2011 at 07:33 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
But, it just seems to me that the main reason for the present moratorium has more to do with current international economic conditions than it does about concern for the environment.


You got that right Bajahowodd!

That complex will arrive later than sooner. Many projects not only in Baja....some even started and then stopped dead....shut down for a lack of monies. Hell...there's a high rise building in Sacramento that came to a dead stop.

But the wheels will move again.

I just wish that any sort of "land improvements" be restricted to 1/2 mile from the Seas......any coast.

Russ - 1-31-2011 at 07:49 AM

"I just wish that any sort of "land improvements" be restricted to 1/2 mile from the Seas......any coast."
I like that concept. I don't have to have my house/casita right on the beach but I would like it to be front row. 1/2 mile maybe a bit much but a block or so would open the use and view of the coast line nicely.

monoloco - 1-31-2011 at 08:23 AM

Projects like that are a no go until Mexico gets their security issues under control, which is not likely to happen anytime soon.

David K - 1-31-2011 at 09:32 AM

Anyone know what happened to Chopy's property?

movinguy - 4-3-2011 at 07:43 PM

Update:

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amaxwell/approval_of_the_c...

bajajudy - 4-4-2011 at 07:38 AM

Wild Coast thinks that stopping this project is important enough for a full time employee on the ground here.
Please sign to protect our reef
If you would like more information on stopping this project, please join us tonight(Monday) at 7pm at Dreams Resort in Los Cabos.

fishabductor - 4-4-2011 at 07:53 AM

I spoke with the lead scientist on this project, I bought a generator and a trailer from them...and they said that the marina was basically a no-go based on the new studies. The project however is still plausible.

The problems I see is where is the fresh water going to come from to support the homes, where are the workers going to come from(mainland) and where are the gringos with $$ going to come from?

The developers of this property spent over a $100 million(as rumor goes it is around $130M on this property) so my guess they are in for the long haul, unless they go bankrupt in the process.

BillP - 4-5-2011 at 10:12 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by movinguy
Update:

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amaxwell/approval_of_the_c...

Don't trust the NRDC, they're responsible for all the CA MPA/MLPA fishing closures.

As For The Water...

Bajahowodd - 4-5-2011 at 01:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by fishabductor
I spoke with the lead scientist on this project, I bought a generator and a trailer from them...and they said that the marina was basically a no-go based on the new studies. The project however is still plausible.

The problems I see is where is the fresh water going to come from to support the homes, where are the workers going to come from(mainland) and where are the gringos with $$ going to come from?

The developers of this property spent over a $100 million(as rumor goes it is around $130M on this property) so my guess they are in for the long haul, unless they go bankrupt in the process.


Virtually all major resort projects built in the last couple of decades have included their own desal plant and waste treatment facility.

As for the workers- it was the mainland that supplied just about all the workers when Cabo exploded from the late 80s on.

Can't answer the one about gringos with money.

tripledigitken - 4-5-2011 at 01:20 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Quote:
Originally posted by fishabductor
I spoke with the lead scientist on this project, I bought a generator and a trailer from them...and they said that the marina was basically a no-go based on the new studies. The project however is still plausible.

The problems I see is where is the fresh water going to come from to support the homes, where are the workers going to come from(mainland) and where are the gringos with $$ going to come from?

The developers of this property spent over a $100 million(as rumor goes it is around $130M on this property) so my guess they are in for the long haul, unless they go bankrupt in the process.


Virtually all major resort projects built in the last couple of decades have included their own desal plant and waste treatment facility.

As for the workers- it was the mainland that supplied just about all the workers when Cabo exploded from the late 80s on.

Can't answer the one about gringos with money.


I have to wonder if any studies regarding the effects of the discharges from the desal plants in such a concentrated area have been completed.

jenny.navarrette - 4-5-2011 at 01:30 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by tripledigitken
I have to wonder if any studies regarding the effects of the discharges from the desal plants in such a concentrated area have been completed.


You should ask the board environmental expert, ramuma53. He has a mega project under way in Bahia Concepcion called Marina Paraiso Baja. It has 6,000 units, 500 hotel rooms, sport marina, golf course, etc. He surely must have studied all that. Why else would be be soliciting investors for money? Surely he has an evironmental plan. The only way to provide fresh water for all that development is with a desal plant.

http://munoz-industries.com/paraiso.htm

Bajahowodd - 4-5-2011 at 01:32 PM

From the NRDC report:

"The resolution passed last week authorized several main components of Hansa Urbana’s proposal, including:
Housing, hotel and commercial development
A marina for 490 boats
Two 18-hole golf courses
A 10.5 mile-long aqueduct
324 acres of roads and highways

Two key items missing from that list are the desalination and water treatment plants. However, the clear necessity of having both at a luxury resort complex for hygienic reasons means that it is very likely they will be approved in the future."

Seems to kinda gloss over that issue. However it just might be a non-issue. Consider the number of desal plants in and around Medano Beach, and the fact that there is a semi-enclosed bay. Cabo Pulmo is fundamentally open.

tripledigitken - 4-5-2011 at 01:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by jenny.navarrette
Quote:
Originally posted by tripledigitken
I have to wonder if any studies regarding the effects of the discharges from the desal plants in such a concentrated area have been completed.


You should ask the board environmental expert, ramuma53. He has a mega project under way in Bahia Concepcion called Marina Paraiso Baja. It has 6,000 units, 500 hotel rooms, sport marina, golf course, etc. He surely must have studied all that. Why else would be be soliciting investors for money? Surely he has an evironmental plan. The only way to provide fresh water for all that development is with a desal plant.

http://munoz-industries.com/paraiso.htm


Sorry to say there ain't much left alive there now!:(

Is this some kind of a joke?

Dave - 4-5-2011 at 02:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by jenny.navarrette
http://munoz-industries.com/paraiso.htm

Bajahowodd - 4-5-2011 at 03:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Dave
Quote:
Originally posted by jenny.navarrette
http://munoz-industries.com/paraiso.htm
:lol:

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that. If one peruses the entire site, it gets better and better. Supposedly the Munoz dynasty has developed the technology to provide large quantities of desalinated water using solar power.

Getting real for a minute, among several, I can think of two major projects in the Cabo corridor that have been stalled by either the lack of capital or the decline in tourism. The old Twin Dolphin property and the Hotel Cabo San Lucas property.

Given that these projects have an international airport nearby along with an urban infrastructure, why in the world would anyone consider that Concepcion project feasible in this decade?

It almost reminds me of a comedic riff on the Loreto Bay project. Like it or not, Loreto Bay did have the airport and did have the power, and, oh, did have Fonatur.

monoloco - 4-5-2011 at 04:08 PM

If that joke of a hotel he has at Buenaventura is any example of Muñoz's development abilities, then Bahia Conception is safe.

Bajahowodd - 4-5-2011 at 04:18 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco
If that joke of a hotel he has at Buenaventura is any example of Muñoz's development abilities, then Bahia Conception is safe.


I agree.

In these times, any megalomaniac can pay a few bucks to have a web site built.:lol:

Bob H - 4-5-2011 at 10:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
From the NRDC report:

"The resolution passed last week authorized several main components of Hansa Urbana’s proposal, including:
Housing, hotel and commercial development
A marina for 490 boats
Two 18-hole golf courses
A 10.5 mile-long aqueduct
324 acres of roads and highways

Two key items missing from that list are the desalination and water treatment plants. However, the clear necessity of having both at a luxury resort complex for hygienic reasons means that it is very likely they will be approved in the future."

Seems to kinda gloss over that issue. However it just might be a non-issue. Consider the number of desal plants in and around Medano Beach, and the fact that there is a semi-enclosed bay. Cabo Pulmo is fundamentally open.


The old days are goin' away... Times are chang'n.
Capt. Mike.... your take on this project! It is stuff that is just going to happen. It's called Progress!

wilderone - 4-6-2011 at 07:41 AM

"It's called Progress!"

Some may call it progress, but it is devastation, annihilation and destruction. The very qualities that make such sites attractive will be destroyed by human pollution of all types. The silence needed to quiet the soul - gone. The local flora and fauna deserving of their place on earth - gone. The bay, which is necessary for marine creatures to flouish - polluted and raped. Mankind's greed is an atrocious thing. Exploitation of earth's natural world will cause more harm than good. Been going on too long - have we learned nothing? Total ignorance.

grizzlyfsh95 - 4-6-2011 at 12:06 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by wilderone
"It's called Progress!"

Some may call it progress, but it is devastation, annihilation and destruction. The very qualities that make such sites attractive will be destroyed by human pollution of all types. The silence needed to quiet the soul - gone. The local flora and fauna deserving of their place on earth - gone. The bay, which is necessary for marine creatures to flouish - polluted and raped. Mankind's greed is an atrocious thing. Exploitation of earth's natural world will cause more harm than good. Been going on too long - have we learned nothing? Total ignorance.


Wow..you need to take amother hit and mello. Lets see: no silence...humm...someone removing all of the plants and animals..doubtful; the only bay raping there at Pulmo is being done by the turtle and tree huggers. What you see as greed, many in the world see as providing a living. Not everyone inherits, or demands a living from someone else. I think that your final thought of total ignorance pretty much describes your post. Get a grip.

monoloco - 4-6-2011 at 04:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by wilderone
"It's called Progress!"

Some may call it progress, but it is devastation, annihilation and destruction. The very qualities that make such sites attractive will be destroyed by human pollution of all types. The silence needed to quiet the soul - gone. The local flora and fauna deserving of their place on earth - gone. The bay, which is necessary for marine creatures to flouish - polluted and raped. Mankind's greed is an atrocious thing. Exploitation of earth's natural world will cause more harm than good. Been going on too long - have we learned nothing? Total ignorance.
If anyone thinks that this development won't seriously degrade the environment of Cabo Pulmo they are deluded.

Cabo Pulmo Development

wiltonh - 4-21-2011 at 08:59 AM

I visited last year and it was obvious something was going on. Here is an article about it.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/21/the-threat-to...

[Edited on 4-21-2011 by wiltonh]

bajajazz - 4-22-2011 at 08:35 AM

Golf is a dying sport in the USA, perhaps worldwide. The inclusion of two 18 hole golf courses in this development is particularly ludicrous.

Too much of the development in BCS is neither market-driven nor market-researched, it is based more on the primitive 'philosophy' of monkey-see, monkey-do, just like the ridiculous over-building of OXXO stores.

Greed is a form of lunacy for which there is no pharmaceutical cure.

I suppose the gold mine is going to destroy the quality of life in the lower part of BCS anyway, so perhaps the whole question is moot. Very soon, our 'progress' will be measured by the amount of cyanide in the aquifer.

Whoopee . . . can't hardly wait.

windgrrl - 4-22-2011 at 10:02 AM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/21/the-threat-to...

The threat to Baja’s underwater ‘rain forest’

By Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & Homero Aridjis

Thursday, April 21, 2011 at midnight

Coral reefs, often called rain forests of the sea, shelter a quarter of all marine fish. In February, the most detailed scientific assessment ever undertaken of these spectacular ecosystems revealed that fully 75 percent are under threat – the most immediate being local pressures for coastal development.

Cabo Pulmo Bay in Baja California – home to one of these underwater “rain forests” – is facing one of those threats. Among only three living coral reefs in North America, it lies 40 miles north of San Jose del Cabo, on the eastern cape of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. John Steinbeck described this 20,000-year-old reef as filled with “teeming fauna” displaying “electric” colors. When decades of overfishing threatened the reef’s existence, the local community convinced the Mexican government in 1995 to protect it by declaring the area a 17,560-acre National Marine Park. In 2005, the reef became a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Fishing was banned inside the park, and today Cabo Pulmo Reef’s recovery is considered a prime example of marine conservation in the Americas. It provides refuge for 225 of the 875 fish species found in the Sea of Cortez, including marlin, manta rays, giant squid and several kinds of sharks. Whales, dolphins, sea lions and five of the world’s seven species of endangered sea turtles frequent its waters. Indeed, the coral reef hosts the highest concentration of ocean life within this 700-mile long arm of the Pacific Ocean that separates Baja California from the Mexican mainland. Ecotourism (diving, snorkeling, whale watching) is thriving among the 150 residents of the coastal town surrounding this spectacular marine park.

But now Hansa Baja Investments, a Mexican subsidiary of the Spain-based real estate development firm Hansa Urbana, plans to build a massive resort complex directly north of the National Marine Park. The developer has proposed what amounts to a sprawling new city on the scale of Cancún: 10,000 acres including 30,000 hotel rooms and residential housing units, at least two golf courses, 2 million square feet of office and retail space, a 490-boat marina and a private jet port.

The construction of the Cabo Cortés project would bring in close to 40,000 workers and their families. This fragile region of desert, dirt roads and traditional small communities would be overwhelmed. Cabo Pulmo Reef would die, killed by saline effluents from the planned desalination plant, chemical fertilizers whose runoff causes eutrophication, and the city’s pollution flowing south on ocean coastal currents straight toward the reef.

In early March, Mexico’s secretariat of the environment and natural resources gave the go-ahead for much of Hansa Urbana’s proposal: not only the marina and land developments, but also a 10.5-mile-long aqueduct and 324 acres of roads and highways. The energy-intensive desalination plant – which would discharge 500 liters per second of salt water – and a sewage treatment plant to deal with an expected 39,000 tons a day of solid waste once Cabo Cortés is going full tilt are not yet authorized, but it is considered only a matter of time, as is permission for the pending jetties and breakwaters.

The government’s approval came despite the company’s woefully inadequate environmental impact statement, which claimed that pollution from the development wouldn’t affect the reef because ocean currents flow only from south to north, away from the reef. Recent studies show the area’s currents move in multiple directions, largely depending upon the season.

In a region of water scarcity, Hansa has been granted a concession of 4.5 million cubic meters per year, meaning it will suck dry the Santiago aquifer, depriving the local population of resources it has depended on for hundreds of years.

In authorizing the deal, the government is violating its own laws, disregarding the rules governing environmental impact assessments in Mexico and ignoring its zoning plan for the entire region of Los Cabos.

It is up to the Mexican government to stand by its 1995 decision to protect this flourishing and irreplaceable marine nursery. The government must cancel its authorization of the Cabo Cortés development. Only then can the Cabo Pulmo coral reef remain a stellar example of ocean conservation and sustainable ecotourism. For Cabo Pulmo and its people, it is wreck or rectify. How does Mexican President Felipe Calderón want to be remembered?

Kennedy is a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and president of the Waterkeeper Alliance. Aridjis, a poet and novelist, is the former Mexican ambassador to UNESCO and founder of the Grupo de los Cien environmental organization.

Greenpeace Goes After Mexican Officials Who OK’d Spanish Project

BajaNews - 6-11-2011 at 09:56 PM

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=397338&Categor...

MEXICO CITY – Two Environment Secretariat officials who allegedly approved Spanish developer Hansa Urbana’s huge Cabo Cortes tourism complex in Mexico’s Baja California Sur state are the subject of an administrative complaint filed by Greenpeace.

Mauricio Limon Aguirre, deputy secretary for environmental protection management, and Eduardo Enrique Gonzalez, director of environmental impact and risk management, were named in the complaint filed by the environmental group on Wednesday.

The complaint was submitted to the secretariat’s internal affairs office, Greenpeace said in a statement.

The resort, which is being developed by Hansa Urbana unit Hansa Baja Investments, covers 3,800 hectares (9,382 acres), of which 2,500 hectares (6,172 acres) will be protected natural areas and 1,300 hectares (3,210 acres) will be developed, company officials said last month.

The project will be developed in five phases, with final build-out expected in 30 or 40 years.

Cabo Cortes would cover an area similar to that of Cancun, Mexico’s main tourism destination.

Environmental groups began alleging in mid-2010 that Hansa’s project, which calls for a total investment of some $2 billion, would affect the 20,000-year-old Cabo Pulmo reef, one of the oldest in Mexico’s Pacific region and located just 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the tourism complex.

Cabo Pulmo is home to 226 of the 875 species of fish that live in northwest Mexico’s Gulf of California, government reports say.

The Mexican government declared Cabo Pulmo a protected area in 1995 and it is now a national park sprawling over 7,111 hectares (17,558 acres), with about 99 percent of the park made up of protected marine areas.

The two environmental officials “engaged in actions contrary” to the General Law on Environmental Balance, the Natural Protected Areas Law and the Los Cabos Environmental Management Plan, Greenpeace said.

“This is why we are asking the OIC (internal affairs office) to open proceedings against these officials for violating the law and approving a predatory tourism project like Cabo Cortes,” Greenpeace oceans and coasts coordinator Alejandro Olvera said in a statement.

Development plans call for building about 8,000 condominium units, 15 hotels, a marina with 490 slips and two 18-hole golf courses at Cabo Cortes, developers said last month.

The project will create about 19,000 jobs, including 8,000 direct jobs and 11,000 indirect positions.

“There is no doubt that the secretariat is violating environmental legislation,” Olvera said, adding that officials were trying to “draw attention away from the matter by attacking Greenpeace.”

Hansa Urbana, for its part, denies that the project will affect Cabo Pulmo.

Cabo Cortes “is not going to appear from one day to the next,” project director Jesus Guilabert said last month, adding that the complex would “grow in an orderly manner.”

Guilabert said Greenpeace, Wildcoast/Costa Salvaje, Niparaja, Pro Natura Noroeste, Comunidad y Diversidad, Amigos de Cabo Pulmo and other environmental groups were “trying to disinform and confuse public opinion.”

Cabo Cortes is not going to be “a new Cancun,” Guilabert said, referring to Mexico’s premier Caribbean resort city.

The Environment Secretariat approved Cabo Cortes’s environmental impact statement in September 2008.

The project was later temporarily halted when a resident filed a request for a review of the project.

Environmental officials gave the go-ahead to the project for the second time in March, but they set certain conditions.

Lobsterman - 6-12-2011 at 06:10 AM

God if you guys had your way you'd keep all mexicans in a mud shack with no jobs and a sombrero for sleeping under a cactus. It's their country not yours or Green Peace's. Let Mexico fix their problems or create their own economic opportunities, their way.

Why not try & fix something in your country that's probably all screwed up, i.e. dams, pollution, gas guzzlers, etc. and leave the mexicans alone. You guys will meddle into anyones else business anywhere, any time and not feel out of place.

Each to their own.

capt. mike - 6-12-2011 at 06:41 AM

right on!! well said Lobsterman!!

wessongroup - 6-12-2011 at 06:51 AM

How has "progress" worked out thus far.... seems to me a lot of folks haven't seen a pay check from the "government" in a while... as for those jobs...

When I see men ... sitting on a curbs .... with a thousand yard stare... and they ain't been in combat... tells me... there is something wrong... having a 50 year old man ask if he could sleep in the bed of an abandoned pickup... as he had NOTHING ... example are current, within the past 12 months along with many others... but, then I was staying with the locals.... it does make a difference...

Like they have NO LIFE .... No hope.... NOTHING.... and progress is something someone else gets not these individuals...

And lobsterman, I have..... in both locations.. that would be the United States, and the International Community... along with Baja in specific...

This is NOT long term PROGRESS for the people... rather for a very few...

Want some progress, down south a bit... how about an assembly plant for Toyota... a John Deer Tractor assembly plant et al... .rather than another "resort".... the water used in maintaining a golf course in a desert could be used for far more productive things. . IMHO

As for impacts on the environment... a case study:

Case studies on environmental impact of seawater desalination

Purchase
$ 37.95
J. Jaime Sadhwania, , , Jose M. Vezaa and Carmelo Santanab
aUniversity of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Department of Process Engineering, Campus de Tafira Baja, E-35017, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
bConsejo Insular de Aguas de Gran Canaria Juan XXIII, no 7, E-35004, Las palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Received 25 January 2005; accepted 21 February 2005. Available online 24 November 2005.
Abstract
Water desalination processes have contributed to a better standard of living in a number of countries during the second half of the 20th century, following an increase in water demand for drinking purposes as well as industrial and agricultural uses. However, the technologies used in water desalination are also accompanied by adverse environmental effects. There are several effects to be considered in desalination plants, such as the use of the land, the groundwater, the marine environment, noise pollution and the use of energy, amongst others. To protect and preserve the environment, most countries turned to assess the environment impacts produced by desalination plants. Seawater desalination plants are located by the shoreline, to supply desalted water to the population of the main cities and other uses. The construction of both the desalination plants and all the required infrastructure in coastal areas affects the local environment. The impact on groundwater is due to the seawater pipes leaks which could contaminate the aquifers. The high salt concentration in the brine and several chemical products used in the desalination process are returned to the sea. Most impacts on the marine environment arise as a consequence of the brine discharge and their effects could be worse in the Mediterranean sea than in other areas. With respect to the noise pollution produced by the desalination plants, there is always an impact on the plant operators and also on the towns and villages nearby. One of the major indirect environmental impacts is the use of the energy required by desalination plants, particularly when electricity is produced by burning of oil, which in turn boosts the process of global warming. In this paper, we analyse the environmental problems of seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants, focusing on some case studies located in Canary Islands, and describing the major impacts identified. Environmental monitoring is done by the water and environmental authorities, based on regional regulations which turn out to be more restrictive than national legislation.

[Edited on 6-12-2011 by wessongroup]

jeremias - 6-12-2011 at 03:50 PM

This is all pretty sad. I stayed in Cabo Pulmo and did some diving this april, and really liked how layed back, pristine, and teeming with wildlife-really spectacular stuff. The town reminded me of what Tamarindo, Costa Rica looked like before the development onslaught ruined it. I doubt anything like that would happen, but sucks it will end up changing one way or the other. Isn't there a lyric to some song that goes "call it paradise, kiss it goodbye"?.........:(

Bajahowodd - 6-12-2011 at 04:27 PM

Or maybe, pave paradise?

I'm thinking that any degrading that may occur will be years away, given the current world economy. Just maybe, after sufficient time has passed, there will be solutions that will allow this development to move forward without any major negative consequences to the environment.

Pollyanna? Quizas.

Cardon Man - 6-13-2011 at 07:09 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Lobsterman
God if you guys had your way you'd keep all mexicans in a mud shack with no jobs and a sombrero for sleeping under a cactus. It's their country not yours or Green Peace's. Let Mexico fix their problems or create their own economic opportunities, their way.

Why not try & fix something in your country that's probably all screwed up, i.e. dams, pollution, gas guzzlers, etc. and leave the mexicans alone. You guys will meddle into anyones else business anywhere, any time and not feel out of place.

Each to their own.


You are assuming that the local Mexican nationals are unilaterally in favor of this development. Based on my observations and conversations with friends I would say such is not the case the case.

wilderone - 6-13-2011 at 09:05 AM

"God if you guys had your way you'd keep all mexicans in a mud shack with no jobs and a sombrero for sleeping under a cactus. It's their country not yours or Green Peace's. Let Mexico fix their problems or create their own economic opportunities, their way.

Why not try & fix something in your country that's probably all screwed up, i.e. dams, pollution, gas guzzlers, etc. and leave the mexicans alone. You guys will meddle into anyones else business anywhere, any time and not feel out of place.

Each to their own. "

So wrong on so many levels. Mexico may have its borders, but that doesn't give them the right to pollute and destroy sensitive habitat and despoil marine park coastal regions for their personal financial gain. This is why Mexicans have formed SEMARNAT and other environmental entitites. The days of raping an ecosystem - the likes of Cancun and Cabo - must stop. "Let Mexico fix their problems? - what a joke. Do you know who saved the Espiritu Islands? Do you know who prevented Exportadera de Sal from despoiling Bahia San Ignacio? Do you know who presented the information to the Mexican president who made the decision to stop development at Sta Rosalillita? How many Norteamericanos live in Baja CA and support its economy - do they not have a voice? You need to fast-forward your stereotypes - time to evaluate two generations of pollution and destruction all over the world. The status of fish stocks worldwide alone will astoud you - or should astoud you. When does it stop? And we do try to fix things in our country - and there are many, many successes - which are to the benefit of everyone on earth.

In Mexico's Baja, worry that a 'new Cancun' may harm reef

BajaNews - 9-14-2011 at 10:35 PM

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/14/v-fullstory/2406974/in...

BY TIM JOHNSON
Sep 14, 2011

CABO PULMO, Mexico — What's happened at the Cabo Pulmo marine reserve off the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula is fishy — in a good way.

Once severely depleted of fish, the reef system off Cabo Pulmo now teems with marine life, thanks to fishing restrictions imposed more than 10 years ago.

But environmentalists are worried that that ecological advance will be lost if the Mexican government allows a $2 billion development plan to go ahead that would place a "new Cancun" less than three miles north of the Cabo Pulmo marine sanctuary.

Mexico's Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources has given Spanish developer Hansa Urbana all but final approval for the project, which would turn desert scrubland into a bustling development of hotels, condos, golf courses and a large marina.

The government says such a resort would have no impact on the marine reserve.

That makes environmentalists seethe. They say the secretariat's speedy approvals are questionable and without scientific merit.

"This development is completely unjustifiable, especially since it's right next to the marine reserve," said Alejandro Olivera of the Mexico office of Greenpeace, the international activist group on conservation issues.

Olivera called the revival of Cabo Pulmo, the northernmost reef system along the Pacific coast of the Americas, "one of the best examples of marine conservation in Mexico. These fishermen realized that the waters were being overfished. So they changed from being fishermen to becoming providers of eco-services," he said.

Their action to halt commercial fishing brought about such a dramatic transformation of the reef system that oceanographers say it's an example not only for Mexico but also for other parts of the world.

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, one of the world's premier proponents of ocean health, described Cabo Pulmo as "the world's most robust marine reserve."

Scientists at Scripps reported in a scientific journal last month that the number of fish in the 27-square-mile marine reserve had soared 460 percent during a recent 10-year period.

"It's a totally, totally different reef," said Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, the lead oceanographer for the study. "It's the most dramatic thing."

"You go down and you see huge animals: tuna, jacks, sea bass, groupers," said Brad Erisman, a marine ecologist who was a co-author of the study.

Framed by a backdrop of stunning mountains, Cabo Pulmo sits on the eastern cape of Baja California about 60 miles northeast of Los Cabos, a tourism magnet.

Its 200 or so villagers are descendants of Jesus Castro-Fiol, a legendary diver for mother-of-pearl along the coral reefs on the parallel fingers of basalt that lie partly exposed underwater.

By the early 1990s, as they lobbied the government to declare the reef system a marine reserve, some members of the extended Castro clan began offering kayak expeditions, snorkeling trips and reef dive adventures to visitors. Today, the village has a half-dozen dive and snorkel shops.

The move toward sustainability didn't stop there. The village declined to hook into the national electrical grid, choosing to rely on solar panels for power.

A smattering of Americans have bought lots and built homes in Cabo Pulmo, supporting a handful of restaurants, and a steady trickle of tourists arrives along the gravel road that connects to the outside world.

While villagers chose new livelihoods, the fish population boomed, and big predators such as tiger and bull sharks, marlin, tuna, wahoo, snapper, grouper and sailfish also thrived. The predators caused smaller species to reproduce more quickly, strengthening the entire marine ecosystem.

The Cabo Pulmo reefs hold 11 of the 14 species of coral found in the Sea of Cortez, which also is known as the Gulf of California. Its regular inhabitants or visitors include five of the world's seven endangered species of sea turtles.

Oceanographers report amazement at what they see. Aburto-Oropeza said he flew in an ultra-light aircraft earlier this year and spotted a congregation of sharks in the reserve.

"There were up to 200 sharks in a small part of the reef. It was unbelievable. In my 20 years of diving in the gulf, I hadn't seen anything like that," he said.

On a recent dive, he said, he witnessed "a group of about 20 large fish, groupers and snappers, eating a bunch of grunts that were between 50 and 70 centimeters," a foot and a half to more than 2 feet long. "It was an incredible spectacle."

The marine park, which was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005, was clearly one of the reasons that Hansa Urbana, a development company based in Alicante, Spain, chose in 2007 to plan a major tourism development in Baja California.

Cyclone fencing surrounds much of its 15.4-square-mile site, and no ground has yet been broken. The firm's website and statements by company officers pledge three golf courses, a 490-slip marina, a jetport, 15 hotels and numerous condos, equivalent to 30,692 hotel rooms or 10,230 three-bedroom condos or houses. Construction would extend over three or four decades. For comparison, Cancun, Mexico's vast tourist development on the Caribbean, has more than 32,000 hotel rooms.

"Cabo Cortes will provide select visitors with the ultimate vacation experience of Mexico, and, for a fortunate few, second homes equal to anything the world can offer," the website says.

Residents in the nearby port of La Ribera, population 3,000, generally support the Cabo Cortes project, enticed by promises that it will create 19,000 direct and indirect jobs.

"Imagine how the merchandise will fly off the shelves around here," said Jose Leal, a fisherman. "You have to be in favor of development as long as it pulls you along, too."

Leal said local fishermen had been promised berths in the marina for their fishing boats, and that he'd receive a concession to provide ice for boaters.

Among leading marine scientists, the mood is far less cheery. National Geographic explorer-in-residence Sylvia Earle and 21 other U.S., Canadian, Mexican and Costa Rican scientists wrote to UNESCO headquarters in Paris in May to say the Cabo Cortes project "could cause irreversible harm to this unique and vulnerable reef" with its "overwhelming pollution."

Echoing that opinion, residents in Cabo Pulmo say the region's aquifer can't sustain such a large project, golf courses will expel chemicals into the sea and the building of the marina (where no natural bay exists) will send sediment southward.

"The dredging for the marina will create turbidity and hurt the reef. Fish will flee," said Judith Castro, one of the community's most vocal activists.

Scientists say currents in the Sea of Cortez vary from season to season but that in the winter they often come southward along Baja's eastern coast.

This is just "It's very clear that there will be impacts, and they won't be positive," said Grantly R. Galland, a Scripps marine ecologist.

A top environmental regulator from the federal secretariat, Mauricio Limon Aguirre, told television journalists in June that Cabo Cortes wouldn't endanger the national marine park. He didn't respond to recent requests for an interview.

"As of today, no project has been authorized that will disturb the sea. Because of this, we know that the reefs will not be affected," Limon Aguirre said.

In the end, global economic turmoil may do as much to halt Cabo Cortes as environmental activism. In June, the Banco de Espana was forced to step in to save an ailing Spanish savings bank that owns a quarter of Hansa Urbana, the developer.

That gives the Spanish government — sensitive to charges that the project is speculative and harmful to the environment — a voice in the development.

"Many Spaniards are deeply committed to conservation," said Mario Castro, a dive shop owner who attended a workshop in Spain earlier this year. "I am hopeful that they will withdraw from this project."

Osprey - 9-15-2011 at 06:57 AM

What Judith Castro can see, that no ocean science person has yet to discover is this: if you walk on the beach from Cabo Riviera, southeast of their new marina project (the marina is not yet open to the sea) you will find that the beach for several miles is now mud where it was sand for millions of years. The Cabo Cortez marina dig will eventually kill all the coral.

The Gringo Gazette reports that CAM, the finance source for Cabo Cortez, has gone belly up and cannot now come forth with the 3 billion dollars needed to begin the next phase.

While the deep reef at Pulmo is thriving, the shallow, inshore coral is bleaching out and nothing can stop that. Dead coral lines the beaches everywhere there is shallow coral -- in such places like Los Arbolitos, Frailes, Las Lisas algae has taken over and invited huge numbers of plant eating fish to those underwater deserts. The perimeters of the preserve hold some fish but they are taken by poachers with nets and hooks at every opportunity presented to them such as dark nights or times they know preserve police are not in their boats.

Paula - 9-15-2011 at 08:12 PM

Osprey, I didn't read all of this thread, but I think your last words on it tell me that this is a sad situation :no:

Paula - 9-15-2011 at 08:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Lobsterman
God if you guys had your way you'd keep all mexicans in a mud shack with no jobs and a sombrero for sleeping under a cactus. It's their country not yours or Green Peace's. Let Mexico fix their problems or create their own economic opportunities, their way.

Why not try & fix something in your country that's probably all screwed up, i.e. dams, pollution, gas guzzlers, etc. and leave the mexicans alone. You guys will meddle into anyones else business anywhere, any time and not feel out of place.

Each to their own.



It is unlikely that large scale resort development will free any Mexicans from their low income lives, even if they do get jobs. The work won't pay well, the cost of living will go up, quality of life will not improve.

Many of us have learned in "our country that's all screwed up" that big development does not solve problems, but deepens them. And so we hope that sweet Mexico might learn from our sad experiences.

ecomujeres - 9-17-2011 at 05:14 PM

For those who think that Mexicans aren't concerned about destructive development projects and that "we" should stay out of their business, I suggest you check out this news bulletin that is written primarily by young environmentalists about their concerns for their local communities around the Gulf of California: www.meloncoyote.org. All issues are available in English and Spanish.

Bottom of the page at this link: http://www.meloncoyote.org/issue_v2_n1/page16.html

will take you to an ad by Friends of Cabo Pulmo who are locals fighting this development.

Mexico is changing, communities are becoming wise to the broken promises and misery of so-called development and are fighting back.

CatCrazyJulie - 9-19-2011 at 01:50 PM

Another piece of ammunition that may be helpful in the fight against the "Cabo Cortes" monstronsity is recent research finding that the Cabo Pulmo marine reserve has shown the greatest fishery recovery of any marine reserve *in the world*. See article: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjourna...

Against the odds of tremendous financial and political pressure, perhaps there's hope for this little jewel! It's an example to the world of what is possible.

WWF: Mexican gov't should pull permits on tourism project in Baja

BajaNews - 10-18-2011 at 09:05 PM

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/09/20/wwf-mexican...

September 20, 2011

Mexico City – The government should cancel the permits granted to Spanish developer Hansa Urbana for its Cabo Cortes tourism complex in Mexico's Baja California Sur state, the World Wildlife Fund, or WWF, said.

The coastal-urban project represents a serious threat to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the Gulf of California where its development is set to take place, WWF-Mexico representative Exequiel Ezcurra said in a press conference on Monday.

The project would have a predictably negative impact on Cabo Pulmo, a protected area "described by the scientific community as the healthiest marine reserve in the world," Ezcurra said.

Other environmental groups, including Greenpeace, began alleging in mid-2010 that Hansa's project, which calls for a total investment of some $2 billion, would affect the 20,000-year-old Cabo Pulmo reef, one of the oldest in Mexico's Pacific region and located just 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the tourism complex.

Cabo Pulmo is home to 226 of the 875 species of fish that live in northwest Mexico's Gulf of California, government reports say.

The Mexican government declared Cabo Pulmo a protected area in 1995 and it is now a national park sprawling over 7,111 hectares (17,558 acres), with about 99 percent of the park made up of protected marine areas.

"The project is badly authorized, ill advised, flies in the face of public opinion as well as the internal opinion of the Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat, and ignores all scientific evidence that counsels against its authorization," Ezcurra said.

Accepting the destruction of an ecosystem so valuable to local communities without saying anything "would be a crime against future generations," the WWF-Mexico official said.

The project would have an infrastructure at least twice the size of the biggest tourism development in the state, Los Cabos, which has 11,026 rooms, of which practically half are unoccupied most of the year, WWF-Mexico director general Omar Vidal said.

Cabo Pulmo is an example of the ecological benefits that healthy ecosystems provide, an internationally accepted model of successful environmental, social and economic development," Vidal said.

The developer, however, said last week that its buildings "will not affect Cabo Pulmo" and that it is being targeted by a "disinformation" campaign.

The resort, which is being developed by Hansa Urbana unit Hansa Baja Investments, covers 3,800 hectares (9,382 acres), of which 2,500 hectares (6,172 acres) will be protected natural areas and 1,300 hectares (3,210 acres) will be developed, Cabo Cortes director Jesus Guilabert said.

Cabo Cortes "is not going to appear from one day to the next" and will "grow in an orderly manner," Guilabert said.

Development plans call for building about 8,000 condominium units, 15 hotels, a marina with 490 slips and two 18-hole golf courses at Cabo Cortes, developers said last month.

The project will create about 19,000 jobs, including 8,000 direct jobs and 11,000 indirect positions, the development company says.

The Environment Secretariat approved Cabo Cortes's environmental impact statement in September 2008.

The project was later temporarily halted when a resident filed a request for a review of the project.

Environmental officials gave the go-ahead to the project for the second time in March, but they set certain conditions.

Pristine Baja village fights planned resort

BajaNews - 11-24-2011 at 02:23 PM

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Pristine...

By Dudley Althaus
November 24, 2011

CABO PULMO, Mexico — Another showdown in the decades-long struggle for the soul of Mexico's tourist-magnet coastlines flares in this tiny seaside village tethered near the tip of the Baja Peninsula.

Villagers and an international coalition of environmentalists are taking on the Spanish developers of a mammoth resort planned for the edge of a fragile coral reef offshore of Cabo Pulmo, an hour's drive north of the sun-and-rum mecca of Los Cabos.

The only one of its kind in the Sea of Cortes, ecologists say the reef is a crucial and awe-inspiring fisheries breeding ground that draws scientists and recreational divers from around the world. Pollution from the planned Cabo Cortes resort, on the coast a few miles to the north, would quickly destroy the reef and its sea life, they say.

Its developers argue that Cabo Cortes — where they envision a 490-berth marina and the parched desert blooming with golf courses surrounded by some 30,000 bedrooms in hotels, condominiums and villas — will bring eco-friendly jobs and tourist dollars to a backwater in need of both.

While financiers usually prevail in past such skirmishes, this time the fish might have a chance.

“Once lost, we won't be able to recover this,” dive master Enrique “Kiki” Castro, 41, a member of Cabo Pulmo's dominant family, recently told a visiting delegation from the United Nations and other international organizations investigating the impact.

“It's best to save this now,” he said. “Because there will be no going back.”

Mexican officials, who approved Cabo Cortes nearly four years ago, might be reconsidering. And the financially strapped developer — Hansa Urbana — has lost control of the project to its lender, which in turn has been taken over by Spain's central bank.

No one knows what a new owner of the project can or will do with it. So opponents are pouring the pressure on President Felipe Calderón, who prides himself on ecological sensibilities.

Sergio Stabansky, a Cabo Cortes spokesman, said planners are in agreement that Cabo Pulmo should be protected, adding, “We are the most interested in seeing that. Because it's not just the heritage of the Castro family, it's a heritage of all Mexicans.”

Adding to the pressure, Mexico's largest television network, Televisa, last week broadcast a three-part series on Cabo Pulmo overwhelmingly sympathetic to the environmentalists' argument.

“In the coming year or two we are going to see all kinds of changes,” said biologist Exequiel Ezcurra, a former president of Mexico's National Institute of Ecology who is among Cabo Cortes' opponents. “Historically in Mexico when attention turns elsewhere these kinds of rogue projects are approved.”

Cabo Pulmo's Castro family descends from the fisherman and pearl diver who first settled here a century ago. They share their village with scores of Americans and Canadians, many retirees, who have built comfortable bungalows along the shore and the surrounding desert.

With Cabo Pulmo's fishing grounds badly depleted, marine biologists convinced the Castros and the Mexican government to protect the reef, leading to its designation as a national park in the mid-1990s where fishing is banned. Biologists say the fish stocks have grown fivefold since the beginning of the century.

Having given up decades of commercial fishing, the Castros and other villagers now earn good livings providing diving and snorkeling tours. There are several small hotels and restaurants in Cabo Pulmo and a handful of others along the nearby coast. Scuba loving tourists make day trips from Los Cabos.

Cabo Pulmo's dozen dive sites are far fewer than some Caribbean reefs. But fans say the quantity and diversity of the fish — sharks, dorado and grouper, as well as jacks that swarm in schools thousands strong — astound.

“It has brought us a quality of life,” said Judith Castro, 38, the family's foremost environmental activist. “This is an area for tourists who like to be in contact with nature and with original communities.”

Lighted by solar power and free of cellular phone signals, the village retains a quiet, easy-going vibe that other beach communities lost long ago.

“Everyone that is here is really different,” said Cremin Huxley, 67, a sea-loving South Dakotan who first visited in the 1980s and has lived here full time for 15 years. “You have to be a little bit on the pioneer side.”

Cabo Cortés is risky for the environment and investors

BajaNews - 5-26-2012 at 10:14 AM

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/cherrera/cabo_cortes_is_ri...

Carolina Herrera
May 25, 2012

It’s easy to see why the Spanish developer Hansa Urbana set its eyes on the Cabo Pulmo region of Baja California for a proposed tourism resort project known as Cabo Cortés. Unspoiled beaches stretch as far as the eye can see and clear, turquoise waters abound with brightly colored marine life. The problem is that as currently proposed, Cabo Cortés would irreparably damage the natural wonders that are precisely what tourists want to see. The fact is tourism, especially coastal tourism, depends on a healthy environment. This is why potential investors in Cabo Cortés must understand that its many uncertainties and risks would not only harm the environment and local community – but also make it a very unwise investment. NRDC’s new investor risk advisory (see link below) details key issues potential investors in Cabo Cortés must consider. The good news is there are better alternatives to Cabo Cortés and the local community is eager to work with interested partners in ensuring the long-term, environmentally-sustainable growth of the region.

Investor risk advisory:
http://www.nrdc.org/international/12051001.asp

Cabo Cortés is proposed on 3,814 hectares just north of the Cabo Pulmo National Park, home to the most important coral reef system in the American Pacific and considered the “most robust” marine reserve in the world. The proposal entails constructing the equivalent of nearly 30,000 guest rooms, two golf courses, a marina, a private jet port, desalination and waste-water treatment plants and other infrastructure. Investors should understand that the massive Cancun-style project is just not the right choice for this fragile location.

Reference:
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/cherrera/cabo_cortes_is_th...

My colleague Amanda Maxwell and I were recently in Mexico to launch NRDC’s new report Hansa Urbana’s Cabo Cortés Project in Baja California Sur: Investor Risk Advisory which looks at environmental, legal, political, market and other risks associated with Cabo Cortés that should give investors pause:

Environmental impacts could degrade the park and coral reef system
- The incredible Cabo Pulmo coral reef is truly what distinguishes this destination from other parts of the Baja peninsula. Simply put, if the reef is degraded one of the main tourist draws would be lost. There is a very high risk that currents would carry sedimentation and other pollutants from the development into the marine reserve’s fragile coral system, which would be unaccetable. In fact, Mexican Environment Secretary, Juan Rafael Elvira, has said Cabo Cortés cannot go forward if it affects the environment.

Pending legal reviews could set back the project indefinitely
- Local groups filed several legal and administrative appeals related to violations of environmental planning ordinances, fragmentation of the project’s approval process, and risks to protected species habitat. These legal actions are still pending and could significantly delay or even prevent implementation of Cabo Cortés.

Cabo Cortés is highly controversial and political scrutiny is increasing
- Investors must be aware that the environmental concerns surrounding Cabo Cortés are not new, nor are they limited to the local community and environmental groups. Back in 2008, when the project was first proposed, certain departments within the Ministry of Environment expressed doubts about the project due to its potential environmental impacts. In light of ongoing concerns about the project’s environmental and social impacts and the pending legal appeals, some Senators are looking closely at the project’s review process in case it failed to comply with Mexican laws.

Without water there can be no Cabo Cortés
- For a tourism project to be commercially viable, especially in an arid region like Baja California Sur, the most important consideration must be access to water. Cabo Cortés proposes to obtain water from an aquifer and desalination plant, yet both proposals have risks that investors should know about. The aquifer may be over-exploited and if the project adversely impacted the local fresh water supply it could mean severe reputational costs for investors. Furthermore, the desalination plant isn’t even approved yet because of concerns that toxic hyper-saline discharge could flow into the park.

Uncertain market demand in the area
- Potential investors also need to consider whether there is even demand for the type of tourism “product” Cabo Cortés represents. Tourism sector data from the nearby Los Cabos resort towns show that annual occupancy rates don’t exceed 65%, indicating that there may already be an oversupply of large all-inclusive resorts and big hotels near Cabo Pulmo.

Uncertainties about Hansa Urbana
- Hansa Urbana, the Spanish parent company of the Cabo Cortés developer may be a risky corporate partner. In Spain, some of its projects have been highly controversial and there are some pending investigations, including into alleged tax fraud.

It’s not a choice between Cabo Cortés or nothing at all

Cabo Cortés is an ill-conceived project that doesn’t belong near one of Mexico and the world’s greatest natural treasures. In fact, the risk it poses to the Cabo Pulmo National Park calls into question the very long-term viability of the project. Investors, as well as the Mexican government, should simply say no to Cabo Cortés.

Yet this not a choice between a Cabo Cortés-style major resort or nothing at all. That is simply a false choice. There are better alternatives than Cabo Cortés and the local community is ready to embrace them. While we were in Cabo Pulmo, Amanda and I heard about how the community has worked to become increasingly sustainable and has laid out a strategic plan that will help them move toward a tourism model that is environmentally sustainable, economically sound and generates benefits for the local community.

With innovative partners and a continued commitment to the protection of the Cabo Pulmo reef from the government, it will be possible to ensure development around Cabo Pulmo is environmentally-sustainable. Cabo Cortés is just not the way to go.

15875 signatures to date

windgrrl - 5-26-2012 at 11:29 AM

Done and the petition is simple to sign. :dudette:

Ken Bondy - 5-26-2012 at 12:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaNews
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Pristine...

By Dudley Althaus
November 24, 2011

The only one of its kind in the Sea of Cortes, ecologists say the reef is a crucial and awe-inspiring fisheries breeding ground that draws scientists and recreational divers from around the world. Pollution from the planned Cabo Cortes resort, on the coast a few miles to the north, would quickly destroy the reef and its sea life, they say.



I like Pulmo and have dived it many times, but I am bothered by incorrect statements like this because I think it detracts from everything else the writer says. Pulmo is NOT the "only one of its kind" (typically this means "the only living coral reef in the SOC"). There are living patches of coral reef all up and down the East Cape, from Cabo San Lucas to Bahia de Los Muertos. There is a large living coral reef at about 60fsw just off of Punta Pescadero that appears to me to be much larger than Pulmo with equal or greater diversity. Pulmo is nice but writers should not exaggerate its uniqueness, I think that doesn't help the cause.

David K - 5-26-2012 at 12:29 PM

Cabo Cortes may also cause Gobal Warming!:lol:

dtbushpilot - 5-26-2012 at 12:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Cabo Cortes may also cause Gobal Warming!:lol:


I'd say it already has with all the hot air being blown around by the opposing sides of this potential project....dt

David K - 5-26-2012 at 12:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by dtbushpilot
Quote:
Originally posted by David K
Cabo Cortes may also cause Gobal Warming!:lol:


I'd say it already has with all the hot air being blown around by the opposing sides of this potential project....dt


:lol::light::cool:

windgrrl - 5-26-2012 at 12:51 PM

Quote:
Quote:


I like Pulmo and have dived it many times, but I am bothered by incorrect statements like this because I think it detracts from everything else the writer says. Pulmo is NOT the "only one of its kind" (typically this means "the only living coral reef in the SOC"). There are living patches of coral reef all up and down the East Cape, from Cabo San Lucas to Bahia de Los Muertos. There is a large living coral reef at about 60fsw just off of Punta Pescadero that appears to me to be much larger than Pulmo with equal or greater diversity. Pulmo is nice but writers should not exaggerate its uniqueness, I think that doesn't help the cause.


I agree from what little I have seen, e.g. here are is a small coral formation around some big rocks near Los Barriles with very good snorkelling. There are also many stalled development projects big and small up and down Baja, yet always one more parcel of land fenced off for the next big dream, while some of the old developments close.

Posted today on COSTASALVAjE facebook

DianaT - 6-15-2012 at 10:11 AM

Hoy por la mañana el Presidente Felipe Calderón decretó como cancelado el proyecto de Cabo Cortés. ¡Cabo Pulmo Vivo!. Felicidades por este éxito a todas las organizaciones de la sociedad civil, pobladores de Cabo Pulmo y habitantes del Planeta que apoyan su conservación y protección. La tarea sigue pues el megadesarrollo destructor es un amenaza latente, no solo para Cabo Pulmo sino para toda la Hermosa Península de Baja California. Qué viva la Sociedad Civil Organizada.






[Edited on 6-15-2012 by DianaT]

Cabo Pulmo CANCELLED!

teadust - 6-15-2012 at 12:05 PM

Mexico cancels planned Baja resort project near protected coral reef

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/mexico-canc...

Mexico’s president has announced the cancellation of provisional permits for an enormous, Cancun-sized resort planned for the Baja California shoreline in front of a protected coral reef.

President Felipe Calderon says the Cabo Pulmo reef is the only coral reef in the Gulf of California, and as such merits special care and protection.

The reef is also one of Mexico’s most successful environmental rescue projects. Marine life has exploded after local fishermen decided almost two decades ago to stop fishing the area and use it for ecotourism instead.

A Spanish developer had obtained provisional permits for about 30,000 hotel rooms, golf courses and a marina near the Los Cabos resorts.

But Calderon said Friday the company hadn’t performed required additional studies needed to rule out any impact on the reef.

Cabo Pulmo Resort Project Cancelled!

Loretana - 6-15-2012 at 06:27 PM

From today's Los Angeles Times.....


<<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/06/mexico-cabo-pulmo-reserve-project-canceled.html>>

Ateo - 6-15-2012 at 07:33 PM

Very good news.

Iflyfish - 6-15-2012 at 10:13 PM

Hoooooray~!~ That is great news indeed!!

Iflyfishwithsnorkelandmask

Hook - 6-16-2012 at 04:09 AM

Boy, that would never happen under a PRI president. At least the ones we've seen in the past.

I wonder if Pena Nieto will be able to override the permit cancellation, when he is elected next month?

BFS - 6-16-2012 at 07:40 AM

Estupendo!!!!

Steve in Oro Valley - 6-16-2012 at 08:42 AM

Hi:

I just read the Calderon story in the Tucson paper; This proposal was so wrong, for the area :rolleyes:

I remember Las Barracas in 1976. San Miguel vine blooming its red flowers in December, growing in the sand dunes....

Steve in Oro Valley

bajajazz - 6-17-2012 at 08:57 AM

With Spanish banks poised to go down the toilet due to ill-advised real estate speculation (along with the economies of Greece, Italy and Ireland) it is fundamentally ridiculous that Spain was even considering financing a project the size of Cabo Pulmo.

The "irrational exuberance" described by Alan Greenspan is obviously not a phenomenon exclusive to Wall Street.

CABO PULMO DEVELOPMENT CANCELLED!

Udo - 6-20-2012 at 09:43 AM

CABO PULMO DEVELOPMENT CANCELLED!!!

On June 15, President Calderon announced the demise of the proposed "Cabo Cortez", the mega-resort project, granted initial permits four years ago by Mexican authorities. The plan called for a 9,400-acre development with 30,000 hotel rooms, a marina and several golf courses.

Discover Baja joins with numerous environmental groups in celebrating this victory in preserving Cabo Pulmo, the only coral reef in the Sea of Cortez. Calderon announced Friday that the permits were being revoked since the Spanish developer had not demonstrated that the resort wouldn't harm the environment.

"Because of its size, we have to be absolutely certain that it wouldn't cause irreversible damage, and that absolute certainty simply hasn't been proven," Calderon said. "To sum it up, Cabo Cortez won't be built."

tiotomasbcs - 6-20-2012 at 12:05 PM

Fantastic news! And cheers to all those who have fought hard to prevent it from happening. It's just a beautiful place the way it is! Small and slow growth for locals would be fine but I'm selfish and hope it doesn't change at all.:smug: Tio

SFandH - 6-20-2012 at 12:09 PM

Yeah, why not small, nicely done motels that leave the shoreline alone? The mega resorts are too destructive of nature and culture.

chuckie - 6-20-2012 at 04:06 PM

Why anything? leave it alone...

capt. mike - 6-20-2012 at 04:35 PM

i agree - too big is no good.
but.......i would like to see something like punta pescadero did and with a simple strip to fly in and stay a while.

SWEET !!

captkw - 6-20-2012 at 04:39 PM

GREAT NEWS !! building at the end of a watershed is not the smartest thing !! the name of the area loosely translate's as the river bank.....K & T :cool:

Udo - 6-20-2012 at 05:23 PM

I am sure Osprey is totally overjoyed. :bounce:

He spent many months working against the powers to be to try to stop the project.
He also enlisted many others, and worked with environmentalists to kill the project.

So far there is no other news on why Calderon called it quits. Perhaps something may be printed in the mexican newspapers.

Eli - 6-21-2012 at 06:01 AM

Capt. Mike, although the closest you can fly in is to Punta Colorado air strip, You might check out the Inn at Rincon, Baja California Sur. My daughter designed and her company built it. The place is beautiful on a white sand pristine beach, a great little get away.

Floatflyer - 6-21-2012 at 06:29 AM

Actually there are 2 dirt air strips closer to Cabo Pulmo than Punta Colorada, and, by the way, PC has been closed since the "remodel". You can land there but need to have made arrangements with the Van Wormers before hand.

The El Rincon strip is about 1/4 mile from The Inn at Rincon and is owned by Cabo Cortes and staffed by their security people. You need prior permission to park a plane there, something I have managed for the past 27 yrs but they are serious about drop in visitors. The Inn at Rincon is a lovely place BUT they do not cater to individual or couples dropping in. Their focus is on larger groups of people, not your typical motel/hotel.

Further south is Los Frailes but this strip has been closed for the past couple of years and has no facilities as the Hotel Los Frailes has been closed for quite a few years. They have security people and there are barrels on the strip.

Eli - 6-21-2012 at 08:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Floatflyer
Actually there are 2 dirt air strips closer to Cabo Pulmo than Punta Colorada, and, by the way, PC has been closed since the "remodel". You can land there but need to have made arrangements with the Van Wormers before hand.

The El Rincon strip is about 1/4 mile from The Inn at Rincon and is owned by Cabo Cortes and staffed by their security people. You need prior permission to park a plane there, something I have managed for the past 27 yrs but they are serious about drop in visitors. The Inn at Rincon is a lovely place BUT they do not cater to individual or couples dropping in. Their focus is on larger groups of people, not your typical motel/hotel.

Further south is Los Frailes but this strip has been closed for the past couple of years and has no facilities as the Hotel Los Frailes has been closed for quite a few years. They have security people and there are barrels on the strip.


Wow, Even better information, thanks Floatflyer.
Yep, Rincon Inn is a very special place, not at all typical, well worth checking out their web site, great place for a family reunion, wedding, or Corporation Meeting getaway.

capt. mike - 6-21-2012 at 08:43 AM

thx FW [AKA float flyer] and Eli for the tips.
one day i do hope to land at Rincon via permission due to resident connections. That is...whenever i can resume baja flights.