Hi Mexico-loving friends!

 

Hi Mexico-loving friends! This week the Coronavirus traffic light map has turned all one but state green. The country is ready to welcome Spring Breakers across the country as well as travelers who are perhaps less interested in beach parties and more interested in tacos, culture, history, and relaxing in the sunshine.

Traffic Light Changes

For those that are new around here, last year Mexico's federal government created a traffic light system to help businesses and people understand the risks of Covid-19 in each state around Mexico. It was then up to the state governments to decide how to interpret these traffic light colors. Currently, red means the highest risk of covid and that hospitals are near capacity. It means that capacity at restaurants and hotels is lowered. In some places, it will mean that you will not be able to sit inside a restaurant at all, but only place an order for take-out (unless they have outdoor seating available). For the next two weeks, there will be no states in the red. Orange is a level below red status and means that there is still a high risk of covid-19 and many restrictions are still in place. The federal government has given control to the state governments to decide how they implement these colors and what restrictions should be in place. These are the states that will remain in orange with a risk of possibly moving into the red because of continued increases in severe cases and hospitals becoming overrun. There are currently no states in the orange.  Yellow means lower risk level and most places are allowed to have up to 50% capacity. States in yellow are allowed to have fans at sporting events and bars are allowed to be open (in some states clubs are also open in Yellow). Museums and other tourist attractions can be back open with restrictions. The only state currently in the yellow is Queretaro.  Green means that there is a very low risk of Covid, that many places can have more than 75% capacity and almost all services can resume. Precautions like masks and temperature checks are still being taken, especially when going indoors. There are now four states currently in the green. Every single state except Queretaro is now in the Green.  You can view the full map on the government website here. For more information about the changes that have been made around the country as well as what the Covid situation still looks like in these countries despite the traffic light changes, you can read them in this Mexico News Daily article. This means that most of the states will have all tourist sites, museums, beaches, boardwalks, and restaurants back open with precautions still being taken.

Latest Mexico Content Around the Web

Want to know what it's like to plan a destination wedding in Mexico? Alex of Backpacking Brunette just celebrated her big day in beautiful Puerto Escondido and planned most of it from her home in Queretaro. You can see her latest video about planning a Mexico wedding here. She made a video about her experiences planning it on-site back in January, so if you are planning a wedding, you may want to start with this video and then watch the outcome in the above video.  Tangerine Travels recently shared a video that, while perhaps a little bit dramatic, does highlight the realities and consequences of those that are overstaying their FMM allowances at the moment. The immigration changes in Mexico have affected a lot of people's travel plans, but Mexico isn't taking it so lightly. Watch that video here. Many people think that it's become impossible to find cheap living in beach towns in Mexico, especially in more popular places like Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, or Cancun. Larissa Sokla recently shared her $400 a month Puerto Vallarta apartment tour on YouTube which I think is a pretty incredible price for what she gets in this jungle paradise. Watch that video here. Thanks to the help of friends in Mexico City and lots of new writers that have recently joined the Eternal Expat team, the Mexico content continues on my blog! The latest article is all about the absolute best tacos in Mexico City (27 make the list!) that you don't want to miss! I cannot wait to revisit the city later this year and eat all the tacos!!! Read that article here.

Expats & Locals Around Mexico

As always with Mexico, I highly recommend seeking out people who are currently living in the places that you want to visit. With Covid rules changing constantly and safety issues cropping up every now and again, only people who are on the ground there living it every day can share with you what's really happening. For updates about Mexico City, as always I recommend following Ubish Yaren on Instagram. You can also follow Anais of The Curious Mexican for updates on the restaurant and food scene in Mexico City and what is back open. For information about what's going on in and around Puerto Vallarta, be sure to follow along with the Kinetic Kennons on YouTube. For updates about what's going on in Oaxaca, Susan of Brooklyn Tropicali has been sharing her updates of what's going on around the city and state of Oaxaca. Trisha of PS I'm On My Way currently lives in Cabo San Lucas and can share some insights into what is happening there with you. Check out her website here. For regular updates about life in Merida and around the Yucatan, check out Mexico Cassie who has also recently written a fantastic guide about Traveling Yucatan with Kids. Shelley of Travel Mexico Solo also shares her experiences in Merida and around the Yucatan. Her Instagram is a particularly good resource for what she's seeing at the moment. The Yucatan Times is the local English newspaper in Merida that shares local updates and news reports. To keep up with what's going on in and around Querétaro, follow Alex of the Backpacking Brunette. Vallarta Daily is the local English news there where you can learn about any changes in the situation in Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding Nayarit beach towns as well. Janine Around the World is traveling around the Riviera Maya at the moment sharing her experiences on her blog and Instagram. Riviera Maya News is the local English newspaper there where you can keep up with changes. I believe this is the region that is changing the most in regards to safety at the minute and if you plan to independently travel here (renting a car and exploring without tours or away from resorts), then I highly recommend speaking to someone who is there right now. The Mexican government's Coronavirus website is a huge resource for those that are currently living in Mexico and want to know more about what's happening in their state. As always, a great place to keep up to date with news about what's happening all over Mexico in English is Mexico News Daily.

Visiting Mexico Soon?

If you are planning a trip to Mexico soon, I hope you'll have a browse of the different Mexico guides on my blog or have a search through my YouTube videos to help you plan your trip! I also have FOUR extensive guidebooks available for Baja California Sur (brand new and published in July 2021!), Mexico City (updated in late-2021 with tons of new content!), Merida, and Guanajuato! If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to email me by simply hitting reply on this email. Speak soon and safe travels, Laura