Hi Mexico-loving friends! This past weekend, Mexico's west coast around Puerto Vallarta and Nayarit braced for yet another hurricane.

Hi Mexico-loving friends! This past weekend, Mexico's west coast around Puerto Vallarta and Nayarit braced for yet another hurricane. Hurricane Roslyn made landfall as a category 3 in Santa Cruz, Nayarit. There has been extensive flooding in the area and over 150,000 people lost power in the region. As of Monday morning, services have been resumed in over 1/3 of the locations, but there is still a lot of damage and many people remain without power. Puerto Vallarta seems to have been spared from too much damage as the storm was quickly downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall and by the end of Sunday, it was being classed as a tropical depression. You can read the latest information about Hurricane Roslyn over on Puerto Vallarta Daily. There are also some photos and more information about the hurricane in this New York Times article.

Day of the Dead in Mexico

That time of year is upon us and for the first time since 2019, festivities are back to normal all over the country. This past weekend, Mexico City had its first of several parades and events, starting with the Alebrije parade.  If you missed the parade, fear not. The alebrijes always find their home along Paseo de la Reforma where you can view them for the week leading up to the official Day of the Dead parade. The Day of the Dead Parade in Mexico City will take place this year on October 29th at 5pm.  If you're not in the city, fear not. For the first time ever, the parade will be streamed and available to watch from anywhere in the world. Keep up to date with how you can watch that via Mexico News Daily. However, if you are in Mexico City for Dia de Muertos, then I highly recommend checking out the Iluminando Almas or the illuminating souls show which will be open to the public completely free at Chapultepec Park on October 29th and 30 and November 1st and 2nd.  You can also visit the ofrendas or altars that are on display in the zocalo in Mexico City. They will be there from October 28th until November 2nd. If you haven't already booked a tour for your Day of the Dead experience in Mexico City, I highly recommend those that are offered by Anais of Devoured Tours. They are wonderful ways to experience this beautiful Mexican tradition and to learn more about it. If you are visiting Patzcuaro for Day of the Dead, I highly recommend reading this website for all of the most up-to-date information. If you are visiting Oaxaca for the festivities, you can get a great up-to-date guide to all of the things that will happen there from Shelley of Travel Mexico Solo.

Other News in Mexico

Like much of the rest of the world, Mexico is beginning to feel the crunch of the recession. The Peso is set to decline quite severely against the dollar in the coming months. It could depreciate as much as 20% to the dollar. If you are planning to travel to Mexico soon, it would be a good idea to pay attention to the rates (you can set alerts with apps like Wise or XE) so that you can exchange dollars for Pesos before your trip ahead. That being said, it could be as long as 2024 before we see the decline of the Peso to this extent. You can read more about it on Mexico News Daily here. * Each year, Time Out Magazine chooses 10 of the world's coolest neighborhoods in the world seemingly out of thin air. They are based on a poll of a few thousand people and of course, are mostly to drive tourism, but they are always interesting to see. One year, the Juarez neighborhood in Mexico was chosen (it is pretty cool there, to be fair!). Another year, Barrio de Jalatlaco in Oaxaca was chosen.  This year, Colonia Americana in Guadalajara has been picked as one of the world's coolest neighborhoods. If you've never been to Guadalajara before, well then this is your signpost. It is a very cool, interesting, and fun city to explore with tons of great food, an awesome cantina culture, and a lot of natural beauty that surrounds it.

October Mexico Content

Eternal Expat Mexico-based writers have been busy this month writing some more great content! We've also updated some of our most popular posts to make sure they are as up-to-date as possible for you! 5 Best Beaches in Playa del Carmen Playa del Carmen vs Cancun: Which to Choose? 9 Best Restaurants in Cozumel Christmas in Mexico City: Traditions and Things to Do (Recently updated!) You can catch up on all of the Mexico content on Eternal Expat here.

I'm Coming Home

As many of you know, I left Mexico last year after living in the country for over five years.  It was a tough decision, but ultimately the best one for both Luke's and my career paths.  And while we are enjoying life in Europe quite a lot, I am happy to say that we are headed home to Mexico for a trip (not to move back just yet!). We'll be visiting the country for a few weeks to warm up and escape from the cold Northern European winter. It will be a time to catch up with friends and to work on updating tons of blog posts as well as the fourth edition of my Mexico City guidebook! To celebrate, and as a HUGE Thank You for all of your continued support I am offering a 20% discount on all of my Mexico guidebooks from now until Christmas. Use the code MEX2022 at checkout for any of the digital copies of my guidebooks and you will get 20% off the price.  If you have purchased one of the digital guidebooks that means that you will receive updated copies of that guidebook completely free forever (including the next edition of the Mexico City guide which comes out in February 2023!!). You can see the Baja California Sur guidebook here and the Mexico City guidebook 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. Speak to the locals living in those places and find out how you can better integrate. Ask questions, be curious and kind. 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 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. 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, Mexico City, 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

Eternal Expat