Hi Mexico-loving friends! It has been a devastating October for many on the west coast of Mexico as three hurricanes have made landfall in the last few weeks. Puerto VallartaOn October 10th around 6pm, a category 4 hurricane made landfall near Puerto Vallarta. The area experienced winds of around 140 mph (220kph). Most locals reported experiencing very high winds around Puerto Vallarta for about an hour between 7 and 8pm. The storm left 120,000 homes in the state without power, but thankfully nearly 60% of those people got power back after 24 hours. As you can imagine, there were fallen trees, flooded streets, and debris everywhere. But like always happens in Mexico, the community came together. There were beach cleanup groups, people cleared the sidewalks and homes of neighbors and friends around them. The city government dealt with the larger jobs of trees and flooding. You can visit Puerto Vallarta today, just three weeks after the hurricane, and as a tourist you will likely not see much amiss. Businesses in the Romantic Zone and 5 de Diciembre neighborhoods are back open, beaches haven been returned as much to normal as possible, and the city is ready for snow birds and warm-weather-seeking vacationers to arrive in the coming weeks. You can check out some of the news stories about the cleanup on CBS news, Vallarta Lifestyles, and Banderas News. Los CabosOn October 21, Hurricane Norma, which was originally a category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Los Cabos and was downgraded to a tropical storm. Despite its weakening winds, the storm left tens of thousands of people without power and caused a fair bit of damage to the beaches of Cabos San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. The storm continued inland to Sinaloa and caused more damage there as well which is still being cleaned up.Read more about it here. Acapulco As I was preparing this newsletter, another hurricane arrived on the shores of Mexico's west coast. This time it was in Acapulco on October 25. Hurricane Otis was a record-breaking category 5 hurricane that brought wind speeds of 165 mph (265 kph). 27 people have lost their lives and four people are still missing according to this article on CNN. Over 500,000 people lost power, but CFE has stated that close to 40% of those people have already had their power restored and they are working to get it back for everyone in the coming days. Acapulco has been ravaged by this storm with 80% of hotels being affected by the storm. If you were planning a trip to Acapulco this winter, be sure to check with your hotel and other tours that you had planned to see if you will still be able to go ahead. | 
