With its rooms fabulously equipped to offer the most comfortable stay, Posada La Roca Hotel is the most beautiful historic place to visit in Puerto Peñasco, México (also known as “Rocky Point” by North American tourists). This stone rambling house with rooms expertly restored and walls that simulate the old castles, has a unique atmosphere that takes us back on time to the old European style while its main sitting room invites us to gather in front of its stone chimney to enjoy the morning coffee that is offered as courtesy to its guests.

Being this the first and oldest building in Rocky Point, it used to be a casino and hiding place from the gangsters of the period in 1920, including Al Capone among them. Currently, you can enjoy from its several rooms equipped with refrigerator, air conditioning, cable TV and wireless internet. The plants at the sides of the main hallway will lead you on your walk to its charming back patio, perfect to enjoy its BBQ area under the shades of the “bugambilia” flower trees.

If you’re planning a tour along the traditional Old Port, Posada La Roca hotel is located right in that area and it is walking distance from shops, restaurants, bars and the ocean. Choose one of its 18 comfortable rooms at the Mexican local phone number (638)383-3199 –if dialing from the U.S., don’t forget to add 011+52 at the beginning- or at the e-mail address posadalaroca@hotmail.com. We will see you soon in Rocky Point!

By Carla Seldner / Visit Rocky Point, April, 2013.

Posada La Roca hallway

Posada La Roca charming back patio

MEMORIAL DAY IN THE UNITED STATES

Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May. It was formally known as Decoration Day and commemorates all men and women, who have died in military service for the United States. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day and it is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season.

What do people do? It is traditional to fly the flags of the United States at half mast from dawn until noon. Many people visit cemetaries and memorials, particulary to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries. Memorial Day is combined with Jefferson Davis’ Birthday in Mississippi.

Memorial Day has become less of an occasion of remembrance. Many people choose to hold picnics, sports events and family gatherings on this weekend. This day is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season for cultural events. For the fashion conscious, it is seen as acceptable to wear whit clothing , particulary shoes from Memorial Day unit Labor Day. However, fewer people follow this rule and many wear white clothing throughout the year.

Public Life

Memorial day is a federal holiday. All non-essential Government offices are closed, as are schools,buisnesses and other orginazations. Most public transit systems do not run on their regular schedule. Many people see Memorial Day weekend as an opportunity to go on a short vacation or visit family or friends. This can cause some congestion on highways and airports.

Background

Memorial Day started as an event to honor Union soldiers, who had died during the American Civil War. It was inspired by the way people in the Southern states honored their dead. After World War I, it was extended to include all men and women, who dien in any war or military action.

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. The current name for this day did not come into use until after World War II. Decoration Day and then Memorial Day used to be held on May 30, regardless of the day of the week, on which it fell. In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed as part of a move to use federal holidays to create three-day weekends. This meant that, from 1971, Memorial Day holiday has been officially observed on the last Monday in May. However, it took a longer period for all American states to recognize the new date.

Source: Join Us Magazine!

The town, Civil and Military Authorities paid emotional tribute in memory of the Heroes in homeland defense that struggled against the invasion of American naval forces on April 21, 1914 invaded the port of Veracruz.

The warm sunlight of this morning 21 April, the town of Puerto Peñasco, civil authorities and the army of Mexico Rocky sector, paid emotional tribute to the memory of the heroes of the fatherland, who on a fateful day but makes 96 years in the port of Veracruz, the people, the cadets and officers from the military academy established there defended heroically with the delivery of their precious lives for the invasion of pride conquering American naval force invaded for no reason and waters native land

Ever wondered why you have in the Navy to refer to the speed of a boat, knots are used? A lack of resources, in ancient times had to use imagination to rely on the sea, and despite today’s explanation is simple, not lack of talent.

One of the first methods that were sailors to determine the speed of the ships was an archaic probe. It was basically throwing a rope supplied water of knots separated by a distance, so after a while – once set by the hourglass – the crew picked up the Task Manager to see how the widget was nodes that had been unwound (The rope with knots was wrapped in a piece of wood). Based on data obtained on board knew full speed they carried.

At the end I considered that a knot equivalent to one nautical mile per hour (1 nautical mile = 1.852 km), so that a speed of 10 knots equals 18.52 km / h.

 Mayor Alejandro Zepeda Munro with his wife Marcela Zepeda Albelaiz Munro and council officials also led the ceremony commemorating the th day of the Flag “where we championed to escort Elementary School “New Creation.” The Mayor made the Flag Hoisting dignified celebration commemorating the honors for the flag, and I work for the school parade presented by various schools in the community that gave even more prominence to this important event. During his speech, Zepeda Munro was a recognition of all teachers in the schools of this town for his work to instill patriotic values that strengthen our nation every day, as well as to extend congratulations to the parents that their love and daily efforts, teach that the essence of the family home. ¨ symbols are our stunning tricolor flag, with her shield the eagle in the center and the glorious National Anthem ¨, he stressed. ¨ Our gratitude to all students of different grade levels, whose dedication to study, prepare to form good citizens, soon to be technicians, professionals, workers, that will make Rocky Point, the city that all we ¨, he said. Alejandro Zepeda made a exhorted all citizens to appreciate and that is the flag the symbol that unites us, excited us, and invites us to live peacefully, without violence, so as to build together, a ¨ Peñasco for everyone with a better destination ¨. After the ceremony the parade municipal authorities alluding to this important date was decked by the bodyguards of the elementary schools and upper half certainly made this event more attractive. The event was also attended by Attorney Trustee Noe Bañaga Farias, Ramon Campos Santos City Clerk, the aldermen Raúl Méndez Rojas, Blas Marcial Bastida, Guillermo Ochoa Barragán, Aymee Soe Ayala Machain, Laura Vega Salazar and others.

Enjoy de spectacular scenery, abundant photo opportunities and extraordinary comfort. Our professional tour guides will take you to places you never imagined would be close to Puerto Peñasco.
El Pinacate reveals thousand year-old gigantic craters which are one mile in diameter and 360 feet deep, more than one million acres of sand dunes and majestic granite mountains. Nature lover will discover an amazing varied animal and plant life.

Unusual beauty scenery and large biological diversity

throughout history El Pinacate has been considered as one of the most arid and inhospitable regions of the Sonoran Desert. El Pinacate is not far from being a biologically rich region. The volcanic shield of El Pinacate and the ocean of stabilized, semi-stabilized and active sand dunes that surround it form the core of the Great Desert and extend 1,765,706 acres.
Recent activity has turned this area into an open air biological laboratory. It’s biological diversity and unusual beauty has captured the interest of researchers, naturalists and tourists throughout the world.
All biological groups of higher vertebrates are represented despite de scarce rainfalls, lack of surface water and extreme summer temperatures which can reach over 110 F degrees. There are 41 native mammal and five introduced species. Five of these are in the protected category: The Pronghorn Antelope, Desert Bighorn Sheep, Badger, Desert Foxes and Long Nosed Bats.

Field of Dunes and Volcanic Gigantic Maar-type Craters
The majestic granite mountain ranges, enormous field of dunes and 1,250,000 acres of volcanic shield with gigantic Maar-type craters without a doubt have turned El Pinacate into one of the world’s most interesting tourist attractions. Additionally this region contains an excellent representation of the Mexican Sonoran Desert ecosystems.
To visit El Pinacate National Park is to meet with millenary events that are engraved in the Dark rocks and to perceive ancestral songs floating in the deserts silence.

Location
El Pinacate National Park is a biosphere reserve located in Northwestern of Mexico, east of the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California) in the Sonoran Desert which is directly below the border US state of Arizona and north of the town of Puerto Peñasco Sonora (Rocky Point).
It is one of the most strikingly visible land forms in North America when viewed from space. Much of its landscape is formed of a volcano system of cylinder cones known as El Pinacate

source: www.sonorandeserttours.com

As part of the celebration of World Wetlands Day on February 2nd, the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, announced the addition of the wetlands at Bahía San Jorge as one of seven new sites in the List of Wetlands of International Importance of the Ramsar Convention in 2010.

During the memorial ceremony on the island of San Pedro, in Yuriria, Guanajuato, the Secretary said that with this designation Mexico is now second in the world, behind only the United Kingdom, in the number of Ramsar sites it currently has. One hundred and thirty one sites exist and cover a total surface of eight million, 915 thousand, 433.7 hectares. The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty, which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation on the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Mexico joined the Convention on November 4, 1986.

The wetlands of Bahía San Jorge extend over more than 35 linear kilometers of coastline, from the northern tip of Estero Almejas to the southern tip of Estero San Francisquito. This Ramsar site brings together a combination of habitats, marshes, low intertidal mud, salt marshes, coastal dunes, sandy beaches, permanent shallow marine waters and wetland-terrestrial interface, connecting the earth system with one of the most productive marine systems world, the Gulf of California, and are in turn connected to the Sonoran Desert.

Currently, this area is of great importance for fisheries and aquaculture production, and for species, such as rays, guitarfish, shark, octopus, shrimp, and crab. Like other estuaries in the region, Bahía San Jorge’s wetlands serve as nesting, resting and feeding grounds for migratory and resident birds that are part of the Pacific Flyway, including species like the least tern, the American oystercatcher and savanna sparrow. The canals and marshes of the site serve as refuge and feeding areas for the larval and juvenile stages of fish and invertebrates, and as well as for feeding grounds for marine species. Bahía San Jorge also hosts a resident population of the bottlenose dolphin, an endangered species. There are also endemic species not found anywhere else in the world there, like the fisherman myotis bat.

The declaration of the Bahía San Jorge’s wetlands as Wetlands of International Importance increases support for conservation and sustainable use, which helps protect its ecological integrity, and continues to maintain important ecological functions and environmental services.

Source: CedoIntercultural. Gob

Después de la pesca, el turismo es la actividad más importante dentro de la economía del municipio; el desarrollo turístico actual ha consolidado una infraestructura con más de 70 restaurantes, 42 hoteles y moteles con 2,012 habitaciones; así como 14 estacionamientos para casas rodantes con 1,435 espacios.

Las expectativas de este sector son sólidas y de alto impacto en la estructura socioeconómica municipal. La afluencia turística asciende en un promedio de 1,000 visitantes diarios; aproximadamente el 85% de los visitantes extranjeros provienen del estado de Arizona, su promedio de estancia es de 3.1 días percapita creando un índice de ocupación hotelera es de un 50%.

La afluencia de visitantes nacionales anualmente suma aproximadamente 300,000 y la afluencia de turismo extranjero aproximadamente 1,700,000 dando un aproximado de turismo anual de 2 millones de visitantes.

El crecimiento de los desarrollos turísticos han marcado considerablemente la actividad económica, ya que a la fecha la costa norte evoluciona implusando los trabajos de la construcción.

Las actividades en Puerto Peñasco no tienen límite, desde pasear por las bellas playas, nadar en sus aguas tranquilas o simplemente tomar un descanso admirando un bello atardecer. Aquí mencionamos sólo algunos de los atractivos de este destino turístico:

Las playas de Puerto Peñasco con tantos kilómetros de arena limpia y aguas templadas, son sin duda el mayor atractivo para el visitante. en ellas se puede practicar el jet ski, paseos en bote, pesca, veleo, o simplemente dar un relajante paseo por la arena.

Además existen varios sitios ideales para la pesca deportiva, buceo y snorkeling ya que se ubica en uno de los principales golfos del mundo, siendo dueño de una enorme biodiversidad de especies marinas.

El Pinacate para el visitante que gusta de la naturaleza, Puerto Peñasco cuenta con una de las más interesantes reservas de la biosfera; los antiguos volcanes, grandes cráteres y extensiones amplias de lava hacen de este bello lugar un excelente sitio para visitar y aprender más de la naturaleza.

Acuario de CET-MAR un centro de estudios marinos abierto al público, donde diversas especies marinas pueden ser observadas, como las tortugas de mar, pulpos, caballitos, numerosas especies de peces y criaturas que viven en la profundidad del mundo marino.

CEDO es un centro de estudios localizado en la comunidad de las Conchas y abierto al público en general. Cuenta con una tienda de regalos y souvenir, así como su atractivo principal que son todas las actividades de estudio marino.

Economía

Industria actualmente la planta industrial se compone por 5 plantas procesadoras de productos del mar y una empresa exportadora de jaiba.

La industria naval se compone por 4 talleres que se dedican a la construcción y reparación de embarcaciones. Así mismo y de manera conexa existen 6 talleres de torno; se generan más de 1,300 empleos.

Comercio es una de las actividades más importantes para la economía municipal, ya que existen 706 comercios diversos ofreciendo empleo a 2,595 personas, entre las que se contemplan las empresas relacionadas con los servicios de turismo.

Los giros más dinámicos siguen siendo los relativos a comercialización de alimentos básicos, ropa y calzado.

Los servicios comerciales se subdividen en más de 40 giros y lo constituyen desde hoteles, restaurantes, hasta gasolineras, talleres, abarrotes, centros comerciales de autoservicios y artesanales.

Pesca es el soporte económico del municipio ya que su recurso marino es un gran potencial productivo para la pesca del camarón y los productos de escama. Cuenta con 110 kilómetros de litorales, cuya biodiversidad de flora y fauna marina le permitió ser declarado reserva ecológica para la preservación de especies endémicas.

La flota pesquera de altura con que cuenta el municipio es de 125 embarcaciones mayores y 300 embarcaciones menores para la pesca de ribera.

Las principales especies por sus volúmenes de producción y generación de empleos son: el chano, el camarón y la jaiba, así como la manta, la sierra y el cazón. Cabe señalar que estos volúmenes de captura, han favorecido para que Sonora ocupe los primeros lugares a nivel nacional, tanto para consumo nacional como para la exportación.

Infraestructura En la zona existen grandes proyectos habitacionales de hasta mil 500 condominios, entre los desarrollos destacan Sandy Beach Resorts, Costa Diamante, Sonora Sea, Bella Sirena, Las Palmas, que están preparando a Puerto Peñasco para una significante evolución.

También anualmente estudiantes de las Universidades de Estados Unidos eligen este destino como punto de diversión en el “Spring Break”.

Clima

El clima es extremoso, la época para vacacionar es de mayo a octubre, el mejor tiempo es de marzo hasta abril …. el invierno es templado como destino turístico, ya que es zona desértica, la época de lluvias es en verano, pero por lo regular nunca llueve. Un promedio de lluvia en horas sería de 1 hora la máxima duración.

Clima desértico, polvoso, con ocasionales tolvaneras, las temperaturas de verano llegan a superar los 40 ºC; los rayos ultravioleta casi siempre son de 10+ extremo , así que si se quiere vacionar en verano no olvidar el bloqueador. Cerca de ahí se encuentra la playa de San Felipe, Baja California.

El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar is located around the cities of Puerto Peñasco, Sonoita and San Luis Rio Colorada in the state of Sonora. From the United States it is a mere 3.5 hour drive to the Reserve on Mexico 8 to mile marker km 51. From Mexicali it is about 4 hours via the new Coastal Highway. It is here you will find the official office to the Reserve, the Biological Station and the visitor center. Soon there will be a new state-of-the-art visitor center a few miles south. The drive will be well worth it!

History
The Natural Protected Areas are a priority of the Mexican government in order to conserve the biodiversity and the natural resources as well as to stop the deterioration of the environment.

When you plan your visit, please remember you are in the desert, so long pants and long-sleeve shirts are best, along with hats and sunglasses and plenty of water. Temperatures can range from 86 down to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Most importantly, bring your camera to have all the wonderful memories of the trip. Remember there is no hunting or collecting of animals or flora. The main roads are passable to cars, but four-wheel drive is even better.

by Beverly Arrowood