July 2023

July Overview –

It was a lot hotter this month, so we enjoyed staying home more (with the AC on), however we did have to venture out a few times to take care of some things on our to do list.

My Canadian driver’s license will expire August 2023 so, knowing how fast things get done in Mexico, in February we started the process for me to get my Mexican driver’s license.   We knew the list of things we needed to have ready as Lorne already went through the steps to get his Mexican driver’s license back in December 2020 when we purchased our new vehicle.  The list of items needed were:

• Passport
• Valid driver’s license from Canada
• Mexican resident card
• Current electric bill (for address confirmation)
• Copy of Lorne’s ID (as the electric bill is in his name)
• Blood test from lab indicating blood type (this is put on the license in case of emergency)

Once we had everything together, we contacted our go-to person Josefina at Mexico Paperworks for her help in setting the appointment and completing any forms (in Spanish) that were required.  Between her busy schedule and ours, we finally had an appointment set for July 4.  We met her there and she reviewed all the items we brought to make sure we had everything.  When they called my name, she came in with me to guide me through the process, as it was all in Spanish.  After taking photos and fingerprints, checking for any outstanding infractions, and paying the fee of $1,275 pesos ($100CAD/$75USD) we happily left with my brand-new Mexican driver’s license in hand.  We are always grateful to Josefina for making these things as easy as possible for us.

This month was Lorne’s turn to see the dentist as he also needed a root canal and new crown for a tooth that had been bothering him for some time.  He found a dentist located closer to where we live, which was a tiny but fully modern office.  The best part was their prices were cheaper as they normally don’t cater to the “dental tourism” clients, and instead serve the local community.   As much as Lorne hates having dental work done, he found this to be the best dental experience he ever had.

We also spent a couple of weekends packing up our patio furniture and deck tiles to store in the guest room in preparation for storm season.  In the past years, we normally tackle this job early in August, but Lorne will be travelling to Ann Arbor then, so we thought it best to just get it done sooner rather than later.  Besides, it has been way too hot to even consider sitting out on the patio. 

It always feels so weird to pack up our patio during the summer, when most of our family and friends in Canada and the US are enjoying their outdoor patio time.  When storm season is over (officially November 15) we will bring our patio furniture back out and enjoy some patio time again, which is when most of our family and friends are packing up their patio stuff in preparation for winter.  Sometimes it feels like we live in a different world… LOL!

Evenings here don’t really cool down much either.  At 10pm, the temperature in our bedroom is still 32C/90F, so we typically need to put the AC on in our room at least an hour before we plan to go to bed to start cooling the room down to 28C/82F so we can sleep. By early morning the temperature in our bedroom has usually cooled down to 26C/79F.

And now, here’s what’s been happening around here in July….

Precious Cargo

Hawkins Cheezies have long been a favourite snack for most Canadians; however, they are not typically available outside of Canada, so they have become one of the most missed things among expats. The Canadian expat will often request friends or family that fly in from Canada to pack some Hawkins Cheezies in their luggage when they come to visit (we are totally guilty of doing this too!). 

On July 1 (Canada Day), a member of the Facebook group “Canadians in Cabo” posted a photo of some Hawkins Cheezies and said:

“I have the most amazing treat to auction off – one sleeve of these Canadian iconic treats has made its way to Mexico just a few days ago!  It can be yours to devour on Canada Day here in Cabo!”

They managed to raise over $100USD that day for the local charity “Feeding Los Cabos Kids” in exchange for a single 160g sleeve of Hawkins Cheezies.

Hurricane Beatriz

On June 25, a weather formation intensified off the southern shore of Mexico.  It was initially slow to organize, but six hours later became a tropical depression.  Later that day it strengthened into a tropical storm and named Beatriz (the second named storm of the season, after Adrian).

Beatriz closely paralleled the coast of Mexico moving in a west-northwest direction, and on June 30 intensified into a Cat 1 hurricane.  Early July 1, Beatriz brushed the coast of Mexico, causing significant flooding in the state of Jalisco before weakening to a tropical storm and, shortly thereafter, the system dissipated entirely. 

Early predictions from the National Hurricane Center indicated Beatriz would be heading straight for Los Cabos, however, after getting as far as Puerto Vallarta, she weakened, and Los Cabos was spared. 

It’s quite early in the season for hurricanes and storms to come directly north towards us here in Los Cabos, so we were quite surprised when it was announced Beatriz was coming this way.  We made sure to go through our hurricane preparedness list, just in case because you just never know what could happen.

Military Takes Over Airport

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as AMLO) has been involving Mexico’s military in a wide range of non-traditional tasks since he was elected in 2018.  Most recently, he has given the military control of Mexico City’s international airport (MEX) to take aim at corruption and mismanagement.

The military had already taken over security at MEX more than a year ago, but now they will also take control of everything else, from customs and immigration to handling luggage and cleaning.

There is a long list of problems at MEX which include drug shipments, stolen luggage, mismanaged airline schedules and illegal immigration.  The airport has been in disrepair for quite some time and as well, there have been some close calls on the runways in recent years.

AMLO has approached the military for help previously, giving them some immigration duties as well as control of ports and customs.  They have also been working on some major infrastructure, building a tourist train through the Yucatan Peninsula as well as a new airport.  They have even been running some plant nurseries.

The president plans to have a dozen airports in the hands of the military by the end of his administration in 2024.

ps…  Don’t forget to check out the latest Snippets!