2021 has arrived and we enter the new year full of hope and optimism. During negative situations like 2020, humans tend to dwell on the negative and forget to focus on the positives putting that much needed optimism on the back burner.

During every crisis there are many positive human-interest stories that occur but will never get noticed because the attention is focused on the negative, so let’s revisit those feel-good moments.

Community Outreach on Display

As you recall it was a scary and nervous time for our little fishing village who has limited medical resources. For a time, we thought it was the end for this town and the hospital would be overloaded with the sick and dead, but a positive aspect emerged in the form of helping hands from residents exemplifying the true meaning of community.

This community came together and instituted a tremendous effort to help the underprivileged families and the medical sector. Donations included over 4000 pantry packages to poor families, over 1 ton of fresh fish, 20,000 facemasks to the health center, hundreds of cakes and pastries, over 10 tons of potatoes, 1000 of liters of disinfectant gel, 20 gallons of bleach and 5 respirators and an isolation chamber. This response was not only impressive but says a lot about the culture of Puerto Peñasco where human kindness and compassion are on the minds of all even during the darkest hours.

Another notable positive story is the owner of Mickey’s Place, Chef Mickey, who provided free meals in the lower parts of the barrio, where people couldn’t afford a meal during this crisis, all while his business was closed.

Chef Mickey’s business was closed, and everybody was suffering, but he said if we all come together, we can help people out. He said it provided him peace of mind at night when you are enjoying a hot meal with your family that you can say you helped others enjoy a hot meal also that day.

Tourism and Investment Opportunities Rebound

Before the Covid-19 virus started, 2019 was a major year of growth and expansion for Puerto Peñasco more than in any other year since 2008. Housing starts were up dramatically over the year previous which is a good indicator of the strength of the local economy and shows that investment dollars were flowing into the town through the purchasing an existing home, land/lots and/or building new homes and then Covid hit and it came to a screeching halt….albeit Temporarily.

The big question on everybody’s mind is will the shutdown of Peñasco have a lasting negative effect on business, real estate, tourism etc. That question was put to the test on June 16th as thousands of tourists visited Puerto Peñasco for the first time since the shutdown as the city opened its doors to tourists for the inaugural re-opening launch. Longs lines of cars were seen at the sanitation checkpoint just outside the entrance of the city as tourist’s road-tripped down by the thousands to Puerto Peñasco. It was a great indication that business will resume back to normal and the impact on business was only temporary or was it?

Then came Labor Day weekend and once again it brought the much-needed sights and sounds of people enjoying themselves and living life again while giving the city and its shuttered local businesses the much-needed revenue boost due to the Covid-19 shutdown proving that the worse was behind us and life goes on.

Now that we are almost back to normal the good news is there are no shortages of investment opportunities available in the real estate and tourism market. From large-scale land development to purchasing a couple lots and building some income properties, there is no better place to be at this moment in time that Puerto Peñasco.

Happy New Year and as we go through 2021, lets focus on the positive for the sake of our peace of mind and God Bless your Family.

About the author: Joseph Sanchez is president of Rocky Point Home Builders a design/build contractor specializing in custom home design, construction and engineered renovations and a real estate agent with RE/MAX Legacy. He resides here in Puerto Peñasco with his wife and three children and is originally from Chicago. For more information email him at sales@rockypointhomebuilders.com.