Who doesn’t love October? Our season officially kicks off this month as the weather turns to pure perfection and the event calendar fills up. The next few months will bring the Ballon Festival, the Motorcycle Rally, various golf, fishing and sports tournaments, the Piñata Regatta, the Cholla Bay Poker Run, the Rocky Point 4×4 Jam not to mention all the holidays and the return of our beloved Mermaid’s Market and the Charanga Derby…just to name a few fun things to do. We keep a running list of events in every paper, but since we are printed monthly, we miss some last-minute goings-on so please check our Facebook Page for additions.

October also means that we’ll be getting a lot of new visitors to our lovely little fishing village who will, no doubt, fall in love with Puerto Peñasco and want to move here! Who wouldn’t? Some will purchase property, and others will make it their frequent vacation getaway – both are fantastic for the town. New people mean they won’t know what we old goats know, especially if they rely only on social media for their info. Some learning curves are steep so please remember we are all visitors in another country, and we should respect the laws, its customs, and people, and that being polite goes a long, long way. I need to point out a few quick items of which you can find detailed info. in our Travel Info. and General Info. Pages. We have compiled these pages over the last 33+ years and they reflect the actual laws of Mexico (not someone’s interpretation) as well as our own lived experiences. We want everyone to have fun, be safe and come back again and again. Okay, preaching almost over.

  1. If you are coming down to Rocky Point for the first time or the first time in a year or so, Hwy. 8 is terrible with potholes so be VERY careful especially going north. Same goes for streets around town though they are currently repairing one of the worst – the Coastal Hwy. between Islas del Mar roundabout and the windmill roundabout (I think we all call it the Windmill Road).
  2. You will need a valid identification and vehicle registration (that is not about to expire). You will also need registration for trailers, campers, UTVs, towed vehicles, etc. It is a good idea to carry a copy of titles for all as well. You are allowed ONLY 1 spare tire per vehicle, extras are charged a high duty tax.
  3. By law you must carry Mexican liability insurance (at a min.) on your vehicle, and it must be underwritten by an approved Mexican underwriter. Your U.S. insurance is NOT recognized in Mexico. This is easily done online or on your way down – stop in Ajo at Sanborn’s, Chevron or Ana Seguros at Texaco or at the WhyNot Travel Store in Why.
  4. If you are importing items that exceed your allotted amount, you will go to the Voluntary Declaration area. You do not have to pay duty on your personal items. Every foreigner that presents a Passport is allowed $300 USD pp duty free. If you have resident status, you are allowed $150 USD pp duty free. Anything above these amounts you must pay duty on, and this does not include alcohol, tobacco, food and other restricted items. Anything over $3,000 USD requires the assistance of a customs broker. All of this is spelled out within every edition of this paper and there are links on our website. Aduana has the ability to Google the item you are importing, and they WILL assess a value if your receipt looks shady, or you do not present one. It is always advisable to pull over to the voluntary declaration area if you have any questions whatsoever instead of trying to cross the border in hopes of catching the green light and not being inspected.
  5. Rental cars are NOT allowed into Mexico. This is something I just learned after almost 30 years here. Yikes! There are companies that will let you bring their vehicles into Mexico, but according to the Guardia Nacional (National Guard), who are the ones inspecting you as you cross the border, this is NOT allowed and will be turned back if your registration is checked.
  6. By law, every foreigner (that does not have residency status) must have an FMM when entering Mexico whether you are in the country for 1 minute or 180 days. For trips under 7 days, there is no charge, and the form can be obtained online or at the border as you cross.

Okay, that covers a few of the items that we have been receiving a lot of complaints about lately. Thank you to our local readers who already know all of this…we know you help people out and spread the correct info. For our new subscribers and readers, please take the time to browse through the info. pages frequently as things can and do change.

On a final note, Peñasco has a new Mayor (Dr. Castro) who officially took office last month and we are VERY much looking forward to working with him to get Puerto Peñasco the TLC it desperately needs and deserves. In the coming months we’ll let you know what progress we make and what you can do to help. Hopefully we can make Puerto Peñasco the shining star of the State of Sonora.

See you at the beach!