casasiestasandolas.com

Dreaming of Mexico

Colin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:37:49 +0000

Surfs Up!

Colin — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:27:46 +0000

Woke up to a nice surprise this morning, we had some fun waves out front of the Casa. The surf reports did not show much swell for today but hey, that’s why you just have to be there.

Sabine shot these pictures from the roof patio -

Colin going right

Colin going left

Oscar

Colin

Unknown

Colin

Westjet 72 Hours Sale

Colin — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:43:04 +0000

The 72 hour, everywhere we fly sale.
All destinations come with an on-sale tag.

Book by January 7 (11:59 p.m. MST) for travel on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays
for travel until April 20, 2011.

Check out WESTJET and book your seats to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and come and stay with us at Casa Siestas y Olas

Take the boat to the beach!

Colin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 03:32:29 +0000

For those of you that have visited with us over the years and know that the beach was soooo close but yet so far – well the solution has been found and we now have a little “ferry” boat that shuttles over to the beach – Beware of the Crocodiles though!!

An interesting read from the Globe and Mail

Colin — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:02:30 +0000

The drug violence that has plagued Mexico since the country began its crackdown on cartels six years ago, and unsolved killings like that of Canadian businessman Daniel Dion, undoubtedly harm the country’s efforts to attract visitors. What’s remarkable – and welcome news – is that while a great deal of attention abroad is focused on the violence, Canadian tourists have a sophisticated understanding of the conditions in the country. According to Mexican government figures, the total number of Canadian tourist visits to Mexico in 2005 was 675,216. By 2009, the number had nearly doubled to 1,222,739. This year is on pace to shatter last year’s record. What’s more, in 2006, Canada contributed 8.8 per cent of the tourists visiting Mexico; in 2010, Canada – still the second most important market – represents 14.6 per cent while the United States fell from 62.9 per cent to 61 per cent of the total, no doubt a result of the faltering U.S. economy.

While the Canadian government has issued a travel advisory urging its nationals to “exercise a high degree of caution” when travelling to Mexico, tourists have been undeterred, recognizing that most of the violence is confined to a handful of states, particularly those bordering the United States. Indeed, if you look at the total number of Canadian visitors, on a per capita basis, more Canadians were killed in China and Thailand in 2007, than in Mexico, according to figures provided by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Many Mexican states have murder rates at or below the rate in the U.S., and The Economist reported recently that, based on official government figures, “Yucatán, where tourists snorkel with whale sharks, sees fewer killings per person than Canada.” Mexico does not only share a continent with Canada, it is a strong ally and trading partner in NAFTA. Canada has a tremendous investment in Mexico’s success, and that success depends not only on Mexico’s security, but on the strength of its economy. The country has come through the recession strongly. It provides the most welcoming environment for business in Latin America, as noted in this space Friday. But given the continuing importance of tourism to Mexico, with 8.2 per cent of its GDP coming from tourism (the third highest in the OECD, after Spain and Portugal), and with 6.7 per cent of its work force engaged in it, the level-headedness of the Canadian tourist is welcome.
Side Note – We drove down last week and crossed the border at Nogales, we did not see any trouble in the three days that we were on the road through Mexico. All has been quiet as usual here at the coast.

Greetings from Mexico

Colin — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 21:05:53 +0000

We arrived at the Casa late yesterday afternoon after spending 10 days on the road driving from Vancouver Island. The road was great and the whole trip uneventful. We traveled with Sabine’s parents, and our friends Ralph and Shirley followed us all the way from Qualicum Beach. We traveled from British Columbia through the following States – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and in Mexico, Sonora, Sinaloa and finally Nayarit. We also took in the Grand Canyon en-route, it was so beautiful!!

So this morning we woke up here on the coast with fresh Nayarit coffee and banana bread we bought in Matachen Bay yesterday. Relaxing and getting organized today, hope to see you down here – Saludos Amigos!!

Welcome to our new WEBSITE

Colin — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:46:51 +0000

Thanks to the great work from our good friend Taylor over at the SERVOWEB lab, we are pleased to show off our new website for Casa Siestas y Olas.

What is new you may ask – well we are now offering the option of staying at our Bed and Breakfast, instead of renting the whole house for a long-stay, you can now come and just stay a week (or longer). Check out the options on each of the rooms, the rates and the availability calendar. We hope you may consider a stay with us in Mexico!