Puerto Vallarta Rentals Blog

Chilies are popular in many countries, but Mexico enjoys them the most.  Mexican peppers have been used for thousands of years as an ingredient in Mexican dishes. There are about 140 different types of chilies grown in Mexico. People tend to shy away from chilies because of their powerful heat when eaten, but not all chilies are unbearable to many.

Mexican peppers are a popular Mexican food used in foods. It is used to add flavor to vegetables, and meats. Another Mexican spice is popular is Chipotle. It is made from Jalapenos that have been dried and smoked. The flavor is one of a kind and goes well with many dishes. It is gaining popularity outside of Mexico. One other type of chile pepper is Ancho. It is different from the other peppers because it has a sweet flavor similar to dried fruit.

Some Mexican spices used in cooking are Cumin, and Oregano. Mexican dishes that include tomatoes are perfect with oregano. It gives the dish an earthy flavor. Cumin gives Mexican dishes a taste that cannot be matched. Cumin takes three to four months of a long summer to grow. Cumin is a dry seed from the herb Cuminum Cyminum which is a member of the parsley family. This spice is the key component in curry power and chili powder. Cumin can also be boiled and served as a tea which is called “cumin cider”. Cumin is a spice that has been used for many centuries and will continue to be used by the people of Mexico.

Recado rojo is a special blend of Mexican spices that are found in healthy mexican food. It was used as long ago as the Mayans. It the spice mixture is red because of the added annatto seeds, which give food a red look to them when added. This Mexican spice blend contains Mexican spices such as cinnamon, clove, cumin, oregano garlic, and more. This blend is associated Mexican foods found in the Yucatan. It would be very easy to make this from your own home.

You can find dishes using different popular Mexican chiles such as chilate. Chilate is a drink that includes chile peppers, chocolate, and toasted ground corn with water. Another food is Chilis en nogada. It consists of green peppers that are stuffed and fried and covered with cream and pomegranate seeds.

You will be able to find many recipes which include popular Mexican chilies. Remember that when handling and cutting the peppers, use gloves because the heat of the pepper can bother your skin and throat. Also try all you can to not rub your eyes. Enjoy experimenting with different Mexican cuisine and have fun while doing it!

The U.S. is 8th in the world in total crimes at 80.0645 per 1000 residents, giving you an 8% chance of being a victim in the U.S., compared to Mexico that ranks 39th in total crime in the world with a per capita of slightly less than 13 crimes per 1000 residents¦ That is a 1.3% chance of being a victim of crime in Mexico.

According to almost every measure, Mexico is much safer than the U.S.:
Assaults in the U.S. ranks number 6, Mexico number 20
Burglaries in the U.S. ranks number 17, Mexico number 34
Car thefts in the U.S. ranks number 9, Mexico number 22
Fraud in the U.S. ranks number 18, Mexico number 29
Rape in (Canada number 5) the U.S. ranks number 9, Mexico number 17

My personal experiences are that Puerto Vallarta is the safest, most crime-free city I’ve ever lived in (and I’ve lived in dozens) and that typically Mexicans are much more honest than Americans or Canadians. Of course, there are all kinds so take heed of your activities and surroundings in any place.

Almost any other country in the world has crime. I have not yet seen any gun shooting on the streets, nor any of my American and Canadian Friends that keep coming every year, as they quoted “I feel much safer in Puerto vallarta than in Detroit or NYC”.
False rumors are on the media, so friends from the US call me to ask if Puerto Vallarta is safe for them and their children.

For Mexican tourism officials, the perception that their country is unsafe just doesn’t add up.

Twenty-two passengers on Carnival’s Splendor, on their way back from the pueblo of El Nogalito, in Mexico, were stopped as their bus was returning to the ship. Gunmen took electronics, jewelry and money, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. No one was injured.

In a statement, Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, chief operating officer of the Mexico Tourism Board, called the robbery “a rare and isolated incident,” adding, “While 22 people were in involved in this incident, in all of 2011, 22 million (22.7 million to be precise) international tourists visited Mexico, in addition to the many millions who arrived by cruise line. The vast majority of these visitors enjoyed their stay in Mexico without any incident.”

In a similar vein, Secretary of Tourism Gloria Guevara said in an interview last week that Mexico’s drug-related problems are limited to about 80 municipios, which she likened to counties, out of about 2,500. (The U.S., by comparison, has about 3,140 counties.)

The U.S. State Department on Feb. 8 renewed its warning about travel to Mexico, adding four states to the previous roster of 10 that it says have areas that are unsafe. The beginning of the warning said, “Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year for study, tourism, and business, including more than 150,000 who cross the border every day.”

But the report goes on to say, “Nevertheless, U.S. travelers should be aware that the Mexican government has been engaged in an extensive effort to counter TCOs [trans-national crime organizations] which engage in narcotics trafficking and other unlawful activities throughout Mexico. The TCOs themselves are engaged in a violent struggle to control drug trafficking routes and other criminal activity. As a result, crime and violence are serious problems throughout the country and can occur anywhere. U.S. citizens have fallen victim to TCO activity, including homicide, gun battles, kidnapping, carjacking and highway robbery.”

It is unknown whether the recent incident in Puerto Vallarta is related to drug trafficking, which, the warning noted, has claimed 47,515 lives from December 2006 to the end of September 2011. Nearly 13,000 of those deaths occurred in the first nine months of 2011, the warning noted.

The new warning, Guevara said “is not perfect but is much better than the ones that we saw before,” thanks to the specifics in the warning, which also includes maps to help people better understand Mexico’s geography. The specificity also helps avoid painting all of Mexico with the same brush, she said. And, she noted, Mexico is a large country — more than 758,000 square miles, about a fifth the size of the United States.

Of the state of Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta is, the warning says visitors should “defer non-essential travel to areas of the state that border the states of Michoacan and Zacatecas.” Puerto Vallarta does not border those states.

Like Lopez-Negrete, Guevara cited the 22.7 million who visited Mexico in 2011, noting that number does not include cruise ship passengers or those who cross the border for less than 24 hours. The number of visitors from Russia and Brazil has also increased dramatically, she said.

In the coming weeks, Mexico will have one foreign visitor of huge importance: Pope Benedict XVI is to visit Guanajuato next month.

The Associated Press reported that one drug gang has posted banners warning the rest to keep the peace during the visit. One said, in part, “You have been warned, New Generation, we want Guanajuato in peace, so don’t think about moving in and much less causing violence, precisely at this time when His Holiness Benedict XVI is coming.” The banner is thought to be the work of the Knights Templar. New Generation is a rival gang.

The pope is expected to be welcomed by President Felipe Calderon.

The U.S. is 8th in the world in total crimes at 80.0645 per 1000 residents, giving you an 8% chance of being a victim in the U.S., compared to Mexico that ranks 39th in total crime in the world with a per capita of slightly less than 13 crimes per 1000 residents¦ That is a 1.3% chance of being a victim of crime in Mexico.

According to almost every measure, Mexico is much safer than the U.S.:
Assaults in the U.S. ranks number 6, Mexico number 20
Burglaries in the U.S. ranks number 17, Mexico number 34
Car thefts in the U.S. ranks number 9, Mexico number 22
Fraud in the U.S. ranks number 18, Mexico number 29
Rape in (Canada number 5) the U.S. ranks number 9, Mexico number 17

My personal experiences are that Puerto Vallarta is the safest, most crime-free city I’ve ever lived in (and I’ve lived in dozens) and that typically Mexicans are much more honest than Americans or Canadians. Of course, there are all kinds so take heed of your activities and surroundings in any place.

Almost any other country in the world has crime. I have not yet seen any gun shooting on the streets, nor any of my American and Canadian Friends that keep coming every year, as they quoted “I feel much safer in Puerto vallarta than in Detroit or NYC”.

False rumors are on the media, so friends from the US call me to ask if Puerto Vallarta is safe for them and their children.

Well I would´t be living here if I didn’t feel safe, nor would all the tourists keep coming to stay for 3-6 month periods every year. Mexicans have been treating me with respect and caring.

Mexico’s Tourism Board (SECTUR) announced that nearly 190 million tourists enjoyed the wide diversity of attractions of our country in 2011. That number breaks the previous record of 185.7 million registered in 2008.

This way the year of tourism, as 2011 was declared by President Felipe Calderón, can be regarded as a complete success; leaving behind the difficult years of 2009 and 2010, when different factors combined to create a ‘perfect storm’ crisis in the industry.

The 190 million of tourists in 2011 represents a growth of 3.7% in comparison to 2010 and a 10.6% in comparison to 2009.

Regarding international tourism, 2011 was also a historic year with a record number of 22.67 million of international tourists.

But maybe the best news is the fact that even when the number of American visitors to Mexico was down 4%, the overall number keeps steadily growing. This tendency is a consequence of SECTUR’s efforts to diversify our markets.

2011 registered an important increment on visitors from Brazil (66%), Russia (55%), Peru (37%) and China (30%). These numbers bring hope that when the American economy recovers from the present recession, the overall numbers of the tourism industry will grow even more, as the United States is Mexico’s most important market.

This is great news for the Mexican tourism industry that has the goal to become one of the top five tourism markets in the world by 2018.

New York, February 9, 2012 – The February 8th update to the U.S. Department’s Travel Warning to Mexico does not include the city of Puerto Vallarta. The popular vacation destinationPuerto Vallarta is a leading destination in Mexico and continues to offer a wide range of shore excursions and a safe experience for all international visitors., located more than 1,200 miles from the border between Mexico and the US where other drug related violence has taken place, the same distance that separates Los Angeles to Dallas, or New York to Miami.

Puerto Vallarta continues to be one of the safest destinations for international travelers. A recent security/threat assessment study conducted by Thomas Dale & Associates (TDA), a leading global investigative and security firm, found that the number of negative events involving foreigners or non-foreigners is fractional compared to the large ex-pat resident population and the millions of visitors that come to vacation each year in Puerto Vallarta. The study also found that visitors to the destination feel safe and continue to visit Puerto Vallarta numerous times throughout their lifetime.

Highly regarded media and their readers have continuously voted Puerto Vallarta as one of their favorite destinations, giving it numerous accolades and awards, including, Conde Nast Traveler Magazine: “Favortie Destination” for 5 years in a row; Travelocity: one of 10 top “Summer Family Destinations” in 2011, and AARP: one of the “Top 10 Best Places to Retire.”

Thomas Dale & Associates (TDA) just released a study, concluding that Puerto Vallarta is one of the safest tourist destinations for international and national tourists.

The Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board appointed TDA, a global investigative and security firm who lists several Fortune 100 companies amongst its clients, to complete a Security/Threat assessment.

The international security company visited the destination from April 6-13 to conduct interviews and a thorough assessment on the ground, and based on findings develop a comprehensive report in relation to all aspects of tourist security in the destination.? ?TDA individually interviewed domestic as well as international tourists, American and Canadian Consuls, retired ex-pats, time-share members, part-time residents, seasonal boaters, business owners, hospital administrators, gay community business representatives, health insurance professionals, cabbies, conventioneers and honeymooners.

The interviews were followed up by requests to local law enforcement sources for crime data and department deployment. The Civil Protection Department (FIMA) was also consulted regarding natural disasters.? ?The interviews focused on the following three areas; safety in Puerto Vallarta and the perception of its visitors; personal experiences and the U.S. Travel Warning to Mexico.? ?The study found that the number of negative events involving foreigners or non-foreigners is fractional compared to the large ex-pat resident population and the millions of visitors that come to vacation each year in Puerto Vallarta.

Overall the study found that visitors to the destination feel safe and continue to visit Puerto Vallarta numerous times through their lifetime and that the destination’s support services are well above the average standards and dedicated to serving the visiting public.

In relations to the drug wars, TDA found that the limited land transit makes the smuggling of guns and drugs through Puerto Vallarta very difficult and thus a non-issue in the destination.?

Visit: http://www.puerto-vallarta-rentals.com

First: A reality check on Mexico

Mexico is in a unique position to reap many of the benefits of the decline of the
US economy. In order to not violate NAFTA and other agreements the U.S.A.
cannot use direct protectionism, so it is content to allow the media to play this
protectionist role. The U.S. media – over the last year – has portrayed Mexico
as being on the brink of economic collapse and civil war. The Mexican people
are either beheaded, kidnapped, poor, corrupt, or narco-traffickers. The
American news media was particularly aggressive in the weeks leading up to
spring break. The main reason for this is money. During that two-week
period, over 120,000 young American citizens poured into Mexico and left
behind hundreds of millions of dollars.

Let’s look at the reality of the massive drug and corruption problem,
kidnappings, murders and money. The U.S. Secretary of State Clinton was
clear in her honest assessment of the problem. “Our insatiable demand for
illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent the weapons from
being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the
deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians,” Clinton said. The other large
illegal business that is smuggled into the U.S.A. that no one likes to talk about
is Human Traffic for prostitution. This “business” is globally now competing
with drugs in terms of profits.

It is critical to understand, however that the horrific violence in Mexico is over
95% confined to the three transshipping cities for these two businesses,
Juarez, Tijuana and Nogales. The Mexican government is so serious about
fighting this, that they have committed over 30,000 soldiers to these borders
towns. There was a thoughtful article written by a professor at the University
of Juarez. He was reminded of the Prohibition years in the U.S.A. and
compared Juarez to Chicago when Al Capone was conducting his reign of
terror capped off with The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre. During these
years, just like Juarez today, 99% of the citizens went about their daily lives
and attended classes, went to the movies, restaurants, and parks.

Is there corruption in Mexico? YES !!! Is there an equal amount of corruption
related to this business in the U.S.A.? YES !!!. When you have a pair of illegal
businesses that generate over $300,000,000,000 in sales you will find massive
corruption. Make no mistake about the Mexican Drug Cartel;
these “businessmen” are 100 times more sophisticated than the bumbling
bootleggers during Prohibition. They form profitable alliances all over the
U.S.A. They do cost benefit analysis of their business much better than the US
automobile industry. They have found over the years that the cost of bribing
U.S. and Mexican Border Guards and the transportation costs of moving
marijuana from Sinaloa to California have cut significantly into profits. That is
why over the past 5-7 years they have been growing marijuana in State and
Federal Parks and BLM land all across America. From a business standpoint,
this is a tremendous cost savings on several levels. Let’s look at California as
an example as one of the largest consumers. When you have $14.2 billion of
Marijuana grown and consumed in one state, there is savings on
transportation, less loss of product due to confiscation and an overall reduction
cost of bribery with law enforcement and parks service people. Another great
savings is the benefit to their employees. The penalties in Mexico for growing
range from 5-15 years. The penalties in California, on average are 18 months,
and out in 8 months. The same economic principles are now being applied to
the methamphetamine factories.

FOX News continues to scare people with its focus on kidnapping. There are
kidnappings in Mexico. The concentration of kidnappings has been in Mexico
City, among the very rich and the three aforementioned border Cities. With
the exception of Mexico City, the number one city for kidnappings among
NAFTA countries is Phoenix, Arizona with over 359 in 2008. The Phoenix Police
estimate that twice that number of kidnappings goes unreported, because like
Mexico 99% of these crimes were directly related to drug and human traffic.
Phoenix, unfortunately, is geographically profitable transshipping location.
Mexicans, just like 99% of U.S. Citizens during prohibition, go about their daily
lives all over the country. They get up, go to school or work and live their
lives untouched by the border town violence.

These same protectionist news sources have misled the public as to the real
danger from the swine flu in Mexico and temporary devastated the tourism
business. As of May 27 2009 there have been 87 deaths in Mexico from the
swine flu. During those same five months there have been 36 murdered
school children in Chicago. By their logic, if 87 deaths from the swine flu in
Mexico warrants canceling flights and cruise ships to Mexico, then close all
roads and highways in the USA because of record 43,359 automobile related
deaths in the USA in 2008.

What is just getting underway is what many are calling the “Largest southern
migration to Mexico of people and real estate assets since the Civil War” A
significant percentage of the Baby Boomers have been doing the research and
are making the life changing decision to move out of the U.S.A. The number
one retirement destination in the world is Mexico. There are already over
2,000,000 US and Canadian property owners in Mexico. The most
conservative number of American and Canadian Baby Boomers who are on
their way to owning property in Mexico for full or part time living in the next
15 years is over 6,000,000. Do the math on 6,000,000 people buying a
$300,000 house or condo and you will understand why the U.S. Government is
trying to tax this massive shift of money to Mexico through H.R. 3056. The
U.S. government calls this “The Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007”.
Those who will have to pay it are calling this the EXIT TAX.

Mexico: A better economic choice than China

Another large exodus from the U.S.A is high paying skilled jobs. The job shift
in automobile sector, both car and parts manufacturing, is already known by
most investors. In the last few months as John Deere and Caterpillar have
been laying off thousands of workers in the U.S.A., and hiring equal numbers
in Mexico. The most recent industry that is making the shift is the aerospace
manufacturers. In the city of Zacatecas there is currently a $210 million
aerospace facility being built. With the 11 U.S. companies moving there, it is
estimated to provide over 200,000 new high paying jobs in the coming years.
One of the main factors for the shift in job south to Mexico instead of China is
realistic analysis of total production, labor and delivery costs. While the labor
costs in China are 40% less on average, the overall transportation costs and
inherent risks of a long distance supply chain, and quality control issues, gives
Mexico a distinct financial advantage.

Mexico’s real economic future

Mexico has avoided completely the subprime problem that has devastated the
U.S. banking industry. The Mexican banks are healthy and profitable. Mexico
has a growing and very healthy middle and upper middle class. The very
recent introduction of residential financing has Mexico in a unique position of
having over 90% of current homeowners owning their house outright. U.S.
banks are competing for the Mexican, Canadian and American cross border
loan business. It is and will continue to be a very safe and very profitable
business. These same banks that were loaning in a reckless manner have
learned their lesson and are loaning here the old fashioned way. They require
a minimum of a 680 credit score, 30% down payment, and verifiable income
that can support the loan. In most areas of Mexico where Baby Boomers are
moving to, with the exception of Puerto Penasco (which did not have a
national and international base of buyers), there is no real estate bubble.. The
higher end markets ($2-20 million) in many of these destinations are going
through a modest correction. The Baby Boomers market here is between
$200,000 and $600,000. With the continuing demand inside the Bay of
Banderas, that price point, in the coming years, will disappear. This is the
reason the Mexican government is spending billions of dollars on more
infrastructure north along the coast all the way up to Mazatlan.

The other major area where America has become overpriced is in the field of
health care. This massive shift of revenues is estimated to add 5-7% to
Mexico’s GDP. The name for this “business” is Medical Tourism. The two
biggest competitors for Mexico were Thailand and India. Thailand and India’s
biggest drawback is geography. Also recent events, Thailand’s inability to
keep a government in place and the recent terrorist attack in Mumbai, have
helped Mexico capture close to half of this growth industry. In Mexico today
there are over 56 world class hospitals being built to keep up with this
business.

Mexico is currently sitting on a cash surplus and an almost balanced budget.
Most Americans have never heard of Carlos Slim until he loaned the New York
Times $250 million. After that it became clear to many investors around the
world what Mexicans already knew: that Mexico had been able to avoid the
worst of the U.S. economic devastation. Mexico’s resilience is to be admired.
When the U.S. Federal Reserve granted a $30 billion loan to each of Mexico,
Singapore, South Korea, and Brazil, Mexico reinvested the money in Treasury
bonds in an account in New York City.

According to oil traders, Mexico’s Pemex wisely as the price of oil shot to $147
a barrel put in place an investment strategy that hinged on oil trading in the
range of $38-$60 a barrel. Since the beginning of 2009 Mexico has been
collecting revenues on hedged positions that give them $90-$110 per barrel
today. Mexico’s recent and under reported oil discovery in the Palaeo
Channels of Chicontepec has placed it third in the world for oil reserves, right
behind Canada and Saudi Arabia.

The following is a quote from Rosalind Wilson, President of the Canadian
Chamber of Commerce on March 19, 2009. “The strength of the Mexican
economic system makes the country a favorite destination for Canadian
investment”.

OPPORTUNITIES: WHY PUERTO VALLARTA & THE RIVIERA NAYARIT

The answer is simple and old fashioned: SUPPLY AND DEMAND.

The area of Puerto Vallarta/Riviera Nayarit inside the Bay of Banderas is an
investor’s dream. This area has the comprehensive infrastructure in place,
world class hospitals and dental care, natural investment protection from the
Sierra Madre Mountains, endless future water supply, low to nonexistent
crime, international airport, and limited supply inside the Bay, first class
private bilingual schools and higher than average appreciation potential. Like
many areas in Mexico there is large demand for full and part time retirement
living and a lot of construction underway to meet this demand. Pre
construction of course is where the best bargains are available.

I would offer a word of caution for investors in Mexico. Do not be seduced by
the endless natural beauty that is everywhere, both inland in colonial towns
and along thousands of miles of beach. Apply conservative medium and long
term investment strategies without emotion. The demand for full and part
time living by American and Canadian Baby Boomers is evident throughout
the country. The top two choice locations are ocean front, and ocean view.
The third overall choice, which is less expensive, is inland in one of the many
beautiful colonial towns or small cities.

Mexico, with the world’s 13th largest GDP, is no longer a “Third World
Country”, but rather a fast growing, economically secure state, as the most
recent five-year history of its financial markets when compared to the U.S.A.’s
financial markets suggests.

DOW JONES AVERAGES MAY 2004 10,200 – MAY 2009 8,200 20% LOSS IN 5
YEARS

MEXICAN BOLSA MAY 2004 10,000 – MAY 2009 23,000 130% GAIN IN 5 YEARS

Robert P. Miller, PhD