Swine flu deals another blow to Mexico's tourism industry.

Julie and I spend a lot of time promoting travel in Mexico to friends and family, and reassuring them that the country is a relatively safe place to visit. It's not an easy task, especially with all of the recent press about narco violence.

Now the swine flu epidemic is dealing the newest blow to the Mexico travel PR machine. The United States, the EU and Hong Kong have issued travel warnings, encouraging their residents to avoid travel to Mexico. Other countries are most likely following suit. And for sure, if this flu does become a pandemic, Mexico won't be the only country in the spotlight.

There's always a risk in travel, whether you're visiting the remote regions of the Amazon or driving to Anaheim to see the big mouse. I believe that as long as you stay informed you can minimize your risks:

Read up on the current U.S. Department of State travel alerts.

Visit forums about travel in Mexico and post questions about the regions you plan to visit. The forum at MEXonline.com is a good place to start. Another good one is Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree.

And of course, don't skimp on common sense.

I'm sure Mexico will eventually recover from this double whammy against their economy, but unfortunately it may take some time to rebuild their reputation as a fantastic travel destination.

Travel health insurance and Mexico.

The teenaged kid on the ATV came hurtling over the dune, seemingly out of nowhere and definitely out of control. Staring at him in disbelief, I immediately recognized four problems with this scene:

1. My comrades and I, who were just wrapping up a multi-day desert trek, were directly below him.


2. The kid wasn't wearing a helmet.


3. The kid had a passenger, a terrified young girl who also wasn't wearing a helmet.


4. The nearest decent hospital was hours away and across the border in the United States.

Fortunately, this future Darwin-Award recipient managed to avoid us and keep his quad upright and his girlfriend momentarily safe.

But it got me thinking about what a person would do in a medical emergency in a place like Puerto Penasco or any other Mexican destination that didn't have a major medical facility. Could you find a way to be evacuated? How much would that cost?

A year later I purchased, for the first time, travel medical insurance while preparing for a mountaineering trip to southern Mexico. Although I have a good health insurance plan in the states, I found out that it only reimburses you for emergency medical evacuation in foreign countries. Nothing else -- physician fees, hospital charges -- is covered.

Now, evacuation can cost several thousand if not tens of thousands of dollars. And I would need to pay that first, then go through all the claim reimbursement crap with my health insurer. A good travel health insurance plan gets you in contact with a medical provider and negotiates and pays for necessary evacuation. All you (or your conscious companion) need to do is call a toll-free number.

I bought this first policy mainly because I thought I was putting myself in situations a little riskier than normal: cross-country trekking and high-altitude climbing. Since then, I've realized that the real risks -- especially in developing countries -- are taken while you're doing everyday touristy stuff: Crossing a street to that cute café or dodging exposed rebar on torn-up sidewalks.

So I just took out another policy for our upcoming trip to Panama. It's only costing us a few bucks a day and it does give me some peace of mind. But between you and me, I don't want to find out how well it works.

Spring break activities in Puerto Penasco that won't make you puke.

I know, most Americans heading to Rocky Point for spring break are thinking "Party, party, party!" but you don't have spend the entire time with a beer bong stuffed down your esophagus. Here are some local activities that don't necessarily involve drinking to be enjoyable.

Learn something. Amaze your friends and astonish your family by loading up on fun facts about the local environment. Check out CEDO over in Las Conchas to find out what sea creatures are swimming with you, where all the sand came from and why driving your ATV anywhere you feel like is a bad, bad idea.

While you're over there stop by the CET-MAR Aquarium, where you can see sea turtles, sea horses, sea lions and other sea-inhabiting creatures.

Complement your knowledge of Mexican beers with knowledge of Mexican sea life at the CET-MAR Aquarium. Photo: Julie Lunt

Eat something. Slurp some oysters at an oyster farm, hit the taco stands for some carne asada, barbecue some fish you bought at the fish market, just stuff yourselves before gulping down the margaritas. Please.

Sit on something. Kayak an estuary, learn to sail, fly in an ultralight over Sandy Beach or bounce on a banana boat.

And finally, stay out of jail and come home alive. All that liquid courage can make you do stupid, stupid things. When your family is asked about your whereabouts, they don't want to start their reply with "He/She was doing stupid things in Mexico."

Will Puerto Penasco hotels have rooms for spring breakers?

When Manny's is looking like this, you're probably on spring break in Puerto Penasco! Photo: Julie Lunt

Many Americans are changing travel plans because of the economy, but according to a recent article in the Hartford Courant titled Economy is no threat to spring break travel, college students aren't among them. At least not when it comes to whooping it up during spring break.

And of course the beaches of Cancun, Mazatlan, Los Cabos and Acapulco are all going to get hit with the onslaught as well as our dear neighbor Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point).

Whoo hoo!
The question is, are the hotels in Rocky Point going to have rooms this close to spring break? If you haven't made reservations for accommodations in Puerto Penasco, you might want to hurry. For you partiers, the area near Mirador will fill up fast, as will Playa Bonita and Penasco del Sol. If you want a little peace and quiet there are quite a few condos and homes to rent from Princesa on Sandy Beach to Las Conchas.

And you can always try showing up without a place to stay. We've done it before during a holiday weekend and lucked out. Just remember, passing out on the beach in front of Manny's does not qualify as "accommodations."

Puerto Penasco to El Golfo road now open.

Well there's another way to get to the hotels of Puerto Penasco, especially if you're coming from California. The new highway, SON 003, is now open connecting El Golfo de Santa Clara with Rocky Point.

According to an article on Rocky Point Weekly, it's 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Puerto Penasco to El Golfo, and provides scenic vistas of both the Sea of Cortez and the Gran Desierto de Altar. So now you can cross the border in Yuma and buy a condo in Puerto Penasco the same day.

I have mixed feelings about this road, which is part of a grander project to complete a coastal highway to Guaymas. On one hand, it's going to bring in more travelers from California to help boost the tourist economy of Rocky Point and other locations along the mainland coast.

On the other hand, it's going to bring in more travelers from California.

Not that there's anything wrong with travelers from California. Some of my best friends are Californians who have traveled. But I do fear for the inevitable changes that go along with increased accessibility.

After all, those who know Rocky Point have watched expensive condos and homes explode from the sands and replace quaint beachfront RV parks and open camping areas. Dirt roads are now paved and, maybe it's just me, but prices seem higher.

Then there's the sprawling desert north of the new highway, part of the El Pinacate/Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Preserve, one of the last great wilderness areas in Mexico. It's illegal to go off-road in the preserve, but this vast area is hard to patrol. How many yahoos are now going to be tempted to drive their ATVs into the huge dune fields?

And what about the miles and miles of undeveloped beach, one of the greatest attractions for me in this area? We will probably see more condos, gated housing communities, restaurants and bars filling up the sea view.

Of course, SON 003 also means that more Arizonans may go to El Golfo, forever changing that small community.

We'll see what happens. In the meantime, I think Julie and I need to pop down there and check it out. Simply for research purposes, of course.

From MEX 008, the typical way to Rocky Point, the turnoff to SON 003 is at the Laguna Del Mar exit a few miles north of Puerto Penasco.

Mexico and U.S. passport requirements.

This is the year that another phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) comes into play, and plenty of people are asking about the passport requirements for traveling in Mexico.

Here's a synopsis of what I've found according to the U.S. Department of State's Web site:

1. If you are traveling by air outside of the United States, you'll need to present a passport or other valid travel document to enter or re-enter the United States.

2. Currently if you are traveling by land or sea, you must show proof of identity and proof of U.S. citizenship when entering the United States from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and Caribbean countries.

Now according to the Department of Homeland Security's Web site, acceptable documents include:

• U.S. Passport Book


• U.S. Passport Card


• Any other document approved by the Department of Homeland Security

And if you're a U.S. citizen without a single document verifying identity and citizenship, you'll need to show both an identification and citizenship document such as a driver's license and copy of birth certificate or naturalization certificate.

This is all going to change June 1, 2009. At that point U.S. citizens traveling by land and sea will need to have a passport, passport card (passport cards are not valid for travel by air) or any other travel document approved by the DHS. U.S. citizen children under the age of 16 will be able to show an original or copy of their birth certificate, naturalization certificate or citizenship card to enter the U.S.

The bottom line: Make it easy on yourself and get a passport for every member of the family. Passports can take several weeks to get, so you should start the process right away. Check out this link for more information on obtaining a passport. You can request expedited processing (for an extra fee, of course) if you need your passport quickly.