There have been no cases of the Covid-19 virus in Troncones, Guerrero, Mexico where I have lived and operated my bed and breakfast and vacation rental the Delfin Capire and the Casa Delfin Sonriente for 23 years. To the best of my knowledge, there are still no cases of the virus. The same goes for Los llanos and also Roble village (the town before the Surf break known as the Ranch. Nobody is infected and amazingly the rental properties and bed and breakfasts like mine still have a guest or two with them from as far back as mid-March, hunkered down at Casa Delfin Sonriente for as long as 9 weeks. And until just this week we have been prohibited from taking reservations or accepting new guests if they managed to somehow enter the village from a back dirt road. Folks like Ed (no last name) who showed up for his early March reservation and just departed last Saturday after 8 or 9 weeks. You know who you are and I for one appreciate your loyalty, patience, and financial support staying with us waiting for the ability to return home, and feeling safe with us at the hotel.
Now is a good time to tell the story about how our village of Troncones and the neighboring towns of Majagua, Lagunillas, Los Llanos, Roble village and others located near popular surf breaks have managed to keep 100 percent virus-free for the last 3 months. The surf breaks known as "The Ranch", Saladitas Point, Lagunillas river mouth, Manzanillo Bay, Playa Linda and others have managed to keep 100% Covid-19 free even now more than 3 months into the worldwide pandemic. So how do three small villages with almost no medical doctors or any sophisticated medical infrastructure like hospitals or clinics, the largest of which community has a population of 500 and the smallest a community of around 50 souls, manage to do something that only a few cities on the entire planet have managed to do? Isolated places like maybe the Sandwich Islands or far away countries like New Zealand and Viet Nam have zero to few cases from what I have read. But Troncones?
Back in mid-March spring break and Semana Santa (holy week) tens of thousands of vacationers would have exploded onto the beach towns of South Pacific Mexico known as the "Costa Chica: where little Troncones T-town has its welcome to our town sign high above Highway 200 asking that all those driving by sample our beaches, bike trails, seafood restaurants and tiny hotels. Usually, traffic could be a 20-mile long river of tightly packed cars coming to their favorite accommodations or beaches or to just to free camp. But instead of the big welcome sign coming off the main highway you would have seen two dozen masked villagers forming a human chain guarding a rope prohibiting passage to the road into town. The message: Outside world go away from here, we don't want you to bring infection to our village; a story that I heard repeated from friends, employees, and local expatriates as the people of the villages began to understand the potential for disaster. They took a while to believe in the virus in the beginning. Trust in government and media news is pretty low in Mexico. Centuries of corruption create huge skepticism. However, the villagers gradually became aware that the virus was real and of the potential that this sickness spreading all around the globe could also infect them in their homes and lead to death, (and yes it took a while longer than many other places in the world). When that threat hit home the locals got serious. There was only one thing could that could be done. Nobody comes in, nobody goes out. Total blockade. Total isolation, voluntary sheltering in place. No exceptions. Our expatriate residents as well as those few visitors stranded in the village in their rented properties and also owners all sheltering in place in each and every home. No walking on the beach, no playing in the sand, no swimming or surfing. Nothing to attract the now unwanted tourism, the lifeblood of the village. The beach towns were closed to tourism and everything that would attract vacationers would be prohibited 100 percent. This strategy repeated itself in each coastal village where tourism and friendly signs proclaimed come here to stay with us everywhere. Instead, the welcome sign was replaced by signs and people enforcing the order to stay out, we will not let you into our village unless you are in a life-saving emergency. Nobody else in or out. Families who are already there forbidden to leave, authorized entry and return by the village presidents only or their representative at the blockade. Absolutely no one allowed in or out by our order and will of the village, signed by the municipal president and enforced by the men of the village in rotating shifts. So far it has succeeded but at a cost.
For many food has been scarce. Food drives were organized to bring staples of food to those in need. Security was organized and villagers mobilized to enforce the blockade. Weeks and months have passed. The blockade has been lifted. Ed has returned home. Many expatriates have returned to their residences in the U.S.and Canada. The village can take a deep breath and now you can go out. But the danger lurks close. Cases in the largest cities of the coast are beginning to snowball. Acapulco, Lazaro Cardenas and Ixtapa are seeing cases of Covid 19.
We are again open for business. You can walk swim or surf in the ocean or lagoons, or sunbathers can walk or lie or play on the beach. We can take a reservation, eat in at a restaurant, mountain bike ride on the trails and watch the beautiful sunsets from hammocks under a beach ramada sipping a beer or glass of wine. We can have dances and parties. It now is the more hot and humid weather times. The times popular with Mexican vacationers, surfers, teachers, and adventurers. But when will they come back? No one knows for sure. However, the trickle has started. The phone rings again, though less often; and emails are exchanged, although not as many. We wait we hope. We dream. Life goes on.
Now is a good time to tell the story about how our village of Troncones and the neighboring towns of Majagua, Lagunillas, Los Llanos, Roble village and others located near popular surf breaks have managed to keep 100 percent virus-free for the last 3 months. The surf breaks known as "The Ranch", Saladitas Point, Lagunillas river mouth, Manzanillo Bay, Playa Linda and others have managed to keep 100% Covid-19 free even now more than 3 months into the worldwide pandemic. So how do three small villages with almost no medical doctors or any sophisticated medical infrastructure like hospitals or clinics, the largest of which community has a population of 500 and the smallest a community of around 50 souls, manage to do something that only a few cities on the entire planet have managed to do? Isolated places like maybe the Sandwich Islands or far away countries like New Zealand and Viet Nam have zero to few cases from what I have read. But Troncones?
Back in mid-March spring break and Semana Santa (holy week) tens of thousands of vacationers would have exploded onto the beach towns of South Pacific Mexico known as the "Costa Chica: where little Troncones T-town has its welcome to our town sign high above Highway 200 asking that all those driving by sample our beaches, bike trails, seafood restaurants and tiny hotels. Usually, traffic could be a 20-mile long river of tightly packed cars coming to their favorite accommodations or beaches or to just to free camp. But instead of the big welcome sign coming off the main highway you would have seen two dozen masked villagers forming a human chain guarding a rope prohibiting passage to the road into town. The message: Outside world go away from here, we don't want you to bring infection to our village; a story that I heard repeated from friends, employees, and local expatriates as the people of the villages began to understand the potential for disaster. They took a while to believe in the virus in the beginning. Trust in government and media news is pretty low in Mexico. Centuries of corruption create huge skepticism. However, the villagers gradually became aware that the virus was real and of the potential that this sickness spreading all around the globe could also infect them in their homes and lead to death, (and yes it took a while longer than many other places in the world). When that threat hit home the locals got serious. There was only one thing could that could be done. Nobody comes in, nobody goes out. Total blockade. Total isolation, voluntary sheltering in place. No exceptions. Our expatriate residents as well as those few visitors stranded in the village in their rented properties and also owners all sheltering in place in each and every home. No walking on the beach, no playing in the sand, no swimming or surfing. Nothing to attract the now unwanted tourism, the lifeblood of the village. The beach towns were closed to tourism and everything that would attract vacationers would be prohibited 100 percent. This strategy repeated itself in each coastal village where tourism and friendly signs proclaimed come here to stay with us everywhere. Instead, the welcome sign was replaced by signs and people enforcing the order to stay out, we will not let you into our village unless you are in a life-saving emergency. Nobody else in or out. Families who are already there forbidden to leave, authorized entry and return by the village presidents only or their representative at the blockade. Absolutely no one allowed in or out by our order and will of the village, signed by the municipal president and enforced by the men of the village in rotating shifts. So far it has succeeded but at a cost.
For many food has been scarce. Food drives were organized to bring staples of food to those in need. Security was organized and villagers mobilized to enforce the blockade. Weeks and months have passed. The blockade has been lifted. Ed has returned home. Many expatriates have returned to their residences in the U.S.and Canada. The village can take a deep breath and now you can go out. But the danger lurks close. Cases in the largest cities of the coast are beginning to snowball. Acapulco, Lazaro Cardenas and Ixtapa are seeing cases of Covid 19.
We are again open for business. You can walk swim or surf in the ocean or lagoons, or sunbathers can walk or lie or play on the beach. We can take a reservation, eat in at a restaurant, mountain bike ride on the trails and watch the beautiful sunsets from hammocks under a beach ramada sipping a beer or glass of wine. We can have dances and parties. It now is the more hot and humid weather times. The times popular with Mexican vacationers, surfers, teachers, and adventurers. But when will they come back? No one knows for sure. However, the trickle has started. The phone rings again, though less often; and emails are exchanged, although not as many. We wait we hope. We dream. Life goes on.
