Pan Am Games Medal Tally – Mexico is Holding it´s Own
2011 Panamerica Games in guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is pleased to be co hosting, along with Guadalajara, this year’s PanAm games… and if the traffic is any indication, the games are a huge success 
I had a look at the medal tally for the Pan American Games this morning and was pleased to see Mexico holding 3rd place (behind the USA and Brazil) for the total number if medals won.
Mexico has won a total of 29 medals – 9 gold, 6 silver and 14 bronze – as of this morning in events like pentathlon, rowing, cycling, mountain biking, squash and taekwondo. And congratulations are in order for Cynthia Valdez who has brought home five (!) silver and gold medals in Rhythmic Gymnastics!
Mexico is only 1 gold medal behind Brazil – which has 10 gold, 9 silver and 11 bronze , so we will be watching closely to see if we can take second position in the competition… we’ll have our work cut out for us if we want first place as the USA has a healthy lead with 24 gold and 63 total medals!
Canada is also showing well and is currently in 4th place with 30 total medals, 6 of which are gold.
There is still plenty of competition to go, we will be watching closely and rooting for the home team!
Hurricane Jova Puerto Vallarta Update
So far, Hurricane Jova has been a non-event here in Puerto Vallarta. According to weather maps and forcasts we should be seeing heavy rains and winds up to 40 mph, but looking out my window this morning, the winds are dead calm and the rains have been nothing but a steady drizzle all night.
A look at Puerto Vallarta´s Malecon this morning, courtesy of PuertoVallarta.net´s webcam
News reports confirm that Hurricane Jova came onshore last night as a category 2 storm in the sparsely populated southern Jalisco and caused some flooding and downed power lines. The port town of Manzanillo has a lot of flooding and several roads are closed because of it, but so far (thankfully) no reports of injury or loss of life. Many coastal towns evacuated further inland last night and I’m sure we’ll see more reports of damage as these people return to their homes.
I am unaware of any damages here in Vallarta, and althought the storm still has not passed us, it does not look like we will see any major effects from this storm. Jova will come closest later this afternoon, but by then will probably have been downgraded to a tropical storm. The only worry we have left is that the rivers may rise due to heavy rains in the mountains and cause some localized flooding.
Hurricane Jova Watch in Puerto Vallarta
From the CFE website - Forcast of Hurricane Jova's expected path as of 1pm Mexico Central time today, 11 October 2011
Tonight we are all waiting to see how Hurricane Jova is going to play out here in Puerto Vallarta. Hurricane Jova was officially upgraded from a Tropical Storm last Saturday afternoon, and over the ensuing days accelerated steadily to Category 3 status. As late as yesterday, forecasters were anticipating that Hurricane Jova would make landfall tonight as a category 4 hurricane somewhere along Costalegre near Manzalnillo, Colima. Fortunately, rather than accelerating to Category 4 last night, Jova slowed down… It was still at Category 3 speeds this morning, but has slowed significantly in the last few hours and has currently (as of 1 pm Mexico City Time) dropped to category 2 and is still falling. Forecasters are expecting the wind speeds to drop to category 1 levels quickly after making landfall late tonight or early tomorrow with winds in the 120 km/h (75 mph) range.
From the CFE website - Wind spped chart for Hurricane Jova as of 1pm Mexico Central time, 11 october 2011
If everything proceeds as forecast, we should see wind speeds here in Puerto Vallarta of about 65 km/h (40 mph) with heavy rains. Because the course of the storm is expected to go through the mountains east of Puerto Vallarta, the winds hitting Vallarta (due to the storm’s counter-clockwise rotation) will be from the east also, meaning there should not be any significant sea swell in Puerto Vallarta. It was the sea swell that caused the majority of the damage from Hurricane Kenna, the last hurricane to hit Puerto Vallarta back in 2002.
Historically, Puerto Vallarta has always been a safe haven from Hurricanes. Because of the geography surrounding Puerto Vallarta, Large storms either go to the north or to the south. The Banderas Bay’s shape provides protection from the large waves (known as sea swell) that precede hurricanes and the 3 separate mountain ranges that come together just above Puerto Vallarta act as an effective buffer to slow down and redirect the worst of any storm’s effects. Even the famous hurricane Kenna did not actually hit Puerto Vallarta… The center of that storm went onshore about 80 miles north in San Blas. Puerto Vallarta experienced high winds and heavy rains, but relatively little of the destructive force of a hurricane. The only real damage came from the sea swell, which caused fairly extensive damage in a small section of coastline. Before Hurricane Kenna, the last major Hurricane to hit Vallarta was some 80 years prior.
So tonight, all indications are that the storm will not cause any major damage here in Puerto Vallarta… we are making preparations anyway, and schools are suspending classes until Friday to be on the safe side, but we are expecting no more than some high winds and heavy rains. If you own a property here in Puerto Vallarta, I’ll be posting again tomorrow (assuming my internet is working!) with an update. BTW, if you can read Spanish, most of my forecast information comes from the Federal Electric Commission’s website, which I have found to be the most accurate and up to date when dealing with Hurricanes in Mexico. You can find their latest Hurricane advisories here.
While I am pleased that we will probably not experience any severe effects from Hurricane Jova, I don’t want to make light of the storm… it will probably come onshore at at least category 1 strength. Our prayers and best wishes go out to those living in costalegre and Manzanillo tonight.
Hurricane Jova is expected to come onshore tonight near the town of Chamela, Jaisco.
I want to hear your feedback, please leave a comment!
The PanAmerican Games Torch Comes to Puerto Vallarta
The Panamerica Games torch passed through Nuevo Vallarta today
The Panamerica games, an Olympic style multidisciplinary sporting event that happens every 4 years is scheduled to kick off next week, this coming 14th of October 2011, in Guadalajara and here in Puerto Vallarta. In preparation for that event, the Pan American games torch has been making it’s way across the country, today it passed through Nuevo Vallarta and tonight will be at the Puerto Vallarta Malecon. Crowds and corporate sponsors were on hand in Nuevo Vallarta, as well as local and national news to record the event as torch made its way through the beachfront resort community located just north of Puerto Vallarta. After it’s brief detour along the beach, the torch headed back to the main highway to continue its journey to downtown Puerto Vallarta and the Malecon.
More information on the Panamerica games can be found at their official website.
Corporate Sponsors and TV crews were on hand to help greet the torch
A bus load of press and photographers (and spare torches) preceded the torch on its journey through Nuevo Vallarta and Flamingos
Local law enforcement was on hand to keep traffic flowing
The Panamerica Torch back on the road to Puerto Vallarta - Here in front of the Banderas Bay Technological University - UTBB
Know anything interesting about the Panamerica games? Please leave us a comment, we’d love to hear from you!
Saftey News from the US Consul General on Puerto Vallarta
A few months ago there were some stories in the media claiming that there were some worrisome developments with regards to public security in Puerto Vallarta. They falsely attributed Kelly Trainor, the US Consular Agent here in Vallarta. I found this news release where the US Consul General sets the record straight… I thought it bore repeating:
NEWS RELEASE
U.S. CONSULATE GENERAL GUADALAJARA, MEXICO
Statement of Daniel F. Keller, U.S. Consul General to Guadalajara, concerning statements attributed to U.S. Consular Agent in Puerto Vallarta
Guadalajara, Jal., July 13, 2011—I am deeply disturbed by statements which appeared in a recent news report published by at least two news media organizations based in Puerto Vallarta under the headline, “Preocupa a Consulado Inseguridad en Puerto Vallarta.” (The Consulate is Worried about Insecurity in Puerto Vallarta – translation mine)
The statements, which are attributed secondhand to U.S. Consular Agent Sra. Kelly Trainor, are taken out of context and attribute to Ms. Trainor things she did not say. Moreover, the statements are made to falsely imply that the U.S. Consulate is concerned by the present security conditions in Puerto Vallarta.
The U.S. Consulate General has issued no advisories against travel to Puerto Vallarta and is not aware of any incidents that would have a significant impact on our current security assessment. The Consulate is prepared at all times to respond to legitimate inquiries from media representatives — which did not happen in this case, American citizens, and other interested parties. This specific report, regrettably, is irresponsible and does not meet the standards of professional journalism. (emphasis mine)
Here is that news release in Spanish:
COMUNICADO DE PRENSA
Consulado General de Estados Unidos
Guadalajara, México
Declaración del Cónsul General de EE.UU., Daniel Keller,
En Relación a Declaraciones Atribuidas a la
Agente Consular en Puerto Vallarta
Guadalajara, Jal., 13 de julio de 2011 — El Cónsul General de Estados Unidos en Guadalajara declaró que se encuentra profundamente perturbado por las declaraciones en un reciente informe aparecido en por lo menos un par de medios noticiosos, basados en Puerto Vallarta, bajo el titulo “Preocupa al Consulado Inseguridad en Puerto Vallarta”.
Dichas declaraciones, las cuales fueron hechas por un tercero, se atribuyeron a la Agente Consular en Puerto Vallarta, Sra. Kelly Trainor, las cuales están fuera de contexto, y le atribuyeron cosas que la Sra. Trainor no dijo. Aún más, las declaraciones implican falsamente que el Consulado está preocupado por las condiciones de seguridad actuales en Puerto Vallarta.
El Consulado General de los Estados Unidos en Guadalajara no ha emitido ningún aviso en contra de viajar a Puerto Vallarta. Y no está enterado de algún incidente que pueda tener un impacto significativo en nuestra evaluación actual de la seguridad en el puerto. El Consulado está siempre preparado para responder a preguntas legítimas de los representantes de los medios de comunicación — cosa que no pasó en este caso, así como de los ciudadanos estadunidenses, y de diferentes públicos interesados. Este reporte específico, lamentablemente, es irresponsable y no cumple con los estándares profesionales del periodismo.
