In Part I of our ongoing series about the economic impact on Puerto Pe�asco by the new home port we covered the historical growth and contribution of the cruise industry as a whole to the world economy and provided basic statistics on cruise passenger travel and spending habits.

Our goal over the course of these series is to provide as thorough an understanding of this unique and lucrative market, known affectionately as "cruisers", as possible. Each Part of our monthly series will either delve more deeply into impact areas introduced in the last installment, or introduce a new area of critical importance to maximizing the positive impact of the homeport on our economy.

We promised Part II would contain more information and detail about what Puerto Pe�asco can project in tourist expenditures. Thus, we now delve more deeply into how cruisers spend money throughout their cruise vacation and we continue profiling the "vacation mentality" of a typical cruiser.

Thanks to the diligent pursuit of learning everything about their customers, cruise lines have historically gathered great statistics on cruisers' every habit and desire, including how they rate their experience at each stage of vacation from embarkation, while onboard, during ports-of-call until debarkation. This is because cruise line companies thrive on knowing their customers' level of satisfaction regarding every detail of their cruise. Cruise lines have perfected the system for garnering honest and timely feedback from the majority of customers through carefully prepared questionnaires. They are quick and easy to complete and are collected by the cabin stewards. Faithful and thorough studies of this information identify what is going right and what needs improvement. Analysts also discover new trends from all the information collected.

You may be wondering why we go into such detail about the cruise industry's obsession with data collection. Well, becoming a homeport even as we stand at the threshold of status as a world-class destination, perhaps the most important fact we can learn is actually why the cruise lines do pay such close attention to their cruisers: they use the data to constantly enhance their services, upgrade amenities and create dazzling new ways to entertain the passengers. This is how they maintain their reign of providing the highest percentage of satisfied customers among all other vacation experiences. In other words, what is important to Puerto Pe�asco is for us to realize that this tourism market segment comes to us as a fun group of super-spoiled visitors who have been blinded with kindness, detail, attention, opulent surroundings, myriad fun activities and anything less they encounter before or after their cruise is a glaring distraction.

On the other hand, by recognizing with whom we're dealing, we can prepare ourselves to provide the same high standards of service and infrastructure amenities so that we are perceived as a seamless extension of the quality they have become used to while cruising. In addition, we have the golden beaches, spacious luxury accommodations and our own brand of entertainment and activities to entice them to stay a few days longer before and/or after their cruise.

We will delve into the all-important subject of infrastructure in upcoming articles, which you will find much more complex for cruisers than we are used to. The good news is the special infrastructure required for the cruise market is comparatively easy to put in place with proper planning.

As we breakdown cruise passenger expenditures, keep in mind the difference in value of a tourist dollar to the community vs. the exchange of money for goods and services by local residents. Look at a tourist dollar as one that is "dropped off" into our economy by someone who then leaves. The dollar stays here and is spent by the merchant who received it to pay a local employee, or to buy lunch from another local vendor, or to pay utilities, or buy some tires or gas for his vehicle. That money circulates around and around the community, from 7 to 15 times, called the "multiplier effect", adding value to the economy each time it is "recycled" within the community. The multiplier is made possible because the original owner of that dollar-the tourist-is not around to reclaim it through some natural process and take it away from the community, called "leakage".  By the way, this formula applies to all tourist dollars expended everywhere in the world.

As a homeport, we get the first chance to make a good first impression on every cruiser (and his money) before he boards the ship. In fact, since the average cruise party is 2.1 passengers and they must return to us after they cruise, we get the opportunity to "double dip", actually, what we get is another opportunity to impress them with all the reasons to take their next land vacation right here in our little slice of paradise by the sea.

In the meantime, we know that on average, 40% of the passengers on every cruise ship departing our port will arrive 1.5 days early and spend an average of $155.62 on lodging, food and beverages, ground transportation, shore excursions, clothing, Mexican Moon Shine Tequila and Tequila Pe�asco, crafts and souvenirs from Mermaid's Market, Cholla Mall or the Malec�n, entertainment, beach activities, jewelry and watches, perfumes and cosmetics and electronics. If they have a pleasant experience before the cruise, there's a good chance they may stay a couple of days longer when they come back.

In Part III of our ongoing series about the economic impact of the homeport on Puerto Pe�asco, we'll explore further into the mindset of this fascinating market segment and the critical importance of having all our infrastructure "ducks in a row" by the time our first "spoiled" cruiser rides into town; and maybe a dash of discussion on potential cruising itineraries in the Sea of Cortez. Plus, as in each of the articles in this series, we'll have updates on the status of construction going on "Down by the Pier".

DOWN BY THE PIER

In Part I last month we promised to get the facts straight from exclusive interviews with behind-the-scenes leaders of the homeport construction project.

We met with Mrs. Wendy Winzer, Administrative Director for the Homeport project under the general contracting company, Consorcio Constructor de Obras Marinas SA de CV (CCOM)  who were appointed by the state of Sonora to oversee the construction phases of the project because of their worldwide experience in marina construction. CCOM brought in two sub contractors with marina experience and contracted with the local union to operate the 90 trucks you see hauling rocks, stone and boulders to build the breakwater.

Seems like every time we look, the breakwater has reached further into the sea. That's because the trucks have been working mostly 12 hour shifts and the water is not so deep  where they've been pouring the rocks up to now. This has allowed them to build 440 meters of the 1,280 meter breakwater since beginning the project just a little over 40 days ago. "Of course," says Wendy, "progress won't seem quite so obvious now that we are reaching deeper waters, even though we are considering extending the shifts to compensate for the additional loads that will be required."

If you've noticed the truck movement has slowed down recently, it's because they are waiting on the permits allowing them to dynamite more of the mountain from which the stone is being transported. The breakwater is built up from the bottom of the sea using three different sizes of rock according to a design that will result in a solid 10 meter wide road surface flanked on the outside by boulder-sized stone all the way to the sea floor.

These boulders will serve as protective living areas for the smaller organisms and plants which have been carefully moved  from the construction path almost daily by divers from the full time ecological protection company, Ornitorrinco AC (OAC) which means Platypus in English. OAC is the company that conducted the preliminary eco-studies to determine the feasibility of the homeport in the beginning. Their familiarity with the specific area is very important to the environmental concerns of everyone involved with the homeport's realization.

In fact, OAC have up to five divers who inspect the sea floor and pathway of the jetty as it is being built, relocating even the smallest life forms to safe areas then returning them when it's safe to do so. There are no reefs in the pathway of the jetty to be concerned about, although there is some small coral growth around the 750 meter point which have been relocated to safety.

To be absolutely clear, according to both companies, there has been no destruction, or even damage, nor will there be to any ecologically related life forms, flora or reefs at any time during the entire construction process of the homeport.

Another area of concern on our part was based on comments overheard around town regarding the homeport construction having minimum impact on the local economy because everyone on the project was brought in from out of town. Graciously, Wendy referred to her personnel files and, of the nearly 200 people currently on the project, she counted a total of 21 from outside Puerto Pe�asco. She did state that the truck and heavy equipment operators  are contracted by the local union and not under the control of CCOM.

Next month in the Down by the Pier section of this series, we'll go into more detail about the port facilities and services surrounding the physical homeport structure, plus updates on the port construction progress. And, as always, we'll replace the "word on the street" with the "facts from the port".

To close for this month, we'll address a question that should be at the top of everyone's mind: When will the homeport construction be completed?

Because the construction process is divided into several phases with parts of each being put out for bids, the answer to this question will also have to come in phases. Phase I of the contractual agreement between the general contractor and the State of Sonora includes the breakwater (aka jetty or pier) and docking berth (parking space for one cruise liner). The agreement calls for completion of the main pier and docking berth by December of this year, 2014. The second part of Phase I includes a second docking berth and the ultra-modern Terminal with the completion date yet to be determined since bids have not gone out for them as yet-still an aggressive goal, for sure; and one that if anyone can meet, it will be CCOM and their lively, energetic, seemingly everywhere at once, Homeport Administrative Director, Wendy Winzer!

Why is Medical Care So Expensive in the US Compared to Mexico?

In January, a 20-year-old posted his $55,000 hospital bill for an appendectomy at a hospital in Sacramento, California on Reddit with this comment: "I never truly understood how much healthcare in the US costs until I got appendicitis in October. I'm a 20 year-old guy. Thought other people should see this to get a real idea of how much an unpreventable illness costs in the US".

What followed was a firestorm of response with 10,729 comments posted to date. Even with coverage through his father's insurance policy, this young man was saddled with over $11,000 in debt that will take him years to repay.

I think we can all agree that emergency procedures like appendectomies are not only essential, they must be handled quickly and near home. But why is it so expensive to have what is a routine surgical procedure in the U.S? Many would argue that it is because of the quality of the care provided. The implication is essentially "you get what you pay for." But is that true? For example, in Mexico medical care costs a fraction of what it does in the USA. Does that imply that the quality of care is lower? Exactly why is care less expensive in Mexico?  

I personally had an emergency appendectomy right here in Rocky Point a little over 2 years ago and the total bill (ambulance, surgery, hospital stay, aftercare) was $3,600 Dollars. That's three thousand six hundred - NOT thirty-six thousand!  

While there are many reasons why quality care is less expensive in Mexico, here are a few that illustrate the differences.

Doctors can get a free or low-cost education. Mexico offers high school graduates who can pass the required testing what is essentially a free (just a few dollars a year) world-class education at UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico). Many graduates leave school with no debt burden. The starting salary for a physician is only $12,000 per year, but this is a living wage.

Doctors own their own practices. Unlike the US where many doctors contract with HMO and PPOs, most doctors in Mexico are not employed by corporations that control every aspect of their work, set quotas on the number of patients seen and demand a quarterly profit. There are no middlemen between the patient and the physician in Mexico and this means that doctors can spend more time with patients and offer the care they feel is appropriate.

Doctors don't go into medicine for the money. Many physicians in the USA are attracted to the profession because of the high salaries ($120,000 is the national average starting salary). The drive for high pay continues to be a motivation throughout the career for many US physicians. With a starting salary of only $12,000, the money seldom motivates doctors in Mexico.

Mexican physicians can have multiple sources of revenue. The public health sector hires many doctors and gives them both a modest salary and a pension for what by US standards would be part-time work. Many of these doctors also have private practices. There are also many private hospitals in Mexico that are owned by physicians.

Can you say lawsuit or malpractice insurance?  The USA is rife with hungry, ambulance chasing attorneys looking for that one, retirement making, score. Malpractice insurance is prohibitively high and the liability that a doctor or surgeon faces is almost unbelievable. 

While the examples cited above are just part of the whole picture, it should be clear that it is entirely possible to offer world-class medical care at affordable prices because well-trained physicians are paid less and there are no complex layers of corporate interests grabbing profits. And, while you have no choice where to get help when you need an appendix removed in a hurry, in many cases you do have a choice of where to go for healthcare-and more people than ever are considering Mexico as an option.

As Mexico moves to open its energy sector to international companies, the new investments and increased activity could mean a bonanza for  border towns on both sides, attracting as much as $1.2 trillion in economic activity to the region in the next decade, according to a BBVA Compass economist.

Investment in Mexican Eagle Ford Shale, increased pipeline development and improvements to the electric grid could help to transform border cities in Texas and Mexico, bringing millions of jobs and ancillary businesses, said BBVA Compass economist Marcial Nava in a webinar.

The Birmingham, Ala.-based financial services firm, owned by Spanish bank BBVA, is one of the largest banks operating in Mexico and Texas.

2.5 million jobs

The Mexican energy reforms are a series of constitutional changes passed in December that ends the monopoly of Mexican oil company Pemex and opens all segments of the energy sector to private firms. Mexico's congress currently is debating the supporting rules that will provide key information on how the new policy will be implemented and regulated.

Oil boom 

North America to drown in oil as Mexico ends monopoly 

But while the details are still forthcoming, the investment and new projects expected to flow from these reforms could create 2.5 million jobs in Mexico by 2025, according to BBVA, opening the door to residents who had not had these opportunities before, particularly in northern Mexico.

Mexico's shale

The Mexican side of the Eagle Ford is to date largely unexplored. In 2012, the Mexican government only authorized the drilling of three shale oil and gas wells, a stark contrast to the 9,100 in the U.S. for the same time period, according to a report BBVA issued on Mexican energy reform opportunities.

The reforms will remove the limitations that prevented international investment from developing Mexican shale plays, especially in the Burgos Basin, which is the portion of the Eagle Ford Shale that extends into Mexico. This play could hold more than 300 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas, while Mexico's other shale plays - the Sabinas, Tampico and Veracruz Basins - are estimated to hold more than 1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.

Shale gas

While shale plays in northern Mexico are complicated by water access issues, infrastructure limitations and security concerns, Nava suggests that the wealth of the resources could draw some big players, especially if the implementing legislation currently being drafted permits contracts with sufficient incentives for international companies.

"Companies familiar and experienced with the Eagle Ford such as EOG Resources, Chesapeake, and ConocoPhillips, have comparative advantages and could lead Mexico's shale gas transformation," Nava wrote in the BBVA report.

Importing gas

The United States is Mexico's largest natural gas supplier, providing 80 percent of imports. More than 60 percent of the natural gas supplied comes from Texas through pipelines that link the Lone Star state with its southern neighbor, Nava said.

The origins of the taco are really unknown. One theory is that it dates from the 18th century and the silver mines in Mexico, because in those mines the word "taco" referred to the little charges they would use to excavate the ore. These were pieces of paper that they would wrap around gunpowder and insert into the holes they carved in the rock face. When you think about it, a chicken taquito with a good hot sauce looks a lot like a stick of dynamite. The first references to the taco in any sort of archive or dictionary come from the end of the 19th century. And one of the first types of tacos described is called tacos de minero-miner's tacos. So the taco is not necessarily this age-old cultural expression; it's not a food that goes back to time immemorial. 

For a long time taquer�as were in the working-class neighborhoods. Industrialization brought migrants from all over the country, and particularly women, to Mexico City because of light industry. Women brought with them their regional cooking skills. Every state, every region, every town has slightly different foods, so Mexico City was a bubbling stew where all these foods were available. People were able to sample a cosmopolitan world of dining that was not for the rich. This Mexican popular cuisine was the origin of what we think about as Mexican food.

The first known mention in the U.S. is in 1905, in a newspaper. That's a time when Mexican migrants are starting to come-working the mines and railroads and other such jobs. In the United States, Mexican food was seen as street food, lower-class food. It was associated with a group of women called the Chili Queens and with taco pushcarts in Los Angeles. The Chili Queens of San Antonio were street vendors who earned a little extra money by selling food during festivals. When tourists started arriving in the 1880s with the railroad, these occasional sales started to become a nightly event.  

Tourists came looking for two things in San Antonio-the Alamo and the Chili Queens. Mexico was still considered a dangerous place. The Chili Queens were a way of sampling that danger, but not at the risk of being robbed by bandits. The risk was that the food was hot-people described it as "biting like a serpent." These women were also sexualized and seen as "available." So the idea was that you would flirt with the Chili Queens. To some extent, that image of something exotic, slightly dangerous, but still appealing has really persisted with Mexican food.

The children of those migrants who came in 1910 or 1920 started to advance economically. They gained civil rights; many of them fought in World War II and are claimed citizenship. Their incomes went up and they started eating more diverse things, but they were still eating Mexican. A lot of Mexican American tacos are really adaptations of Mexican food to the ingredients that are available through the U.S. food-processing industry. Hamburger instead of offal meat. Cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato-these are all foods that Mexican-Americans started to incorporate into their diet.

The fast-food taco is a product of something called the "taco shell," a tortilla that has been pre-fried into that characteristic U-shape. If you read Glen Bell's (Taco Bell) authorized biography, he says he invented the taco shell in the 1950s, and that it was his technological breakthrough. Mexicans were cooking tacos to order-fresh-and Glen Bell, by making them ahead, was able to serve them faster. But according to the U.S. patent office records, the original patents for making taco shells were awarded in the 1940s to Mexican restaurateurs, not to Glen Bell.  

Now that you know all that you want to about the history of the taco, here is how to make authentic, "street style" carne asada tacos to die for: 

See you again next month. Until then, enjoy this beautiful month. If you are having perfect weather like we are, that shouldn't be too hard. If not, just come and visit Puerto Penasco. You'll be glad that you did.   

Saludos, Jim Ringquist