La Paz Mexico Travels: MEXICO: HURRICANE NORA RUINS TOURISTS PLANS

Sabado, Oktubre 3, 2015

MEXICO: HURRICANE NORA RUINS TOURISTS PLANS

English/Nat

Hurricane Nora has ruined many tourists’ sunbathing and sportfishing plans in this Baja California resort.

And Mexicans in this coastal community were taking refuge from huge waves and lashing rain on Tuesday as the hurricane held off the coast of Baja California peninsula.

Many disappointed tourists have already packed up and headed home.

With Hurricane Nora lurking just off the coast, residents and tourists at the popular beach town of Cabo San Lucas are battening down the hatches and preparing for the worst.

Nine-foot (three-metre) high waves have lashed the popular tourist beach for the past few days.

Although it is the off-season, tourists come here year-round, many for the excellent sport fishing.

The U-S Hurricane Center in Miami is predicting that worse may still be in store, and many disappointed tourists have already packed up and headed home.

But there some who are persevering.

Boxer Oscar de La Hoya, the W-B-C welterweight champion from Los Angeles, travelled to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate his recent victory over Hector “Macho” Camacho.

He has been coming to the resort for years after each fight to fish, golf and relax.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
“No, this is the first time actually. You know, at first it was like a scary feeling – I thought it was like just going to go through everything and knock buildings down and break windows and I guess the hard part hasn’t come yet. You know, it’s not like that scary when you’re with a bunch of friends, you know. You just laugh about it, you know, show no fear. Even though we’re like scared inside – you know.”
SUPER CAPTION: Oscar de La Hoya, WBC Welter Weight Champion, on holiday at Cabo San Lucas

Weather officials say that although Cabo San Lucas will likely be spared the worst, the hurricane could slam into the barren and isolated Baja California coastline by Wednesday.

More than 500 people from nearby areas and the city of La Paz were moved to emergency shelters as a precautionary measure.

On the northwest of the Mexican mainland, 45 fishermen were also evacuated from a tiny camp near Guaymas in the state of Sonora.

Warnings were also posted to residents in the states of Sinaloa and Sonora in case Nora crossed over the peninsula and crashed into the mainland.

Hurricane Nora has claimed no fatalities since last Thursday but many are wary, after the storm pounded hundreds of miles of mainland Mexico and destroyed dozens of beachfront homes over the weekend.

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