A Staycation Looking Better All The Time

A White Beach In Nanaimo

A White Beach In Mexico

The recent news of Canadians having less than ideal vacations in Mexico got me thinking about the whole idea of a Staycation rather than a vacation which the local Chambers of Commerce like to promote.

It is not that long ago that one of Nanaimo's own was killed in an explosion in a Mexican hotel, and today a Pentiction man is reported recovering from gunshot wounds to his leg, being caught in a gang related gun battle. Then there is the Ontario women who claims she was raped on New Years eve after being detained by Mexican police.

Currently the Canadian government has issued a travel alert for Canadians going to Mexico. In an attempt to get the wording of the advisory I simply 'Googled' Canadian Mexico Travel Alert and to my surprise it seems these alerts are an annual thing. In my short search I turned up alerts for 2010 and 2009 and of course there is now the one for 2011, so I guess it really isn't news after all.

Mexico is home to the completely lawless places controlled totally by drug lords, where even the police wear masks so as not to be recognized to avoid retaliation. These places for the most part are avoided by us gringo tourists, but lately these violent incidents are occurring in the 'safe' tourist places.

Back to the Staycation

I was musing that if perhaps we could put a large plastic dome over one of our beaches and perhaps fill it with lush tropical foliage, we could probably persuade vacationers to just stay right here where it may be a little cooler, but certainly is a lot safer. Perhaps one of the meeting rooms at the convention centre could be converted to a tropical paradise with a little creative thinking. Maybe then Nanaimo could become known as not only the Harbour City but the tropical Staycation city of the Island.

Maybe we could get a deal on the famous 'fake lake' now that the G20 have no more use for it, and install that at the convention centre.

Of course the really smart Staycationers are enjoying not the white sands of a beach but that other great white stuff on top of Mount Washington. Another great Staycation to consider.