Brenda Bachmann is contemplating taking a stroll through Puerto Vallarta's downtown today.
After yesterday's cartel retaliation violence forced her to 'shelter in place' at the gated community where she is staying in Puerto Vallarta's Zona Romantica, the retired realtor from Kelowna feels everything is returning to normal now.
"Yes, I think it's over," Bachmann told NowMedia Group.
"It was a show of anger by the cartel (over the military killing the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel 'El Mencho' Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes), not a takeover of Puerto Vallarta. The clean up has started. They don't necessarily want tourists on the streets yet. But, I hear public transportation might start up today and the airport will reopen on Wednesday."
Bachmann knows Blake Roberts, another Kelowna realtor, who is holidaying in Puerto Vallarta.
The two are planning to meet up this afternoon to wander around downtown Puerto Vallarta to get the lay of the land.
Robert's has 23,000 friends on Facebook and he's been posting videos on the Puerto Vallarta frenzy over the past couple of days.
As soon as the violence erupted Sunday morning and a 'shelter in place' edict was issued for all tourists and residents of Puerto Vallarta, WestJet, Air Canada, Flair and Air Transat immediately cancelled all flights in and out of the holiday destination on the Pacific in the state of Jalisco.
The airlines have extended customers' stays in Puerto Vallarta until they can be brought home safely and are working with other customers whose holidays were disrupted by the cancellations.
WestJet cancelled its Kelowna-Puerto Vallarta and Puerto Vallarta-Kelowna flights on Sunday and today.
"Yesterday was crazy," stressed Bachmann.
"Especially early in the day when no one knew what was happening."
She first started hearing explosions and seeing plumes of smoke around 8:30 am.
"It was coming from all directions and I could see it well because the gated complex I'm in is on a slope with a good view. I was in the thick of it," she said.
"That's when we went to the security guard who works at the complex to find out this was the cartel showing its anger."
Bachmann admitted to being 'hyped up' all day, taking photos, posting to social media and answering texts and emails from family and friends checking in on her and wanting to know what was going on.
Bachmann described a scene in two stages.
The first stage was from around 8:30 am to 10:30 am when the cartel blocked the highway and streets by stopping cars and buses, ordering everyone out of the vehicle, and telling them to go back home or to their hotel.
The cars and buses were turned sideways to ensure the streets were impassable and then set on fire.
Spikes were also put on streets to stop any traffic.
"The cartel wasn't targeting people," explained Buchmann.
"They wanted to stop all traffic and get everyone's attention. And, they did."
The second wave was also a couple of hours in the early afternoon, seeing cartel members on motorcyles firebombing outlets of the Mexican convenience store chains OXXO and Kiosko.
"Some of those stores are in the bottom of condo buildings, so because no firefighters or police could get there due to blocked roads, residents in the condo buildings had to put the fires out themselves," Bachmann relayed.
"There seemed to be some looting after that. Then, around 4 p.m., a Marine helicopter hovered, and then everything seemed to calm down and get quiet."
Bachmann said she felt safe the entire time, even with some of the events happening just two blocks away.
"This complex is walled and gated and it is at the end of a dead-end street and we have a security guard," she said.
"We never lost power or internet and the cartel was not targeting people, homes, hotels, or mom-and-pop small businesses and stores. So I felt 100% safe."
Bachmann doesn't want to call it 'happy hour' but residents of the complex where she's staying gathered at the pool for cocktails at the end of the day for a debrief.
"I know the fearmongering has people freaking out about coming to Puerto Vallarta and some people are cancelling their trips," said Bachmann.
"The cartel is not taking over. It was their show of force and anger. I encourage people to still come to Puerto Vallarta."
Canadians in Mexico who feel unsafe can contact the Emergency Watch & Response Centre in Ottawa.
Call 1-613-996-8885, text 1-613-686-3658, WhatsApp 1-613-909-8881 or email [email protected].
