Friday, November 4 - Tuesday, November 8, 2022
It's time to spread those wings to Mexico! Please join fellow DAFers on our November 2022 fly-in to the beautiful colonial town of Alamos, Sonora, Mexico which is located on the mainland of Mexico 480 miles south of Tucson, AZ and 55 miles inland from the Sea of Cortez. Tom and Patti LaGrelius are thrilled to once again plan this adventure! We plan to arrive in Alamos on Friday, November 4 and depart on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Our accommodations for 4 nights will be the exquisite Hacienda de Los Santos Resort & Spa. We have blocked 15 rooms. There are only 34 rooms in this boutique Hacienda, so if you would like to go, please book right away to secure your reservation. The Hacienda is truly one of the loveliest hotels we have ever stayed in. Once folks stay there, they can't wait to go back! This is an amazing destination also, you will not be disappointed, Alamos is rich with history, set in the foothills of the Western Sierra Madre in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. Once you enter the village, you'll experience the feeling of a different age, the romanticism of Spain and the sweetness of Old Mexico. We will conduct a Mexico flight briefing in late summer, especially for those who are unfamiliar with flying in Mexico.
November is the perfect time to experience this small town, where the weather will be pleasant and you will find it pristine, cherished by villagers for its beauty and tranquility. This enchanting pueblo has 188 Mexico Historical Monuments and is a Sonoran State Historical Site.
Our package pricing below is an amazing value. The inclusive costs of the DAF packages include transportation to and from the airport to the Hacienda, four nights lodging and all meals, including all taxes plus lots of terrific entertainment. Drinks are not included, with the exception of the Welcome Margarita Hangar Party and the Ranch BBQ. Please leave your tip for the staff at the end of your stay during check out and it will be pooled together and divided at the end of the month. The only exceptions are directly tipping your technician for spa treatments and the musicians. Mexican pesos are preferred for the tips, especially at check out.
The entertainment included in our package includes some familiar and favorite activities, including the Welcome Margarita Hangar Party and excellent traditional Mexican music nightly. For dining fun, there will be a Mexican Fiesta, a Ranch BBQ nearby with the option to horseback ride there (horses are extra cost, van transportation included) plus a lovely rooftop dining experience. We are also excited to have a performance of a 60 person Ballet Folklorico, donning brilliantly colored costumes, festive music and traditional dancers which is not to be missed! Jim Swickard will offer an historical talk about Alamos, plus he and Ramon will lead some early morning city and nature walks. The Hacienda also has mountain bikes, putting greens, and many swimming pools for you to enjoy.
There will be several classes offered at a nominal charge. They include a cooking class, a tequila tasting class and a tour of local homes. We've added lively Texas Hold 'em Poker to the fun! Spa treatments are available at the La Dulce Vida Spa. The Hacienda also has horses, plus a couple of ATV's and electric bikes to rent. For the hikers in the group, a short walk away from the Hacienda you can explore the trails at the Parque Colorado National Reserve. There is plenty to do! Or you may choose to just relax by a pool, read a book on your patio or stroll around lovely Alamos in your free time. Your choice!
Please note that this customized package has fixed entertainment costs so the prices below are based on 15 rooms booked. The actual prices charged could be slightly higher or lower based on the number of rooms/suites booked. Also, due to prior bookings, the Casa Spa category of room is not offered.
Prices below are for two people with three room/suite types to choose from. For pricing for additional people per room, contact Jamie. Descriptions can be found at: https://haciendadelossantos.com/wp/
Hacienda Room - $1,600 USD
Estate Suite - $1,725 USD
Master Suite - $1,975 USD
If you plan to attend, please sign up on the Del Amo Flyers website. Then to reserve your hotel package, please send an e-mail to: Jamiehacienda @hotmail.com AND to JNSwick @aol.com, AND cc Patti at plagrelius @aol.com.
The deposit policy has recently changed at the Hacienda. We are NOT required to send a deposit for the booking. However, if you do book a room and you discover you cannot attend, please notify the Hacienda and Patti as soon as possible. Your bill may be paid in full by credit card or cash when you check out of the Hacienda.
Please note that this block will be held only until 30 days before our trip, which is Wednesday, October 5, then it will be released.
The Alamos Airport (not a port of entry/exit) has a fee of $16 US per day which includes landing and parking. However those parking in the hangar will just pay for one day. A gratuity for the airport worker is encouraged. The Hacienda has its own huge hangar that will hold 12 airplanes, so it is very likely that your plane will be hangared during your stay. In any case, the airport and airplanes are well guarded 24/7.
Tom and Patti are happy to help you explore this very special area in Mexico. For those of you who are interested in extending your trip and taking a train up the mountains to Mexico's nearby Copper Canyon, which is bigger and deeper than the Grand Canyon, please let us know...we will be happy to give you some guidance. We did that trip seven years ago and it was truly one of the coolest adventures we have ever experienced! You may e-mail us at plagrelius @aol.com.
We hope you can join us on this adventure to the Hacienda de Los Santos. Our hosts Jim, Nancy, Jamie and Ramon do a fantastic job in ensuring everyone has an amazing and memorable stay.
INFORMATION FOR PILOTS
Alamos Airport is about 640nm South East of KTOA. The airport does not have Mexican customs, fuel, or an Instrument Approach, so plan accordingly. The ICAO designator is MM45 and the IATA designator is ALA or XALA These designators are not in the Jepp database or in the Foreflight database. The latitude and longitude are 27.02 deg N and 108.57 deg W, respectively. It is 51 miles on the 104 degree radial from Ciudad Obregon VOR. The runway (13-31) is 5,000’ by 82’ and is asphalt. The airport elevation is 1,308’ MSL. It is in very good condition. The local time is Mountain Standard Time. There is no ATIS or TOWER but Common Traffic frequency is 122.8. Usually someone will answer.
The US stopped printing charts for Mexico in 2015. The newest copy of a CH-22 for the area that I have is a 2013 copy. There are Mexican charts you can get. Here are two photographs of my chart. Unfortunately the area is right at the bottom edge of one side of the chart and the top edge of the other, so...
The top photo shows Guaymas and Ciudad Obregon airports and the bottom one the position of Alamos 51 miles on the 104 radial from Ciudad Obregon MMCM and 119 miles on the 115 degree radial from Guaymas MMGM. Not hard to find with this or just put the coordinates into your GPS.
There is a 5,740 ft peak just south of Alamos as you can see. It’s a pretty good landmark, but there are more mountains further east. Stay just to the left of the closest one and you should be fine.
Sonora State does not observe daylight savings time which ends on Sunday November 6, 2022 while we will be there. So on the way down California and Sonora time are the same. On the way back an hour different. In Alamos we will turn our California clocks back one hour but leave our Sonora clocks the same. Keep this in mind when filing your eAPIS and flight plans back to the USA.
On the way to Alamos and on the way back, you must land at a Mexican Airport of Entry to clear customs, get tourist cards, file Mexican flight plans for the next leg, etc. The most reliable airports for clearing into and out of Mexico and getting fuel are:
1. MMML – Mexicali
2. MMHO – Hermosillo
3. MMGM – Guaymas
4. MMCN – Ciudad Obregon
5. MMPE – Puerto Penasco
Personally we (Tom and Patti) much prefer Guaymas MMGM as it is only 12 miles from our favorite place in Mexico, San Carlos, and we know all the people there very well by now, and have a home and a boat there. Carlos is the Commandant and he no longer even bothers to look at my papers. Getting fuel is easy and they take credit cards, and if I am going to help you though the check in process that is where we would like you to be, because that is where we will be. If range is an issue and you need to stop half way we suggest Puerto Penasco which is about half way. You could stop at Calexico or check into the country at Hermosillo and then go direct Alamos. Lots of options. Guaymas is also a shorter flight from Torrance than Ciudad Obregon if fuel is an issue. At 160 knots it takes 3.5 hours and 55 gallons of gas in our Saratoga. Then Alamos is 45 minutes away.
Hacienda's recommended airport of entry is Ciudad Obregon MMCN which is only 51 nm from Alamos, but we have found Guaymas to be easier to do. Some airports do not accept US dollars for fuel and fees. Credit cards are accepted at some airports (always at MMGM in our experience) depending on whether the credit card machine is working. The fail safe way of paying for fuel and fees is cash in Mexican Pesos and we always bring a lot, however recently Guaymas has required us to pay the passenger arrival and departure fees by credit card. You will have to buy a Multiple Entry Permit on arrival at your AOE, in Pesos and visa fees for passengers but not crew members who stay seven days or less, so bring at least a few hundred dollars in Pesos. Fuel prices in Mexico are currently running around $5.00 US per gallon, but it is dispensed in liters. One liter is 0.264 US gallons BTW.
Since COVID one other thing occurs when you get to the Mexican POE, they used to ask you a lot of questions and make you fill out a form about COVID exposure. As of February, 2022 they stoped doing that, but if they do ask you, unless you want them to put you back in your plane and send you home, the answers are all “NO”! Nobody want tests though. Nobody cares about your vaccine status. I suppose that could change, but nobody cares and nobody asks in either direction or at US Customs when you return (see below).
Here is the route I plan to take with a stop at MMGM Guaymas and then on to Alamos. It is scenic down the east coast of the Sea of Cortez. You cross into Mexico a little west of Mexicali and can go direct OCN to KCXL and miss all the prohibited areas and San Diego Class Bravo. I use flight following at 7,500 ft VFR. You will want to talk to Mexicali tower (118.2) just before you cross into Mexico. He will follow you till you are about 50 miles south of Mexicali and tell you to contact Puerto Penasco next (118.85) when in range. In this stretch you will be briefly out of radio contact. Puerto Penasco will hand you off to Hermosillo Approach (121.4) which has radar and all the bells and whistles, but you will be briefly out of radio contact on that segment too. Hermosillo Approach will follow you all the way to Guaymas along the coast and hand you off to Guaymas Tower (118.6). BTW, all the Mexican controllers speak English, but if you speak Spanish to them they will answer in Spanish, so if you do that be sure you are very fluent! I use English—-usually.
That little orange triangle along the coast is a restricted area sometimes (not often) between 3,000 and 19,000 feet. Hermosillo Approach will let you know and give you the choice of going around it to Hermosillo (bumpy, over mountains) or down the coast at 3,000 feet. Choose the later. Sometimes they let you stay at 3,500 ft. The views are spectacular as you get closer to MMGM. Hug the coast all the way and take pictures. We stay on the coast till San Carlos and its unique mountain Tetakawi and then turn toward MMGM. MMGM is almost visible in this photo in the mid-upper left just behind and left of a couple of low hills.
Stay tuned to this web page. We will be adding more information on this trip. For those of you who are not familiar with border crossing procedures or flying in Mexico, I (Tom) will be conducting a briefing later some time before the trip, likely August, but it is actually a lot easier than some people think. Just remember to have your passports with 6 months validity at end of your trip (CHECK!), the originals and several copies of the documents about your airplane (current registration and air worthiness certificate), buy a decal from from DTOPS at https://dtops.cbp.dhs.gov/main/# way in advance (cheap). Have your original and several copies of your pilots credentials, medical etc. File an eAPIS to and from your AOE, preferably through the Baja Bush Pilot’s web site https://www.bajabushpilots.com (join, its cheap) rather than the cumbersome US government one. Have a copy of your insurance and buy Mexican insurance through Baja Bush Pilots even if your US insurance does cover you in Mexico (CHECK!). I do both even though my US insurance says I’m covered. File a regular VFR flight plan to and from as you always do here (DVFR on the way back). Land on the way home at either Calexico or Brown Field San Diego (you can’t come further) and communicate with San Diego or Prescott radio an hour or so before crossing the border back into the USA to tell them when and where you will cross. You can get them on Prescott radio just after you pass PPE on the way north at 6,500 ft or above. In the meantime please feel free to talk to me at any time about any of the details.
You don’t want to miss this fly-in!
Tom and Patti