| First, how did you
choose the name Koala?
My wife and I used to live in Australia before we came here.
That was 20 years ago. We just liked the name.
And why did you choose to start your business here?
Climate mainly. You know, we could have had a better business
if we had moved to the coast or even to Tepic. But Santa Maria
del Oro is simply a nice place to live and raise a family.
Has the state or federal government been of help as you were
pioneering tourism here?
We did get a loan a few years ago through the state tourism
department. They had a special program for small businesses. We've
had a better relationship the last few years, particularly with
the city government of Santa Maria del Oro. They've been very
supportive in this current administration. What's missing is phone
service.
No phone service?
Not in this town.
How do you make reservations for the hotel?
We have two numbers - both are in Tepic. It's always been a
hassle. Telmex says there's not enough people here to bring telephone
service. Only 50 of us live on the lake full time. But as an important
tourism center in the state of Nayarit, I would have thought it
would be different. And I still hope we can get phone lines in.
That way we could improve our contacts - both via phone and via
the internet.
So how do people learn about this area?
A few years ago we were include in the Lonely
Planet guidebook to Mexico, and that helped a great deal --
particularly when it comes to bringing foreign tourists here mid-week.
We also get a lot of business from Mexicans from Tepic and Guadalajara,
who mostly visit on the weekends. The turn-off is right off the
new toll road between these two cities. What I'd like to do in
the near future is to create a web page. I hear it's the best
way to let people know yourself what kind of tourism services
you have to offer.
What attractions do you and the town have for tourists?
People come here to relax. We don't have motor boats, but we
rent rowboats, kayaks and very soon, mountain bikes. The number
of tourists has declined recently, and I'd like to see if we could
a find ways to improve the numbers and the experience we offer
visitors.
Is it true that sometimes the color of the lake changes?
It does! The most viable theory is that the crater has a large
number of lime deposits and when there is a nearby tremor, this
gets shaken up. It can turn turquoise blue -- a color that lasts
for two to three days. It can also go brown overnight. That takes
a few weeks before it changes back to normal. The interesting
point is that no one knows why the lake changes colors at all.
I'd like to see a good study, and I'd even be willing to help
sponsor the research.
No one is studying the lake?
People say they are. Once a lady came by and told me she wrote
a book about the lake and that she would send me a copy. She never
did. Researchers tell me about studies they are conducting, but
again, the materials are never available to us who live here.
There seems to be a lot of new developments occurring here.
I see a lot of construction of homes and cabanas. How does that
affect water quality?
Again, this is hard to tell. Some of the development is put
together well, but much of it seems haphazard. What I am afraid
of is that all of the land could be purchased and developed and
there will be no wild areas for the tourists to visit. I promoted
the idea to our local ecological society that we need to find
a way to conserve the land that has not yet been purchased. But
so far, nothing has been done.
I saw a sign on the edge of the lake from the National Water
Commission (CNA), asking that if anyone sees dead fish in the
lake, to report the incident to the officials immediately. Does
this happen frequently?
It happens from time to time. A few years ago the farmers were
spraying their fields with pesticides and later washed the equipment
in the lake. I took pictures of the empty pesticide bottles lying
on the shore of the lake and sent them to the Nayarit environmental
secretariat. There was no response then. People still use pesticides
haphazardly, but I think that finally, officials are taking more
notice.
Do you have any suggestions on how tourists to the lake can
be more eco friendly?
First, I would like to see a law mandating the use of biodegradable
oil for outboard motors. The use of regular oil should be banned
immediately. I'd like to go further than that and suggest that
this lake be declared some sort of eco reserve.
What do you mean?
We'd tell tourists they can bring anything or do anything that
doesn't pollute. It would be simple. You can use a sailboat, a
bike, a kayak. I know that this would cut out a lot of my customers,
but I wouldn't mind if these actions protected the lake. Too often
the lake is noisy on the weekends and parents let their children
have control of the jet skis. They don't know how to handle these
machines!
We need to think about how our actions affect the environment.
With that in mind, I would like to see a holistic study of this
area - we need more information about the lake and tourism. We
have to stop studying components and figure out how things fit
together. |
