Living in Los Cabos: Springing Forward, Sort of

Up in the States they’ll be turning their clocks ahead one hour this weekend. Mexico might, too. Or might not. And Canada will abstain from changing anything just now. Just when you thought things were confusing enough, here’s the skinny…

Mexico has observed Daylight Saving Time since 1996, except the northern state of Sonora which borders the US state of Arizona. Those two renegade states form an island of resistance, which may be the only thing they’ve ever agreed upon. Until recently everyone switched together keeping the level of chaos relatively manageable, or at least as manageable as it gets around here. Ah, but then during the last U.S. energy crisis (I think it was 2009, but could have been 2008, it’s so hard to remember, there have been so many….) the States decided to conserve by adopting daylight saving time earlier than the rest of the world and staying on it longer. Which is when things got fun.

Since that time the States ‘spring forward’ three weeks earlier than the rest of the continent, and ‘fall back’ one week later. So on Saturday California is on the same time zone as Tijuana, and clocks in Seattle are synchronized with those in British Columbia. The following morning they wake up to find they’re an hour behind in some sort of limbo time zone. It’s like someone carves out the middle and pushes it to the right. Anyway, total confusion for a few weeks until we (and the rest of the globe) catch up. In the fall there’s only a week of being off-sync, just in the opposite direction.

Locally what all this means is that Cabo, normally in the Mountain Time Zone, will be in Pacific Time Zone from March 13 until April 3, 2011. This fall we’ll jump into Central time, but only for a week. That’s Los Cabos. The rest of Mexico? Hang on………

Obviously this is confusing enough for us but can you imagine what it does in the border zones where thousands of (good, honest, law-biding) folks commute across the border to go to work or school every day? How about the companies who have offices or plants on both sides? Yikes!

So, in December of 2009, the Mexican government passed legislation allowing just 10 cities along the border to switch clocks with the USA and not their own state. Those ten cities are:

Acuna, Coahuila
Anahuac, Nuevo Leon
Juarez, Chihuahua
Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Mexicali, Baja California
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas
Ojinaga, Chihuahua
Piedras Negras, Coahuila
Reynosa, Tamaulipas
Tijuana, Baja California

Mind you, only the city is affected. Suburbs are on their own, evidently.

And Canada? Oh Canada… they change with Mexico. Except for a few provinces in the center of the country who evidently have a great deal in common with Sonora and Arizona and refuse to go along for the ride with the rest of us.

Confused yet? Hope not! But just in case here’s a cheat sheet:

Carol Billups is Broker/Owner of REALTY EXECUTIVES Los Cabos. A Certified Home Marketing Specialist, she has enjoyed working with both buyers and sellers for over ten years and still thinks hers is the best job on earth. She is also the real estate columnist for Los Cabos Magazine and Chairman of the AMPI Los Cabos Board of Realtors. You can read more of her articles on www.reloscabos.com. You can reach her from the U.S. or Canada at 1-760-481-7694, or in Cabo at 044-624-147-7541.

© 2011 Carol S. Billups