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By Cali Zimmerman
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The port city of Manzanillo, Mexico may offer some excellent real estate investment opportunities for foreign investors looking for an alternative to Mexican tourist cities such as Cabo, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. Real estate values in Manzanillo have been on the rise in recent years and will likely continue to increase as the city gains popularity with cruise lines, expatriates, and holidaymakers. Located on the western coast of the state of Colima, Manzanillo City was home to 110,728 residents as of the 2005 Population and Housing Census. Manzanillo City is the municipal seat of the Manzanillo municipality. Copper and marble deposits can be found in the region, and a large portion of the municipality’s economy is founded on agriculture. |
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Crops such as corn, sorghum and green chilies are grown, as well as cyclical crops such as watermelons, tomatoes, pumpkins and perennial crops such as mangoes and tamarind.
The Port of Manzanillo first opened in 1825 and named for the manzanillo trees that were abundant in the area at the time. Manzanillo trees are highly toxic, with sap so potent that even sleeping beneath one can result in bodily swelling. Wood from these trees was commonly used when building ships, and, by 1767, there was only one manzanillo tree remaining in the city. In 1825, the story goes that the governor of the state of Colima had the last manzanillo tree cut down after several people died from eating its fruit. The city of Manzanillo, though, is anything but toxic. In fact, it has begun to attract more world travelers to its port than in years past. Part of this change may be because cruise lines - including Holland America and Carnival - have begun including Manzanillo among their ports of call. Manzanillo may soon be an origin port for some cruises because the logistics of starting in Los Angeles are becoming too difficult to accommodate. |
