It’s a little hard sometimes to understand the way things are done here in Todos Santos. Last April, a “beautification” project began on Calle Militar (Highway 19) here in town. Crews arrived and began building and repairing sidewalks up and down the highway. It was bit disruptive but the end result would be worth it. Jump forward to the summer. Todos Santos is now a pueblo magico and federal development money is available for projects.
Remodeling begins at the old auditorium and at the park. Heavy equipment arrives in town and begins to dig up Calle Militar. All the new sidewalks are destroyed. Clouds of dirt and dust are everywhere. The street turns to mud in the many summer rains. Sewage and water pipes are replaced. At last, the street is filled in, smoothed out and ready for paving. But no, once again it is ripped up. Tubes are inserted for underground electricity and again the street is filled in and smoothed down. The first layer of asphalt is put down. Then, you guessed it, they ripped up most of the road again to lay down even more pipes. This time when they filled in the road, they began repairing damage to sidewalks and curbs.
So today what you see is the beginning of the re-asphalting process. As one part of the road is prepped, digging continues in other parts. Day to day here in Todos Santos, one never knows which side road will actually allow you to cross the highway in a car. It’s totally hit or miss. Meanwhile all the heavy traffic, semis and load haulers, are cruising right through the middle of “tourist” Todos Santos, right past the Hotel California with all the dust and noise that big rigs bring with them. Traffic is terrible and it can be quite a wait to make a left turn.
It will all be worth it, but sometimes one has to wonder if the right hand even knows the left hand is there.
