Que Pasa? June 7th, 2009

Time for slow afternoons and early evening walks as the days have turned into sizzling heat and the night sees everyone emerging for the relative cool of the air and a stroll around town. Not that there's many people here, quite the reverse, you can do your morning walk and not see anyone else and I relish that feeling which is in such great contrast to our high season this year. Puerto Morelos is getting more and more popular, rental home owners have noticed an increase in the early bookings for the high season coming and many return clients starting to look for a place of their own. Breaking news is the bridge! A Federal and State initiative has been the work on Highway 307 further south and it is now time for us. As of next week work will start on building an overpass that will take the highway over and above the intersection at the entrance to Puerto Morelos. The structure is 17.8 metres high, 73 m long and access roads 647m. Pedaestrain crossings will be included and a number of other safety issues addressed as well as 'beautification' of the entrance. Another meeting is to be held to discuss the solutions to the inconvenience during construction. A visit by our Municipal President Greg Sanchez occasioned the meeting in the Taxi Union hall where is it was also announced that work is to recommence next month on all the roads in PM, Puerto side and colonia, estimated completion end December along with the bridge. The Puerto Morelos Plaza is being built on the highway near Villas Morelos, it is one of those plazas with a group of small shops (no super). The new palapa going up on the beach near Amar Inn is being built by the owner of that lot for his family's use. We were succesful with getting sponsors for 5 of the 8 children at the Primary School, 3 remain Geovanny, Diana (no photo) and Victor, you can sponsor their school fees for as little as 250 pesos and if you want school shirts are available at the school and shorts and skirts are made at home, so material purchase would help too. Dan from Playacar has donated enough to buy 5 backpacks full of useful school things for next year, Rose from Australia has adopted and so have Emily and Patti and Dafne and Mikki and Ann Elliot. If you can help please email Jill Yager: jill.yager@gmail.com. Palm trees at the kinder - the charity bought 10 palm trees and had them planted at the kindergarten on the beach where there has been no shade since Wilma, lets hope they survive for the little ones to enjoy. Big news is that Rotary in Austin and Rotary International are stepping in to help our charity (El Mundo para Puerto Morelos). Their first project with us is to help the teachers at the high school with all the materials they need to complete the curriculum, the first of the supplies arrive next week. If you are interested to see the full high school list click HERE. If you are interested to see what's needed at the primary schools and kindergartens in the whole village click HERE.The free classes in English program has grown a little: Jill Yager has been teaching 2 English classes a week at the high school, Erik Sanchez is starting a 6 week Adult ESL course at the library, Ana continues at the library on Friday and Saturday afternoons for the little ones and Mary Haffner with 4 classes a week, adults and children, at the Casa de Cultura. They all need teaching supplies. The Cody family recently visited from Colorado with school supplies, their littlest one being a great attraction. Please see the column on the right for where to send money for the charity. We have ongoing problems with the Ambulance and the Fire Brigade that I could use some help with! There is a Muncipal breakdown between the delegado and Leon who manages our ambulance that may result in a competing ambulance being brought in! The new Fire Chief in Cancun appears to have sideswiped our pumper, the Mayor says he is continuing to apply pressure but I see no results. The Police! The Taxi Union and the Truck Drivers led by Pepe Espinosa (own the little supermarket etc) held a demonstration in the Town square 10 days ago against the Tourist Police - they said they were b eing victimized by these Police. The meeting was attended by the Chief of Police from Cancun and lot of media. It was a fairly ugly meeting with a lot of aggression from the taxi and truck drivers. Deena Drago spoke up as best she could in the heated crowd and told the media that we actually think they are the best group of Police we have ever had and how we all feel more secure as a result and that maybe if the taxi and truck drivers obeyed the law they wouldn't get stopped so much! In the end the Police left town! That day and night we had only one Police truck until the old Transito returned. I told the Mayor that I think it is outrageous that the taxi and truck drivers can attempt to run this town, he assures me that the Tourist Police will return next week. Please if you are in town, drop in and show your support and appreciation, its a tough job and they'll be sitting there right opposite the taxi drivers every day! Do you know any artists? The Mayor wants to paint the town and paint the schools with beautiful murals. He said he'll provide the walls if we can bring the artists - what a great initiative and isn't that a great match for Puerto Morelos? So put on your thinking caps and let's paint the town. Someone has already started as you can see from this newly painted house opposite the high school. Pleased to announce the Mega has opened up again beside Costco in Cancun, bigger and less character, a direct copy of the one in Playa but very convenient. I visited Secrets Silversands recently (you get to it from the road to Petempich) and was pleasantly surprised, delightful looking hotel, modern classic. Gorgeous spa facility, nine a la carte restaurants, nine pools and yes you can go there - you can buy a night pass for USD65 (they kick you out at 1am) in the meantime you can sample ALL their food and drink, they have some great wines and top brand spirits so you could really make that work. A day pass at the spa is USD55 to use all their facilities, treatments additional of course 998-193-1800. Coco ( Corinne le Page) had a housewarming recently for her new house in the jungle, her friends turned out in support and to enjoy the barbecue. Doggy business - as you all probably know Diane at Mama's Bakery is a great carer, you get extra special treatment if you are a dog or a cat (bunnies and birds too) but she has run out of funds for her work treating ill and ill treated animals, if you can spare a peso for the abandoned and homeless animals don't forget to drop in at Mama's Bakery. Some pampered pets live out at the El Rey Polo Club which recently hosted the 3rd Annual Copa Del Rey, a huge event with players from Canada, USA, Guatemala and all over Mexico converging with 80 horses to battle it out in style on the field. Major sponsors were Lemmus, Hotel Valentin, Quien, Tipa y Cana and El Rey.We were entertained by the Cancun Irish dancing team and various cocktail parties, see rare photo of me with make up and hair do and social pages superstar Cedric Schweri! The event was won by the Quien team (from Hacienda Andalusia, red shirts) , there was only one injury when one of the players jumped from the dance floor at the Club and broke his ankle. All the horses are well too! I am sorry to tell you that Eric passed away recently. Eric had been suffering from Hep C and complications for some months and died in hospital in Merida with his family around. He suffers no more. We will miss his smiling face around town and our thoughts go to his family and friends . The wonderful Casa de Cultura has a great new programme of classes for adults and children and you can view their programme by clicking HERE. I leave you with some photos of the Marine Day Festival (and the upcoming swimming competition in Bacalar), along with the normal fish killing there were three nights of music and lots of stalls in the Town Square and cultural presentations on the beach stage including these dancers - will someone tell me why Mexican teenagers would put on white face to do a rap dance? I am culturally confused.

Que Paso? May 3

It is quiet in town now and strange, the restrictions imposed due to the outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1) have changed the very fabric of the day to day life here. Probably the hardest restriction is no kissing in greeting your friends and acquaintances. The warm embrace and affectionate kiss on one cheek is standard greeting here and is actually part of the joy of living here. It provides warmth and friendship on a daily basis, it creates a circle of friendship in the community, it gives you human contact, a sense of belonging and goodwill. These little sparks of happiness happen many times a day in greeting others surely builds a foundation for the happiness we feel here. But now, we look at each other and say hello, how are you and smile sadly that we cannot greet properly, I swear a little tear appears in many eyes.

As of Friday May 1st, all over Mexico all non-essential businesses, all schools and any businesses that are fully enclosed, have been told to close until May 6, open air restaurants are only allowed 50% capacity. Well that won't be a problem, there is no-one here! John Gray says he'll put his tables outside, I have to see that! Medical clinics, hospitals, food suppliers, Police etc are exempt. Last night in Puerto Morelos the restaurants were mostly open and most had a few tables which looked like all locals to me. Amancia's and Habaneros pretty full.

We still have no confirmed cases in this part of the country even though the majority of people infected, who returned to their countries, had come from Cancun. There are various theories about this. Firstly, many flights from Cancun to other countries actually have to go through Mexico City on the way out so a possibility of infection at the airport. Secondly, it is possible the virus does not thrive in a hot humid environment so when people return to dryer and or colder climates the virus can advance. Thirdly, maybe we have cases and they are so mild they are not diagnosed. Personally, I think the combination of all three gets close to the answer.

The effect of course is dramatic on our and our friends' livelihoods. All the huge All Inclusive Resorts that line this coast are emptying. The hotels are poised to see what will happen next week, no-one wants to lay off the thousands and thousands of workers who service these hotels, let alone all the services who supply them. However, they have started closing - Hotel Me in Cancun, Royal Solaris, 5 of the 7 Palace resorts and probably more today. Restaurants in Cancun are down to 2 or 3 tables at night. Snorkelling, diving, fishing and tour companies sit idle. All outdoor sporting activities have been stopped as well as any other outdoor event for the public. And conspiracy theories are abound. The list goes on and on of the closures that will have a dreadful economic impact on the general population.

Out of the 500 confirmed cases of the flu in Mexico, 19 have died (WHO) due to this virus either because the strain is slightly different or they sought medical assistance too late, a very common problem here. In the U.S.A, an estimated 25–50 million cases of the flu are currently reported (reported!) each year — leading to 150,000 hospitalizations and 30,000–40,000 deaths yearly. If these figures were to be estimated incorporating the rest of the world, there would be an average of approximately 1 billion cases of flu, around 3–5 million cases of severe illness, and 300,000–500,000 deaths annually. (Source: Roche Laboratories).

So what, in heaven's name, are they doing to us?

I just wanted to let you know how we are here and that we are all well and we are taking the only precautions we can, staying in PM as much as possible, washing hands a lot and taking our vitamins. Cancun appears to have sold out of Vitamin C! We are hoping this passes quickly and we can see you all again.

The bazaar went off swimmingly well we raised 12000 pesos which is great, about a third of what we need for completing the classroom. The chilli and hot dogs sold very well and there were loads of bargains, treasures, holiday reading and local handicrafts. A great big thank you to all the volunteers who made it all work like a charm on the day. The charity really needs volunteers to take on projects, managing the sponsorship project, liaising with the firemen, coordinating medical projects, fund raising projects, legal advice project and much more. The fishing competition last weekend did not go so well, very bad weather caused port closure first day and poor weather and other bad fishy luck meant a small catch and the winner (from Cozumel) bringing in a small Mahi Mahi. There was a gathering at Franks to see off Ron and Sue off home for a few months after completion of their house. The Tea house re- opened as Aldea recently with locals coming out in support and enjoying the healthy fare. There was a competition last weekend of local charros and escarmarusas recently at Hacienda Santa Isabela near Bonfil where I went to see the talented women riders exhibit their skills and compete to go onto State level, a lot of fun with great music and barbecue. A recent corporate event at the El Rey Polo Country Club saw the wonderful Mayan Dancers doing the 'smoking' ritual ceremony of protection before our demonstration polo match. The 3rd Copa Del Rey is on next weekend! Saturday and Sunday from 3pm, there are 5 teams of players who come from Argentina, Dominican Republic, Canada and other parts of Mexico. As it is a private event on private property we can proceed but I can tell you it has been little tricky to organise but we are expecting a good crowd as there is very little else to do! So dust out those glam clothes and come along to the Opening on Saturday and the Ladies Hat Brunch on Sunday. There will be games on Friday 15th and then the finals Saturday 16th as well. See you there!

Que Paso? April12 th

It was a slightly out of body experience recently to wander in the town square to the sound of the bagpipes. Bev and Earl, residents from Canada, had organised for a group of Scottish Highland Dancers to visit PM. They danced in the Park, at the jungle market and on the beach to everyone's delight. Time for our Annual Charity Bazaar 10am-3pm Saturday April 18th in the Park. We are still looking for things to sell in the bazaar - bring household items, clothes, sporting goods whatever you don't need to Frank's place before Thursday please and we will sell it. Money from this bazaar will be used to complete a classroom in the kindergarten El Principite in the colonia. The school is highly overcrowded and these kids need more space and we can give it to them by getting rid of our junk.
The 2009 Fishing Tournaments - again we have duelling teams. The 'Grand Slam' is April 24-27 with cars and motor bikes as prizes bound to attract a big fishing crowd and the the Marine day Celebrations take place May 29-June 1st and members of the community will be helping this year to reintroduce ancillary activities to the fish killing - bikini contest, greased pole climb, sand sculpture competition etc.
The charity, El Mundo para Puerto Morelos, is currently running a competition at the high school for the student most improved before June 30th. Sandy Matas is the instigator of the idea and is donating a laptop computer for first prize and Ann and Allan Elliott are also donating a computer for 2nd prize. I think we may also have some second hand ones coming for 3rd and 4th prizes - what an inspiration this will be. We recently delivered some walkers and wheelchairs, kindly donated by our visitors, to DIF for use at the Senior Citizen's Club (Niza in the photo is the Mayor's daughter and speaks Spanish , French and English) and at the same time met the young Doctor Leonard Perez Moo, who works mornings at the DIF Rehab centre next to the National Park tourist display palapa, he wanted us to meet a very special little girl Maria Luisa Sandoval who was born with spinal injury which leaves her with out the ability to use her feet easily and at 4 is still not talking. Her mother is about to have another baby (I know I know) so Luisa will not receive the full time attention she needs. She needs a child's walker and special ankle support shoes KAFO size 15 (since starting to write the newsletter one of PM's regular supporters has pledged the walker - we still need the shoes) . In case you were wondering what happens to your donations you can see one of the walkers in use here, you can see the children playing with all the balls we collected last term (thankyou), eating food donated at the kinder and all the school supplies you left at Mama's Bakery, thank you again and forgive me if I have not emailed you personally. The teachers at the kinder put on funny hats to say thank you as well. There's been lots of renovations going on around town - in front of the Park the landscaping is nearing completion while we wait for the end of construction of the pergolas. The Tea Room opened in its stunning location and great design. It is currently closed and we all hope it reopens soon. The third beach access road nears completion and really adds to the beach atmosphere. The residents to the south of this access paid to pave the road in front of their own houses but have added a chain and a padlock Voila! private road..I don't think so, let's hope the Municipio reminds our neighbours that we do not have private roads in Puerto Morelos. On that note, we have had community security meetings in the last 2 months, I am surprised that not many ex pats attend these as they are very informative and it also gives the community a platform to voice their opinion, a much more effective place than on a bar stool! The first was called by the mayor and attended by the Chief of Security Police and Civil Proteccion to discuss the series of extortion calls received by many people in the village. Those affected got up and told their story about how they were threatened and bullied, over 80 people were affected luckily only a couple were foolish enough to drive to Cancun and pay these anonymous individuals. The Police were impressed at the community action (this has happened all over Mexico but PM was the first community objection action) and were investigating, there has been no reoccurrence. The second was called by the Mayor at the request of the new Chief of Police, it is worth noting that these meetings all started on time and were efficiently conducted. There was talk about how all the Police groups would work together, that more lamps and speed signs were coming, that there is a schools progamme for seat belt wearing. The Police Chief said there would be much more security for Easter and that they really need you to report crimes and that you must look after your children and not let them wander the streets and she asked for help when we see a problem to please call them. There were many questions from the floor and it was also stated that the State is looking into why it takes so long to make a report! The third meeting was this last week and was for us to meet the new Tourist Police headed up by Cte. Carlos Novelo (998 1869803), they are a combination of Tourism and Transito Police and will be looking after the area from the highway to the beaches. Carlos and some of his men speak English and are happy to be in PM and have so far been treated very well with a lot of people waving to them and bringing them water and being friendly, let's keep this up we may get them to stay a while. They plan to cut down the drunkeness and trucks on the pier as it is the first image most people have of PM, patrol the beaches, stop graffiti and gangs. He is concerned that PM does not go the way of Cancun and intends to help us preserve the atmosphere of the village. He spoke at length about corruption and pointing out again that it takes two - you give, they take. You must NOT pay the Police or even TRY to bribe them - please tell all your visitors the same thing. Besides the fact that you are only adding to the corruption problem the real fines themselves are very low and easy to pay here or in Cancun if you are stopped outside PM. New 'no fine' Tourist notices will be introduced where the Tourists are stopped and given a ticket with a warning but if stopped again their data will be on the police file so they will be fined. Dogs are now allowed on a leash on the beach except over Easter. There are new garbage bins going in and Saturday and Sunday pickups. They asked that restaurant owners not use the public bins. They advised that the Federal land opposite the Handicraft Market has been cleared and is now Municipal parking at 5p an hour and that we now have lifesaver toweres and three lifesavers on duty for Easter and at weekends thereafter. There is a new Chief of Civil Proteccion Hector Martinez Huerta (998 1310825) Leon Salas is now the Assessor (998 1156749) . We had some great donations over the last 2 months including several sets of fire boots from our friends in Kelowna, BC, that were a great boost for the guys. The Puerto Morelos fire truck was recently fixed by our friends from Texas at Barnone and then promptly disappeared whenever I asked where it was they said it was back in the workshop or being painted. Anyway I fronted up to the Chief of Bomberos in Cancun last week and he claims that it needs 80,000 pesos worth of repairs. The Mayor and Leon claim that he is getting his trucks mixed up so we are in a fight to get out pumper back, such as it is. The Kelowna folk also brought much needed baseball supplies. Real Estate in Puerto Morelos is a little slow at the moment but everyone is holding firm on their prices and there are several interested parties around so an optimistic mood pervades here. Another diary note will be that there is a Charro (Mexican rodeo) competition next Sunday April 19th to be held at Santa Isabella ranch (alongside Ocean Leader fish warehouse, go down to Bonfil and take the turnaround) which is a great fun event. I also recently visited the town of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast to look at horses. It is a much bigger city than I expected with a huge US retiree population but with a wonderful beach front malecon and some interesting back alleys and side streets. On the way back, I stopped in on Merida to see the final day of the Hennessy Polo Cup, the teams are seen here and we discussed the upcoming Copa del Rey May 8-16 in Puerto Morelos, another diary note for you. Puerto Morelos also saw the annual Swimming Competition recently, much bigger event this year and well organised, there was beach entertainment, swimmers of all ages and time to chat to friends. I also visited Holbox island for a friend's birthday, we lashed out and hired a light plane (nail biting for me) and flew over the magnificient series of waterways that surround Holbox. Off season on Holbox was gorgeous and we had a very pleasant and relaxing stay at las Tortugas and ate at Pelicano's , very little wind and no sandflies, all together a great getaway weekend. Another meeting with the Mayor was to discuss the Public Health Clinic and our issues with them. The charity has done considerable work bringing equipment and supplies to the clinic and we asked that technicians be supplied to the clinic to use the machines we have provided more regularly, they took that under consideration, suggested the machines could be used in Cancun which I refused. Dr Coronado, Health Department, said he would be very supportive of any seminar we would want to put together with visiting specialists, so if you know of someone coming who is a medical specialist and could spare a day for a seminar let me know, especially in the areas of opthamology, ear, nose and throat, dermatology and gynaecology. The picture is Dr Coronado , our new Mayor Francisco Mendoza Reyna ( 8710117) and me on a bad hair bad dress day! New doctor in town Dr Javier Olea MD 998 8742110 he has an office on Rojo Gomez between Habaneros and the Laundry. Bar Ixchel has been doing great business this season, despite many days closed by the wind and still a great fun place to be. Ana's free english classes at the Libary in the Colonia have been a great success and her classes on Friday and Saturday are full. There's been all sorts of little fairs in the colonia and even a series of stalls selling Oaxacan wares. We have the new shop that Jody is running, La Vuelta which stocks all sorts of gifts as well as handy reasonaby priced Puerto Morelos clothing. Jody said to let you know that the battle to stop the over development continues, 32 individual's papers were accepted by the judge but we need more before the end of April if you have not yet provided them with your utility and signed letter and 300p please email Jody for details 'hamilton_jody@hotmail.com'. Also on the artist side, Susan Harrison has been selling gorgeous hand made yoga mat bags, bag bags, aprons, arty boxes and more from her round house on Ninos Heroes. We are hoping Susan will have a stall at the bazaar so you can see her there or call 998 2184135. Sunday April 12 is the last day for the Jungle Market but Jungle Spa is still going and some friends who visited recently were raving about how wonderful the massages were they received. For bookings email : starseed@prodigy.net.mx. Taqco, is the newish restaurant above the little mall, and well worth a visit when you want to try something new, I think the tacos are the best thing they do and very reasonably priced. They also fill up your glass with wine to the top (or maybe he knew I was coming) and let you loose with a marker to write messages on the wall. Paradise Pier has changed thier look inside decorating with a lot of fun Mexican iconic items, menu same same and the Coyote restaurant opened inside Carmen (Hacienda) Morelos I have yet to try. Today we are launching the Sponsor a Puerto Morelos Student intiative. The principals at the Primary School in the colonia have chosen these students as most in need - all we are asking is that you pay their 200 pesos school fees for the year starting July 2009 as their families cannot afford it. Please donate it to the charity and specify for this project. We will send you the photo of the child and provide an avenue for further interaction These a





re the students Lidia, aged 12, lives with her m
other, her father died. Geovanny, aged 8, and his 3 brothers and sisters, lives with his grandparents, his mother died in childbirth. Wilberth, aged 7, lives with his mother and grandmother, his father is dead. Gelmi Margarita, aged 9, lives with her parents and 4 brothers and sisters. Victor, aged 6,lives with his parents and 2 siblings, very sociable, good attendance and he completes his homework (do we know any cleft palate experts?) . Lorenzo, aged 9, lives with his parents and 5 brothers and sisters, has regular respiratory issues. Israel, aged 10, live with his grandparents and 2 siblings
Diane and Martina recently rescued a pregnant dog from near the NH Hotel - Martina. now has the mother (very good natured) and 7 puppies looking for good homes, give Martina a call if you can help 998 2134595. The little Tejon on the right lives in the Colonia and is named Rita.
I do still have some fun with my horse and you can see me here exercising the beautiful Mandarina who will be one of the stars in the upcoming Polo Tournament. As usual, I thank everyone for all their wonderful donations to Puerto Morelos, please keep it coming (don't need any more pencils or crayons need teaching materials such as alphabet and math flash cards, puzzles, brain teasers ( like putting round peg into round hole), posters, maps), and remember the bazaar next Saturday and that we still need volunteers to help with the charity. Happy Easter to everyone.

Que Paso? February 2, 2009

Monday, 2 February, 2009. For Mexicans, La Candelaria, or Candlemas, celebrated on February 2, is the feast day of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. In ancient days, according to Mosaic law, this time marked the ceremony of Purification, a Jewish tradition which required Mary and Joseph to present the infant Jesus in the temple 40 days after his birth. Candlemas is a popular festival in Yucatán, La Candelaria Sanctuary in Merida (Calle 64 and Calle 67) has been recently restored and is one of the treasures of Merida. You can learn more about the cultural treasures of Mexico on Richard Perry's fascinating site click HERE. This month highlighting the colonial arts and monuments of the Yucatan Maya region. (The photo of the horse and owner was taken while we were doing school deliveries near Villa Morelos 1 January 30, 2009) Puerto Morelos is abuzz with high season filling the restaurants and bars with happy holidaying people (seen here Bodo's by night and beach in front of Carmen Morelos) . The new NH hotel to the South, on our beautiful South Beach, is well and truly open, however the beach retains its stunning beauty with only the odd tourist wandering out. Worth noting that the mangrove on the West side of NH appears to be gaining strength, seen here is a happy flock of American coot enjoying the waters. The mangrove adjacent to the hotel and opposite and around El Cid continues to fade. Many thanks go to Buffy, Ana and Bea for their extra effort in picking up the plastic flotsam and jetsam on South Beach. On that note we say farewell to Bea who is packing up her apartment to return to Spain to care for her ailing mother, we all hope to see you back soon Bea! In a recent meeting with our new delegado, Francisco Mendoza Reyna, I was trying to co-ordinate the government departments with the charity in order to service the needs of Puerto Morelos more efficiently. At the same meeting, I asked him about several things - possibility of encouraging the banks to come here, ditto for a Cablemas office, ditto for a Post office (he says that we have land put aside for this next to the little Police Station in the colonia and he is just waiting for Cancun), the roads (Cancun has promised to have them ALL completely done this year) , a policy on signage in PM and on the Ruta de Cenotes, harassment of Habaneros about streetside tables (a meeting is to be called for all restaurants to all agree on a policy) and is it Walmart up at the lights? (not certain but they have started work). We are meeting again next week to see if there are any further answers possible. As most people know last week at the Municipio in Cancun the government passed legislation that allows for 20,000 more houses to be built in Puerto Morelos (other side of the highway), estimated 100,000 more inhabitants over the next 10 years. Understandably, the residents of PM are up in arms about this blatant development greed implemented over the head of years of careful planning by the community with IMPLAN (the government's own urban planning department) and with total disregard of the environment and availability of community services. The community will be submitting objections as a group and as individuals to try and stop the building permits - there will be a form letter available shortly which will be forwarded to you with instructions. In the meantime, a few dollars are needed to assist with photocopying and paper if you can spare a couple of dollars for this please drop it into Amar Inn or to Adriana or Jody Hamilton as Ana Luisa is paying out of her own pocket at the moment. International journalists are needed to pick up the story that this type of development will eventually destroy the coral reef and our beautiful cenotes - a shame for the whole world. There is a wonderful little animation that succintly shows our dependence on the mangrove, to watch it please click HERE, it is very well done. Travelling back to November and December: We had a surprise visit by the dance school raising funds for a young man in need of help and then Christmas was celebrated in the Square with Santa giving out sweets and at the Polo club with a Christmas Students Tournament which 'my' team won. In the spirit of things everyone received a trophy. Then, poor me, I was forced to go to Australia. I had a wonderful Christmas lunch with my family in Melbourne and watched movies in the Gardens with friends from Houston. Flew up to Sydney for New Year's Eve watched the fireworks from a beautiful yacht on Sydney Harbour and enjoyed oyster shooters and a sleep over onboard. Was able to cuddle Dylan, one day old on January 1st, my son Marc's and my daughter in law Michelle's second child. Caught up with lots of wonderful friends in Sydney, went bushwalking, to the fish market, and to Palm Beach and watched the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving club having a bit of Aussie fun. I have included a photo of the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb in action at sunset and one of Bondi Beach.









Coming back to Puerto Morelos the charity, El Mundo para Puerto Morelos, was off to a kick start with lots of donations, left at Mama's Bakery and Alma Libre, for us to distribute. Jill Yeagar and I were able to deliver goods to three kindergartens, the high school, the primary school in the colonia, the medical clinic (you know it is free for foreigners too?), the ambulance service, the junior baseball team and next week we will be using cash donated to buy food and other urgently needed items requested by the schools. What was really satisfying this trip was that after 2 years of the charity seeming to be the only help for the schools the government has decidedly stepped forward. A new classroom has been built at the Kinder Cinco de Mayo and some delightful new paintings have enhanced that, and the kitchen that your donations paid for last year, which as you can see is well used and appreciated. The government has also built a wonderful new wall around the kinder next to Villas Morelos and they have also a great native garden and enhanced play area. The kinder at the beach in Puerto Morelos has received a new classroom courtesy of some volunteer Canadians. The 'Independant Grocers' group are currently here attending a franchise conference and the conference organisers included many hours of charity work in their schedule to the benefit of the kinder in PM. Josh Schultz, Shade and Gabriel (Itankan Constructions) contributed labour and materials to enable completion of the project. The kinder sorely needs shade from the searing beach sun and El Mundo para Puerto Morelos will soon be supplying palm trees for the school as shade for the children. Your donations have given us the ability to do this and more. The primary school in the colonia is always grateful for your assistance and invites everyone to come to the Mardi Gras in the Parque of PM at night on February 21st when the schools all celebrate Mardi Gras! The coming year will see other projects come to light for the charity, we continue to depend on your generosity. Ana, of the little English School House, is now also holding free English classes in the Library in the Colonia on Friday evenings for 4-6 year olds. Ann (998 232 8238) is running walking tours of the Colonia on Mondays (meet 0900 at Rosy's Juice bar) 100 p per person for 1.5 hours of visiting the locals shops and getting to know Mexican food and culture. She also has Mayan cooking classes available, jewellry making and even a dinner dance. Tours are also arranged to the Sunday Jungle Market - next Sunday meet at the Mayan Handicrafts market at 10am for a minibus to the market. Watch out for the large hole in the road in front of the Handicraft Market - saome say a shortcut to China! The next International Womens Committee (www.iwccancun.com) meeting is Feb 7th 0930 at Grand Oasis in Cancun. If you need a lift contact Martha Uscanda (998) 871-0162. Bar Ixchel was recently featured in the Travel Section of the New York Times, entitled 'What Mexico Once Was' click HERE to read the full text. It caused a flurry of activity in the tourist rental market and we hope it will flow into real estate too. Today the famous Ray is cooking a barbecue on the beach and next weekend there will be music and food on both Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting. Yodi's Eatery - Dieter and Martina (Ex Hotel Inglaterra) have moved across the street and are in the kitchen at Yodi's (the old Bodo's on Ninos Heroes) helping out the new owner and his charming wife Yolande. Last night they had a set menu - prime rib or fish. Lois said the prime rib was fabulous, I found the fish too salted for my taste. Good wine, attentive if confused service and delicious dessert. They have extended the eeating are to outdoors and the atmosphere was comfortable. At 500 pesos for 2 including the Italian wine it was very reasonaable. The Mayan Jungle Spa is alive and well too, Wed 10-4 and Fri 10-2 appointments 998 2089148 and the Jungle Market of course on Sunday mornings in Calle 2, Zona Urbana. The University of de la Salle is now offering a diploma in Drama, they have a teacher from Europe graduated from the London School of Speech and Drama for more information Amadeo: 9981356715, Veronica: 9981476351 o directamente a La Salle: 8862201 ext:157. Eric Guegan is now offering tours to Ek Balam and Coba in addition to his other eco tours, more information on his site http://ekaabts.spaces.live.com. The Annual Puerto Morelos Swimming Marathon, 2,5 and 5km Reef Route, will be on February 28th in the morning, if you want to be in it your applications need to be in by Feb 18th - more information from swim@cancunopenwater.org. Open to all ages! Next Saturday (Feb 7th, 3pm) at the Polo Club is a small tournament, El Rey versus Hacienda Andalusia - just mention my name at the gate to gain entry, there will be a buffet lunch and drinks at the bar of course, it is a wonderful relaxing afternoon in the most unusual jungle setting and you get to watch a game of polo! You can even hire 4 wheelers and go to a cenote. (Pictured are Jim and Greg, visiting players from Saskatoon!) El Rey Polo Country Club is 11.5 kms down the Ruta de Cenotes road. Well that just about wraps it up for today, next issue we will have breaking news about a Cancun - Texas company set to pay for service of our ambulance and fire truck, what to do about everything development wise, more news from the delegado and all sorts of PM tidbits. Betcha can't wait!

Que Paso ? November 21st, 2008

A little late this month, it's just so hard to sit inside when the sun is smiling , a gentle breeze is blowing and the birds are singing. If you are not here yet you should be, there is nothing like a dose of Puerto Morelos to put the smile back on your face and for getting that 'I don't give a fig' feeling about the newspapers and their stories. The smell of varnish is in the air, electric saws whining cutting tiles (sorry Kris), hammers a tapping, trucks honking and the little carts with bells delivering tamales to the workers as we prepare for high season. There are lost looking tourists wandering the streets, peering at the strange animals in the bar at night and walking our beaches in the brilliant sunshine with a smile on their faces. We have had a lot of celebrations lately and town activities. Notably IMPLAN (responsible for urban planning) came in one day and took down ALL the signs lining the entrance road to Puerto Morelos. It has always been for us locals a source of fond amusement to watch the signs come and go as we enter the town, they carry the vagaries of weather or business changes but through all this we have been strengthened and warmed by the ones that remained solid. Goyo's sign that tells us as we enter Puerto Morelos to take a leap of faith (one of the things that most of us have done to live here) is down, and John Gray's La Suegra sign is down, and Brekkos, the most poignant, Shade's father's sign for a little dive snorkel shack at Casita del Mar, that we all knew and loved, is also finally down. Other changes in the town include a notable increase in the number of Police trucks and their continuous patrols; also somehow the total ban on dogs on the beach has evaporated and I can now take my early morning stroll with Alex in peace. The beach cleaning has increased and extended, I think our new mayor must be on a roll. The cycle of Nature has affected the beach in the last year too, in the photo to the right you will see the old Ceiba del Mar pier, the whole section on the left was one year ago completely under sand, so the shape of the beach is quite different too. From a dry and cracked mangrove with dead fish we now have the mangrove full of life and water after nearly 2 months of rain. Did you know the Spanish word for wood pecker is carpentario - carpenter? In my intrepid adventure to get you the photos of the sign destruction I came upon this crocodile lazing next to the footpath where everyone walks and bicycles! Now to our restaurants - there have been changes and moves galore. The best way to see the whole list of who is what and where now is to go to my link on the right side of this blog which I recently fully updated, if you are too lazy you can just click here. You will of course need to know that Mama's Bakery has moved again into Cettina's old shop (Pixan) next to the dive shop and the fish taco stand and Artisolo. Great new location, new items on the menu too ( I liked the scrambled egg nachos) and more space and good coffee. Seen at the soft opening were Jack and Jean from Villa Shanti coming ahead of the yoga groups this year, Jack looking remarkably well after his multiple heart bypass operation this year. They were reminiscing about Puerto Morelos 30 years ago, they have seen some incredible changes. Across from Habaneros is the little Peskayito' s, seafood tacos and a variety of dishes, very reasonable prices, becoming a favourite with the locals. El Michoacan, in the 'mall' next to the super, will be a big hit this summer, they have icereams by the scoop and on a stick with milk or with water and with whole fruit. I had the blackberry one with whole blackberries (15p) YUM! Lots of variety, coconut, guayabero, jamaica and chocolate of course. Oh yes there was Halloween and Day of the Dead. Halloween celebrated at Habaneros was a treat with everyone making a special and surprising effort with Kris pretending to be Ed, Mike as a ballerina (mmm really scary), Randy did his own monster makeup and there was also Alladin's Lamp. Trick or Treat was organised into groups and I was for a change ready for them in time. Really adorable outfits on the little ones and a fun time had by us all. Erection night was also celebrated at Habanero's with some surprising late runs at the polls - votes came in at Darwin (the barkeep) 3, Randy 2, Chili (the chihuahua) 2, Frank 5, Ed 5, McCain 7, Naty 9 and Obama a resounding 24. Yay!!!Blue Marlin may have closed but the charming Eric is now running a tour company from Puerto Morelos with various eco adventure tours you can get to his site by clicking here. Alma Libre bookstore is opening with a new load of books for us all, used and brand new releases and their great collection of books about Mexico and its culture. Surprisingly during low season the mini Super started carrying books and magasines in english, 'Bridges of Madison County'. 'Men are from Mars', GQ, Vogue (up to date!) , People and various other holiday reading material. So we should be all set this year. Happy to report no burglaries just some attempted break-ins. Cindy Paiva is compiling an email list of neighbours to alert if there are any suspicious activities, if you would like to be on her list please drop her a line clubpaiva49er@msn.com. We are also organising another community meeting (date in December TBA) to followup on our last get together with the US Consul from Merida, Karen Martin. Also attending will be the representatives from the Cozumel and Cancun offices, the new Chief of Police from Cancun, head of Tourism for Benito Juarez, the Mayor and hopefully the Canadian Consul. We will be discussing security in our puebla, what improvements are possible and how the construction of the all inclusives affects us. Edenh Resort opened this month south of El Cid and construction has started adjacent to that on the Royal Resorts Grand Residence, time share luxury condos. That's half of South Beach gone. They had somewhat of a setback during our deluge but are back to filling in the mangrove again. Also opened this month and last are the huge all inclusives Azul Sensatori and Secrets Silversand just north of PM and about to open is Paradise Peninsula huge condo development and huge new AI between UNAM and Excellence.
Anna has started an english school she has paying students and also donates her time for needier children, so if you know anyone who wants to learn english her rates are very reasonable. Click HERE for the link for more information
El Mundo para Puerto Morelos, the charity for PM, is getting ready for the influx of tourists and lots of promised donations. Happy to tell you that Jill Yager has stepped up to be our schools co-ordinator, visting the schools and discovering what's needed most. She is currently working on a sponsorship programme. The approximate costs to sponsor one child for a year : school fees - 200 p, supplies (pencils, paper, etc.) - 200 p, uniform - 200 p. That works out to less than $60 US for one child per year. There is also a small breakfast program for children. They get milk, crackers, some sort of fruit daily. This cost is only 26 pesos for an entire month per child. That's about $2.50 US!! A person could easily could adopt 100 kids for a month! If you are interested in being part of this programme please let us know. Your donations can be made in the US as well, see the right hand side of the blog. It was Mexican Independence celebration this week and was marked by a schools parade with the children showing their sport and music skills, the senior citizens marched as well as a parade of taxis, construction and water trucks. I got to meet the captain of the Puerto Morelos Little League baseball team who invited everyone to come and see them play at the baseball field in the afternoons of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. If you could do a search in your garages they are really in need of balls, bats, helmets and shirts for the little ones, they would appreciate the help. Just let me know if you need us to come and pick up from your hotel or drop things at Mama's Bakery or Dive in Puerto Morelos. Saturday December 13th there will be an end of the year celebration at El Rey Polo club, there will be a polo match between club members and a special menu in the restaurant. El Rey is also starting a tour programme which includes, horse riding, four wheeling to a cenote, bicycle riding and lunch at the Club. I'll let you know when it is launched.
For the first time in Cancun there is an International Tennis Open with major international and mexican players being held at Club Casablanca on Bonampak, November 24-30, info 8021048/49/50 or cbtennis@casablanca.com.mx
Looks like our usual winter Blues Band will not be with us this year but Jimmy the bass player is here with his lovely wife Silvie and they want to know if there are any other musicians going to be here that would like to play some music while they are in Puerto? Drop me a line and I'll pass it to Silvie. During the big rains in October we had one night where a flash storm came in and Ken and Kathy came home to Casa Sante Fe just as a huge red lightning flash hit. In the morning they discovered the Hobi Cat in front of their house had scored a direct hit!
The High School in the Puerto has had some of its empty classrooms handed over to become a training school. It is a government opportunity to train as bar, room and kitchen staff. At a very low cost people are being trained and given a certificate greatly helping their ability to secure employment. Bar Ixchel is back pleasing the beach crowd, open in the day for cold beers and beach cocktails and next Sunday the first barbecue for the season with the Famous Jamaican Ray cooking. The full moon party recently had a roaring beach bonfire and it was a lovely night for lying around looking at the moon . Martine (L'Oazis) was there celebrating her wedding to Gilles with enough cantagious happiness for everyone.
Casa de Cultura in Puerto Morelos is inviting you all to join in their wonderful activities which include African Dance Tue & Wed 10am, Salsa Mon & Wed 10am (998 1436960), Guitar lessons start Tue 4pm (998 1557215), Contemporary Dance Wed 9am Tue 6.30pm (998 2022533), Hip Hop Sat 1pm (998 1231381), Pilates Mon, Wed, Fri 7am and 7pm. Yoga Tue, Thu, Sat 6am. There are also arts and crafts acitivites for children as well as judo, tae kwon do, capoeira, ballet and circus arts. Noteworthy as well is the Environmental Education Activities on Saturdays : environmental education and camps, health, sports, food and nutrition. Mayan culture, history and anecdotes of Puerto Morelos and various recreational activities. For more information on any of the above: (998) 1557215, casaculturapuertomorelos @prodigy.net.mx. This is a non-profit activity and if you can help out they would appreciate your assistance.
Thanksgiving is coming and all our major restaurants in PM are presenting something special, Habaneros has a dinner for 250p and Vickie Sharp will deliver a full traditional whole turkey Thanksgiving dinner enough for 12 people to your door! 400 dollars 871 0112 Vsharp@prodigy.net.mx .

My best wishes for you to always be rich in happiness and health.

Que Paso? October 1st, 2008

Firstly, it is great to be back, had a wonderful time with family in Melbourne and yes Mum is recovering from hip replacement rapidly, up the ladder hanging paintings after 6 weeks. Also recovering from hip replacement is Ken of Casa Santa Fe, after repairing his roof, in Puerto Morelos, he slipped on the top rung of a wet ladder, ouch! Roberto, Casita Blanca, has his leg in plaster for a nasty sprain after tripping on the street in front of the condos, Big Gary is recovering from a rebuilt knee and for those of you who knew of my horse fall, I am fully recovered. Puerto Morelos is sopping wet right now we have had rain pretty well continuously for 5 days and that is great for our gardens but not great for our visitors or the building sites. However, we are thankful it is rain only and we have been spared hurricanes to date. As the first frosts are falling in Canada we are starting to get our vacation bookings in and look forward to a good season. We were all saddened to learn of the passing of David Lau last month. David was a loved and well known member of our community. He was the chef at Hola Asia for many years and started his own restaurant in PM, David Lau's, which remains open. David died in his home in Puerto Morelos and his ashes were taken to his family. There will be a memorial for David in October, to be announced. Mega Commercial Mexicana was gutted by fire last month (no-one hurt) which changes shopping routines in Cancun, it was just so convenient. A fun alternative, especially if you are tightening the belt this year, is Mercado 23. Tucked in behind the Cancun Fire Station on the corner of Tulum and Chichen Itza this is a real market that sells fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, grains, fish chicken and meat. The prices are lower than elsewhere and the quality good. I bought a whole boquinete fish for my dinner for only 35 pesos, you can see the fish market prices in the picture. There also all sorts of handy stores: shoe repairs, picture framer and for those supermarket items there is a San Francisco Assis right there. I found the parking very easy (although probably not now I have told all of you!) and the people friendly and they don't look at you like they are trying to work out how much money to get out of you like they do in Mercado 28. Also while I was away IMPLAN came and started to take down all the cute signs that line the entrance to PM, they got almost to the end before the mayor managed to stop them. However, what has not been stopped is the really ugly signage on the corner with the highway and the opening of OXXO. The mayor has managed to get the funding working and is paving the whole of the colonia, the roads are being flattened right now, it will be a great difference in quality of life for many people. Although it rained a lot last weekend the Copa del Caribe tournament at El Rey Polo Country Club did go ahead, we had our friends from Merida visiting and they fought valiantly to win against Cancun. We also had guests from the Dominican Republic who were thrashed soundly by our Mexican team, a lot of fun was had be everyone and there are vows of a rematch in the near future! I think they would have stood a better chance if they hadn’t been enjoying the Cancun nightlife ’til 7 in the morning. Puerto Morelos was once again lucky to have the volunteer vets performing their tricks on our moggies and muts. VIDAS provide the services of the volunteers, Diane organised promotion and the primary school as the location and they stayed to Liza’s place in Playa Secreto. Once again we all thank them for their work and the great assistance it is to our furry community. Some of the new properties in PM: new condos on the corner at the end of Rojo Gomez, Josh and Amber have nearly finished their beautiful house and close to completion is Ron and Sue’s as well, sadly graffitied this week, the new Marviya hotelita is getting a facelift, there are Rob and Joanne’s extensions, OXXO is finally open, new apartments going up next to Marilyn’s real estate and Comex and my town houses near completion. Also extensions have gone on at Hotel Inglaterra and some creative trompe d'oeil work in their pool area. Carmen Hotel (Villas Latinas) has had its doors locked up for a couple of months for 'remodelling'. By the way there is no truth to the rumour that all the shops on the south side of the Parque are going to be closed to make way for a mall, just not true. As you know, I spent a month in Australia, mostly in Melbourne in my mother’s penthouse. Twice a day we were visited by the sulphur crested cockatoos which we now feed by hand. They make an extremely loud squawk when they arrive, demanding their sunflower seeds, they always come in pairs and Mum has named them all (more about cockies here) . Picture of me in front of the gym is for my friends who do not believe that I went every day while there. Melbourne has a lot of renovated Edwardian buildings, lots of pretty arcades and a very active café society (more about Melbourne here). We took a few days out to visit relatives in the country and enjoyed the beautiful spring wattle (more about our national floral emblem here) . of the 1350 species of acacia in the world Australia has 1000 of them, you see there is something not poisonous. We visited Hepburn Springs and local quaint bush towns. That big bird is called an emu and they are not usually friendly (more about emus here) . The koala is not real I just had to put one in there because you were probably expecting one and I would hate to disappoint you. I do hope you enjoy the pictures.