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Costa Maya Newsletter > Archived Newsletters > Aug. 2005

Newsletters: of primary interest to property owners on the Costa Maya, - Rio Indio - Placer - Uvero - Punta Herrera - Xcalak and other points along the coast

*********************** August 13, 2005**************************
Contents:

Hurricane Emily - aftermath
Election for Delgado
Land Owners association of Costa Maya
Promoting Costa Maya Businesses on the web
Mail delivery from the US is improving
Spotlight on your Costa Maya neighbors!
Tough July for Dick Bonner and Kristine Garbo
Mel Gibson Filming Mayan Epic
Update on recycling efforts
HURRICANE EMILY - AFTERMATH

Hi Neighbors,
I apologize for yet another late newsletter. I've been in the US for a family reunion and optimistically thought I would get it sent while there. People ask me all the time what I miss most about living on the Costa Maya and after being back in the US where every corner sports a shopping center, I can confidently say that I miss shopping! Not mall shopping, because mall shopping is about the experience of looking - I've done plenty of that in Mexico. What I miss is everyday American commercialism - going to a shopping center and actually finding not only what I need, but a whole lot more. I left Mexico with two empty bags and came back with them not only overstuffed, but I had to leave some items at my relatives! (By the way, International flights on Delta are far more liberal with weight restrictions than flying domestic. The domestic weight limit is 40 lbs while the international limit is 70 - I topped out at about 65 lbs per bag!) Shopping centers are not that far off from being built in Mahahual as developers are currently working on plans to build some very nice centers similar to the shops on 5th avenue in Playa del Carmen. I can't wait! I'll report on those here when ground starts breaking.
You can find this newsletter and archives of past newsletters at this location: http://www.mayanbeachgarden.com/PropertyOwners_Newsletter.html

Thanks for all the kind e-mails I received after reporting the status of Hurricane Emily. I had the chance to explore the area since the hurricane. The Costa Maya had very little damage. The garbage still remains, however, lots of sea-beans, black coral, sea-fans and other beachcomber favorites washed up on shore. I did see a few palm trees that had fallen over from beach erosion, but most properties are in tact. I haven't heard of any roads that were eroded, but I haven't had a chance to go south of Mahahual, but I did go north to Punta Herrero and the road there is fine. I haven't been diving since the storm but have had a few chances to swim out over the reef. Along the inside of the reef, there were scattered bits of broken stsag horn, finger coral and sea-fans, but nothing like 2004's Hurricane Ivan that broke large pieces of coral. Interestingly enough the aftermath of Emily brought cooler and dryer air.

The area around Tulum and Playa del Carmen were not so fortunate. Palapa roofs made from palms seemed to be especially hard hit as well as huge palapas or other structures that stuck up high above the tree line. (NOTE:Interestingly enough, the tree line is about where they determine height restrictions for building homes along the Costa Maya - something to think about! ) There wasn't a billboard to be seen from Playa del Carmen to Tulum and one large cell tower was twisted like a pretzel. Right next to it, a fairly good sized building sporting a well built Palapa roof looked like it hadn't been touched. It looked to me like the eye went right through Puerta Aventura A couple of the big resorts around there were closed and 3 weeks after the storm they were still cleaning up debris. The trees in that area looked like a giant electric mixer had run over the tops of the trees, shredding them to bits.
Meanwhile, the 2005 Hurricane season continues on its record-setting pace. Irene is the earliest ninth named storm on record. . .breaking the old mark by 13 days. Normally by this date only two named storms have formed.

ELECTION FOR DELGADO

With a landslide victory under his belt (rumored to be 400 to 80), Margarito Mayorga May is the newly elected Delgado (equivalent of Mayor) of Mahahual. Margarito is a long time resident of Mahahual and owns the Delphin restaurant. One of his first duties in office was to make a decision as to what to do during the hurricane. He, along with the military and police decided to evacuate the town and the beach north to Punta Herrero. After seeing the destruction that occurred in Puerto Aventura, I think it was the right decision because at one time the eye was projected to go right through Placer where Mayan Beach Garden is located.

LAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION OF COSTA MAYA

A new corporation formed of land owners or those representing and working with land owners along the Costa Maya has recently been formulated. Members that gathered to form the corporation are:
JUAN CARLOS ORTEGA PRADOS - President
MIGUEL ANGEL SOSA CHABLE - Secretariat
ALAIN ULISES PEREZ GUZMAN - Treasury
HERMILO REED VILLANUEVA
PETER RUHUY
JOSE ROSAS SANCHEZ
ANDREA CARPUSO
MARCIA BALES
TODD STORY

Anyone interested in joining the Costa Maya association can do so by filling out a form. I will eventually post it on the website, but please contact me if you would like a copy of the form. Mail the form to one of the following addresses:

President Juan@COSTA-MAYA.ORG juancarlosortega@yahoo.com
Administrator ana@COSTA-MAYA.ORG arma80@yahoo.com
Secretariat miguel@COSTA-MAYA.ORG sosachable@hotmail.com
Treasury ulises@COSTA-MAYA.ORG aupg77@hotmail.com

Other local associations are starting up soon that will represent local areas such as Uvero, Placer and Xcalak. Local chapters will deal with things like garbage pickup, security, beach road maintenance and other issues deemed important by the members.

PROMOTING COSTA MAYA BUSINESSES ON THE WEB
A new web page www.grandcostamaya.com promoting tourist activities in Costa Maya is looking to list businesses in the area. The site is in both English and Spanish. Their slogan is:

Espanol: ¡En la Grand Costa Maya, tu pones el deseo... Nosotros la aventura interminable!
English: In Grand Costa Maya, you have the desire..... we have the endless adventure!

Those persons that have businesses in the Costa Maya and wish to be listed on the web page can contact Melissa Verduzco at the following email address: promocion@grandcostamaya.com
If you want to talk to them for more information you can contact them at:
Calle 22 de Enero s/n Esq. Reforma Col. Centro C.P. 77000 Chetumal, Q. Roo, México
Tel.: (983) 832-6647 Tel/Fax: (983) 832-5130 1-800-G-C-M-0-0-0-0
info@grandcostamaya.com www.grandcostamaya.com

MAIL DELIVERY IS IMPROVING
A year ago, one of your neighbors, Gabe Zarnotti conducted a mailing experiment. A regular letter took over 2 months to get here. Mail delivery from the US is getting much faster. I just received a letter from the US dated July 25th. It was stamped as being delivered to Chetumal office on August 3 and I received it here on the 11th. Granted the two hour trip from Chetumal took a week, but it looks like the mail service knows where Mahahual is. For those who aren't aware of it, the zip code for Mahahual is 77940. If you need to address something and aren't sure of the address, make sure there is a name and establishment on the address (like Mayan Beach Garden), Mahahual, Othon P Blanco and the state of QRoo, Mexico.

SPOTLIGHT ON YOUR COSTA MAYA NEIGHBORS
I have had some requests to spotlight Kim and I, so this month, the spotlight is on us. You can read about what brought us here at http://www.mayanbeachgarden.com/PropertyOwners_spotlight.html. If you would like to be spotlighted, please contact me.

TOUGH JULY FOR DICK BONNER AND KRISTINE GARBO
Many of you may remember Dick and Kristine as being the first neighbor's spotlighted. They were visiting here on the Costa Maya just before Hurricane Emily hit. Kristine confirmed that she was indeed one of the ones who are allergic to Tabanos and found herself having to stay inside behind screened windows as she watched her hand swell up like a Macy's parade balloon. Then as the hurricane approached, they found themselves on the last plane to leave Cancun before it hit, only to find when they arrived home that their restaurant had burned down! Many of you have conversed with Kristine in the past. If you would like to contact them and lend them support, their e-mail address is: garbobonner@aol.com

MEL GIBSON FILMING MAYAN EPIC
OK, this isn't exactly about the Costa Maya, but it is interesting any way, especially to Mayan Buffs. Mel Gibson is filming a Mayan epic called Apocalypto which should begin shooting in October of 2005 and released by Disney in 2006. Just like "the Passion of the Christ," Apocalypto will be released totally in a non-English language - Mayan. Apocalypto is a Greek term which means "an unveiling" or "new beginning." Makes you wonder why they don't title it with a Mayan name? Filming is supposed to take place at ruins such as Chichen Itza and Tulum among others less well known.

UPDATE ON RECYCLING EFFORTS

Hopefully now that the new Delgado is officially on board the recycling efforts will be back on track. I have been contacted and told that work on the composting bins is back on track but I haven't had a chance to go into Mahahual and check it out since I returned from the US and I understand a meeting occurred in my absence, so I have a lot of catching up to do.
I do have some positive news in the way of using the recycled plastics. A company by the name of Perfiles Plasticos located in Mexico is creating heavy duty plastic in sheets made exclusively of recycled plastic. At Mayan Beach Garden, we are going to order them for use as Hurricane shutters instead of plywood as they should last indefinitely and not be subject to rot and insects. They come in 3/8" and 3/4" sheets and are made to look like a cross between Corian and faux marble that you often see in shower stalls. We are also going to do an experiment with an outside picnic table and see how it stands up to the sun.

Recent donations to the fund include:
Patti and Polo Causey $100
Polly Waguespack $100
Roxanne Di Santo $100

Total donated to date: $2341.27
Total debits from fund: $ 834.55

Until Next month!

Marcia

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Updated: 19-Apr-2008

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