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