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| Here's the webcam LINK, which also has time lapse of the past 24 hours. |
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~From the City...
Remodeling at the CRIM Rehabilitation Center shouldn't affect services because an alternate area has been enabled. The works should last a few weeks, and meanwhile patients can be seen at the CAVI facility at the Community Development Center in La Gloria. During this temporary situation, priority will be given to patients according to their injury or the importance of care.
Inauguration of the Regional Baseball Tournament in Isla Mujeres, for players age 11 & 12 from the states of Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, and Quintana Roo. The games are taking place at the children's baseball field, “Ariel Picho Magaña” in colonia Salina Chica. Various officials welcomed the teams & expressed their appreciation, including the Mayor who threw the first pitch. The competition will continue all weekend.
Mayor Juan Carrillo Soberanis inaugurated the new Boxing School at the dome of La Jaula park in colonia Salina Gande. There will be two categories: children and girls from 10 to 16 years who will be able to participate in Junior Olympics; while young people from 16 to 23 years can practice discipline and learn about this sport. About 50 students are expected to start the course on August 12, and about thirty are already registered. World champion boxer Rodolfo ‘Rudy’ López will be coaching. The classes will be held from Monday to Thursday from 2:00 to 6:00pm.
The Mayor said the City maintains its commitment to promote values, discipline and sport on the island to improve social health through new sports activities such as boxing strengthen them both physically and mentally.
Meetup location for the Isla Verde campaign on Thursday, Aug. 8 is the Gaviotas Park at 5p.
Warriors against sargasso who work to keep our beaches free of sargasso.
The 7th Lion Fish Culinary Contest will take place Friday, Aug. 30 at 5p on the Town Square. The City invites residents, restaurateurs, independent chefs & fishermen to participate. Registration deadline is Monday, Aug. 26. The dishes can be prepared with filets or a whole fish, and participants can compete in both categories. Recipes must by provided. BYOLF. Booths can promote your business or yourself & may feature menus, drink samples, and decorations. Winners are given recognition, a pass for two to Dolphin Discover, and 5000, 3000, and 2000 pesos for the top three.
Friday, August 16 on the Town Square at 8p--Celebrating the 169th anniversary of the founding of the town.
Indigenous people make up 5% of the world's population.
The Isla Verde campaign continues and has done cleaning, painting and junk and brush removal in the colonias of Ampliación “La Gloria”, “El Cañotal”, “Salina Chica”, “La Guadalupana, and downtown. The most recent work was done in colonia Salina Chica by residents and City employees.
In coordination with state governmental authorities, City officials swore in members of the "Municipal Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Child Labor and Protection of Adolescent Workers". In the previous three years, this work has been done by various municipal departments, including the DIF social service agency.
The City government is continually providing maintenance of the parks & gardens of Isla Mujeres, as well as the sports fields.
TV Isla Mujeres reports an update on the new taxi rates which will increase to 16 pesos, not 18 pesos, which is what they had requested. There was a 20% increase, but it was calculated from the rate from about fifteen years ago, when it cost 13 pesos. Currently the charge is 15 pesos (for residents, between the colonias and downtown). After it was published in the Official Journal, it was confirmed that they will only be able to charge 16 pesos and not 18, as they'd expected. A taxi driver complained that fuel costs have risen and the rates haven't been increased in more than a decade, which is why they deserve the amount they requested. (The rates will go into effect on Monday or Tuesday, and the changes in tourist rates haven't been announced yet.)
In this Video from the Tortugranja, the Director of the facility says they have already exceeded the total number of nests protected last year, which was 375 nests. So far, they've collected 12 Hawksbill nests, 77 Loggerhead nests, and 646 Green nests for a total of 735 nests containing 88,745 eggs. There are more than two months left to the nesting season.
The Community Hospital offered a free talk on Successful Breastfeeding today at 1p, in honor of
World Breastfeeding Week.
VIDEO with caption saying a tourist fractured their leg, and the reporter wasn't allowed access to the dock. (A catamaran is in the background)
VIDEO whose caption says Islanders appreciate the installation of a School of Boxing at the Jaula dome because the site was previously occupied at night by people getting drunk.
There are two teams competing from each of the states in this region: Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, and Quintana Roo.The winners will represent the southern region of Mexico in the National Tournament.
The first two games were Q Roo vs Campeche and Q Roo vs Yucatan. On Saturday the teams from Tabasco will play the teams from Yucatan and Campeche at 10 & 11am. The playoffs will be held on Sunday.
From Por Esto :
New taxi rate starts Monday or Tuesday
El lunes o martes, taxistas cobrarán nueva tarifa
See translation above. This article notes that the taxi union requested authorization for an increase from the Mobility Institute in February, because of the increased cost of gasoline. At the start of 2018, there were 145 taxis on the island (and 100 in the Punta Sam-Isla Blanca Hotel Zone and 400 in the Continental Zone). The union provides service in three modalities; taxis for the island and Continental Zone, vans (camionetas tipo urban) for the Hotel Zone & Amada, a combis providing colectivo service in the rapidly growing Continental Zone.Citizen Committee to advocate for strays
Comité ciudadano abogará por fauna callejera
The new committee has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday, Aug. 14, which veterinarian Dr. Delfino offered to attend via teleconference due to his recent (foot) injury. Dr. Delfino said that nearly all of the stray dogs have owners and the Animal Protection law needs to be enforced to make the owners responsible for their pets.He spoke about the most recent cases of abuse and dog bites. He named the owner of a 3 year-old Chihuahua who had puppies, which were malnourished and covered in ticks & fleas, saying the owners only wanted the mother dog and took her away. One of the puppies died and two are recovering. He provided photos and said the mother was severely anemic, due to the amount of ticks. Regarding dog bites, he named the owner of a pit bull saying this is the third case registered at his hospital, but he said that cases are also registered at the Community Hospital. This time he attacked a dog, who has been treated, but witnesses claim there have been half a dozen attacks on humans by this dog.
City organizes Youth Awards
Organizan Premio Municipal de la Juventud
The "Municipal Youth Awards 2019" will be held Monday, Aug. 12 to give recognition to people aged 12 to 29 who have contributed to the community. They must have been born here or been a resident for five years. There is a description of documents needed to compete in either of two categories, Entrepreneur and Altruist.The former is for young people who have made achievements due to effort and dedication to their own business or some type of company, which highlights their creativity and innovation. The category of altruist is based on humanitarian aid via a social program that has contributed to the improvement of society, that is, economic aid, humanitarian aid, donations of clothing or food or sales of iems to contribute to a humanitarian cuase or to families with limited resources.
The winner will be awarded 2500 pesos, but the real purpose is to stimulate young people's interest in their development and responsibility to society.
Meanwhile, nominations are being accepted for the Citizen Merit and Tourist Merit awards that are given annually at the founders celebration. They will be awarded at the Special City Council meeting on August 16th at the Town Hall. The deadline for registration of candidates in August 13th.
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Isla's Patron Saint--A Case of Mistaken Identity
In Mexico, Patron Saint celebrations include loud music, dancing, carnivals, fireworks, rodeos, religious gatherings, processions & a variety of other festivities nightly for a week or two. In the previous century, musicians & families would travel to the island from around the region to join in this popular event honoring the Virgin of Immaculate Conception. Her icon, kept in the church named for her on the Town Square, leaves her niche yearly to join the celebrations that begin in late November & conclude on her Day, December 8th. There's a local legend that attributes the bad weather that often occurs during the following days to her unhappiness about the celebrations ending.
Because the statue was mistakenly identified during her first 24 years on the island, she is honored twice a year, and her other, more sedate celebration is going on now. At first, it was thought that she represented the Virgin of Assumption, which is why she was liberated from her niche on Wednesday to join a procession around downtown, and she'll be returned on August 15th, the Day of the Assumption (when it is believed that the body and soul of the Virgin Mary went to heaven).
Her nickname is "Conchita" & it's said she is one of three "sister" statues relocated by three fishermen from the ancient Catholic church, Boca Iglesia, in the late 1800's, several decades after Isla Mujeres was founded. The icons are wooden carvings with hands and faces made of porcelain & the other two were taken to Kantunilkin and Izamal.
Boca Iglesia church is located ~40 miles north of the island, where the Spanish first landed in what is now Mexico, after visiting Isla Mujeres in March of 1517. Constructed the following year from Mayan temple stones, many consider it to be the first church in Mexico. This status is disputed because it lacked a priest, who disobeyed the Pope's orders & went elsewhere, probably due to its isolated location.
Once the site of a significant Mayan city, the Spanish settlement never prospered, suffering many setbacks that included being seized by French pirates, attacks by Mayan rebels, and various hurricanes. It's believed that Spaniards brought the three statues to Boca Iglesia in the late 1700's, about a century before "Conchita" came to the island.
Her first shrine on the isle was a small chapel made of wood and thatch, and legend has it that when it was time to move her to the church, it took eight men to lift her, with difficulty, although normally two people can easily carry her. After she was moved, the palm chapel burned down, to everyone's astonishment. Another version of this story says that enemies of the church attempted to destroy the icon in the small chapel, but the four men were unable to lift it, so they ran away, frightened. Their cabin burned down several days later, which was attributed to anger from the sacred image.
It's said a thief once stole a ring from the image, breaking the statue's finger and hand. The parishioners asked the Virgin to punish the thief, who suffered an accident fracturing the same hand, and the same finger, and some time later he died when an "alijo" (haul/stash) fell on him, fracturing his spine.
Islanders have claimed to see "Conchita" walking around the island or on the sea, perhaps seeking her sisters, and it's said that one morning her dress contained burrs and sand. There's also a legend that the fishermen (Cristino Avila, Pablo Xooc & José Cardós) who originally found the statues said there were burrs in their dresses, presumably from walking the coast.
Islanders say they have witnessed the image shedding tears and others have seen her face expressing joy or sadness, or changing to images of their dying or deceased relatives. There are more than 20 groups of islanders, organized in her honor, who host celebrations in November-December, when thousands of Catholics participate in the processions & festivities for Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, aka "Conchita".
Photos:
#1- After Wednesday night's Mass, the traditional mañanitas ('birthday songs') will be sung to her for the eve of the Day of Assumption. On Thursday, former islander Monseñor Favio Martínez Castilla, Archbishop of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas will conduct the Mass. On Saturday, there will be a Mass at the Cross of the Bay (underwater).
#2- 1700's Spanish Map showing the Boca Iglesia 'ruined church'
#3-The ruins of Boca Iglesia can be seen from the sea. The difficult access, via small boats, is currently blocked by fences due to a property dispute.
#4 Isla street scene in 1877, about a dozen years before Conchita's arrival and about a quarter-century after establishment of the town.
Sources include articles by our town historian, Fidel Villanueva Madrid & Isla Mujeres Info.
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| View from the rooms. |
MaraVilla Caribe Bed & Beach Three rentals with large glass doors overlooking our white sand beach and the beautiful Caribbean sea, with kitchenettes & fast WIFI. In the coastal neighborhood of Bachilleres, among upscale villas & boutique hotelitos, convenient to downtown or the colonias, yet separate. Quiet & Private.
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| Kitchen in a large studio. (Sur & Norte are identical) |
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| Kitchenette in small room, Medio. There's a table & chairs across from it & a double bed. |
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| A large slider opens from each of the 3 rooms onto the patio where each has a table & chairs, hammock & clotheslines. The BBQ is behind the pole, and the outdoor shower is outa the pic at left. |
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| Large studio (Norte), I'm standing in the kitchen. A queen & single bed. |
Free amenities such as hammocks,bikes, BBQ grills, safes, portable beach chairs & beach towels, washer & dryer, loungers. Breathtaking panoramic views from the rooftop terrace. Large sliding doors open to a patio & our backyard-beach, overlooking the Caribbean sea. Upstairs room also available. Downtown is ~ a mile away; if you don't feel like walking, flag a $2 taxi. Parking. You can enjoy the music & crowds downtown, then come home our quiet neighborhood of Bachilleres where you'll sleep to the sounds of the sea.. $275/$325/$425 wk $40/50/$65nt Monthly Discounts
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| Large studio (Sur) with Queen & Single bed. Slider door & view are behind me. |
Fine dining a few steps away at Da Luisa or try the neighborhood eateries a couple blocks farther. Within ten minutes walk are a variety of restaurants including Mango Cafe, Brisas, Manolitos, La Chatita, Green Verde, Kash Kechen Chuc, and the large department store-grocery , Chedraui. Visit marinas, bars, & beach clubs that are minutes away by bike or on foot. Attend Yoga classes a couple villas away at hotelito Casa Ixchel. Fresh juice, produce & tortillas a few blocks away in the village, as well as a variety of other stores and small local restaurants. It takes 20-30 minutes to walk downtown.
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Full moon rising over the Caribbean
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August 15 7:42 August 16 8:20 August 17 8:55 August 18 9:29 August 19 10:03 August 20 10:37 Painting by Pamela Haase Sunset ~7:25-7:05p (start-end/mo) Sunrise ~6:20-6:30-a (start-end/mo) Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower thru August 23, peaked in late July Perseids peaks Aug. 12, but nearly full moon will interfere. |
August Events
Provided by MaraVilla Caribe & Isla Mujeres Daily News & Events
Wednesday nights at 8:45p, the bicycling group "Isla en Bici" invite people to join them for healthy recreation, meeting at Juarez & Abasolo. Lights required, helmet recommended. LINK
In August, fishermen in this region are banned from catching Shrimp & Conch LINK
The baseball games at the El Pescador stadium in front of Chedraui are usually held on Sundays, starting around 1p, when there's a 'home' game.
The new date for the Women's Fishing Tournament "El Dorado del Caribe" hasn't been announced yet.
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| Guests assisting Tortugranja worker collect from two nests on July 29th. |
Turtle nesting season continues throughout August. The turtles nest along the eastern beaches in the wee hours of the night and Tortugranja staff and volunteers gather the eggs and incubate them in a pen outside the facility. Three species nest annually in Isla Mujeres; Greens, Loggerheads, and Hawksbills. The sex of the turtles is determined by the temperature of the sand, which is common in reptiles.
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| Photo by Tony Garcia Whale sharks are filter-feeders who eat plankton. |
Thursday-Sunday August 8-11: At the children's baseball field "Ariel Picho Magana" Players age 11 & 12 from the states of Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan and of course Quintana Roo, including some from Isla Mujeres will compete. About 100 players and their families are expected.
Monday, August 12: Perseids Meteor Shower peaks, but the nearly full moon will interfere.
Friday, August 16 on the Town Square at 8p--Celebrating the 169th anniversary of the founding of the town.
Saturday, August 17: Commemoration of the Founding of the town (of "Dolores") in 1850. There
may be a "Cabalgata" horse procession, but that is more likely at the
Patron Saint commemorations and the Revolutionary and/or Independence
Day parades. There
are events on the Town Square recognizing the founding families,
reading the founding declaration, and folklorico dance troupe
performances, as well as islanders attending in traditional clothing to dance to traditional live music. Friday, Aug. 30 The 7th Lion Fish Culinary Contest at 5p on the Town Square. The City invites residents, restaurateurs, independent chefs & fishermen to participate. Registration deadline is Monday, Aug. 26. The dishes can be prepared with filets or a whole fish, and participants can compete in both categories. Recipes must by provided. BYOLF. Booths can promote your business or yourself & may feature menus, drink samples, and decorations. Winners are given recognition, a pass for two to Dolphin Discover, and 5000, 3000, and 2000 pesos for the top three.
They are an invasive species who eat many young lobster, grouper, and other commercial seafood. They are caught by spearfishing, and are a mild-flavored white fish. Asia Caribe has won awards in this competition ,as well as recognition for featuring them on their menu (when available), and will prepare them a variety of ways.
The Circuito Maya race will probably be held in August in Isla Mujeres, and is one of a series of four races held annually in four Pueblos Magicos in Q.Roo and Yucatan, named after the four elements. The race in Isla Mujeres is the "Air" (Iik') and the others are Fire (K'aak'), Earth (Lu'um), and Water (Ha'), for the races held in Tulum, Bacalar, and Valladolid.
Sources for Weather Information:
LINK to Civil Protection Q Roo weather bulletin (Spanish)
LINK to Mexico National Weather Service (Spanish)
LINK to satellite images for the Mexico National Weather Service
LINK to GOES East Band 16 GIF (animation)
LINK to a private weather station on Isla Mujeres
LINK to NHC
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