Tourist On Scooter Hits Fruit Vendor On Trike, Easter Holiday Has ~One Third More Overnight Tourists, Elderly Get Benefits, Zama's Serves Students Lionfish At Workshop, Inaugurating Parks & Domes, Renovated Ferry Sidelined, Daylight Saving Time In Isla Mujeres News Sunday, April 7 Today's Articles: The Final Edition

..This is the live webcam at North Beach / Playa Norte








.

 




 Fruit Vendor On Tricycle Hit By Tourist On Scooter

 Por Esto reports that at ~1pm yesterday an unnamed tourist on a rented motorcycle hit Silvia Alvarez Rodríguez, 42, who was upon her tricycle which she uses to vend fruit. The accident occurred downtown near the Cemetery, where she was driving her vehicle. Por Esto says the tourist was traveling at an excessive speed on a red motorcycle (#5CUR1) and did not respect his obligation to stop, causing the moto to crash into the fruit vendor. The strong impact sent her tricycle out of control and it fell sideways, causing abrasions and contusions to her face, arms, and knees. The wheels of her vehicle were all bent and some of her inventory was scattered onto the pavement. The tourist was unhurt. People immediately came to offer help and Red Cross was called. She was very scared and the paramedics treated her at the scene and she did not require transport. Meanwhile staff from the Transit department (police) took care of the relevant procedures with both sides reaching an agreement. The tourist admitted guilt and the insurance of the motorcycle rental agency promised to pay for the damage to the unfortunate woman. Source: Por Esto


Meteorlogico Park & Sports Dome Inaugurated
The park in colonia Meteorologico was inaugurated Friday afternoon and has been named "Las Hormigas Obreras" which means worker ants. It is named in honor of former residents of the colonia who came together to create this space to practice sports; and it has now been completely remodeled with a playground, mulitpurpose court and a sports dome. The Mayor announced that before the end of his term he will rehabilitate the sport facility in colonia Salna Grande. He also said that within two months the park will be opened at colonia Lol-Beh, where renovation is underway. The work will continue at the park in Amplification La Gloria, also, he said. The director of Public works explained that the three levels of government invested 2,552,000 pesos on the park renovation and 1,400,000 on the construction of the dome and remodeling of the multi purpose court. There are photos in the last section. Source: Diario Q Roo/ Manuel Valdez  

City Assistance Paid To Elderly & Disabled
After the inauguration of the park in colonia Meteorologico, payments from the municipal program "Lean On Me" (“Apóyate en Mi”) were made. The Mayor thanked the beneficiaries for their patience, and explained at this time the city is paying five months of support which provides the benefit through December 2012, so they are only lacking the first three months of this year. Those payments will be made soon. The Mayor said his administration is committed to paying these contributions to the elderly and disabled until the last day of his term. Source: Diario Q Roo/Manuel Valdez

Improved Occupancy Statistics
Hotel occupancy for the Easter Holiday, as of Friday was a cumulative average of 90 percent, while last year during this holiday it was 59 percent. This is an increase of ~30 percentage points. The Director of Tourism said this is a growth rate of 51% from 2012 to 2013, during Holy Week. In upcoming weeks occupancy is expected to decline and fluctuate between 55 and 60 percent. For the last week of April and the first week of May,  an increase of 8-10 percent is expected due to the arrival of Americans for the Regattas. Last year during May occupancy was 42 percent, so this year it is expected to be between 46-50%. From mid May into part of June, he said many workers are required to take "solidarity breaks" to avoid lay offs. During this part of the year there are weddings, the start of the whale shark season, and the tenth annual fishing tournament to help tourism. Source: Diario Q Roo/Manuel Valdez 


Larger Renovated Ferry For Back Up Only
Spokesman for the "Marítima Isla Mujeres"vehicle ferry company, Franco González Padrón, announced that despite the return of the larger "Isla Blanca" ferry, they will continue to use the smaller "Sergio Aguilar Grace" ferry to provide regular scheduled service. He acknowledged that the smaller ferry has less capacity for vehicles, but it makes the voyage more quickly and is more convenient for the passengers; because it offers comfortable seating, air conditioning, coffee, and other services. It has capacity for 250 passengers. If an extra run is required, they will use the larger "Isla Blanca". The company spent over 3 million pesos in to repair and do maintenance on the "Isla Blanca", which was serviced in Ciudad del Carmen over a 45 day period. During March of 2012 the "Isla Blanca" made 180 round trips while transporting 13,506 people; while this March the "Sergio Gracia Aguilar" made 222 round trips and transported 13,767 passengers. Source Diario Q Roo/ Manuel Valdez  Quintanarroense/Ovidio Lopez notes the vehicle ferry will continue to offer eight trips, rather than six.


Students Learn About Lionfish & Taste Them
At noon on Saturday, representatives from local businesses and students from the high school Colegio Bachilleres participated in the first workshop titled: Sensibilización y Degustación del Pez León/Awareness and Tasting of Lionfish. The City, through the Department of the Environment, as well as environmental groups and state agencies, support efforts to monitor and control this invasive species. This workshop included talks about Lionfish and how they are an invasive species causing damage to the reef and ecosystem, and that one way to regulate their presence is by adding them to the family diet. With assistance from students of the Universidad del Caribe, staff from the restaurant "Zama" prepared a variety of dishes from Lionfish, which were tasted by the high school students. The intention of the workshop is to disperse information, to educate, and to raise awareness among  young people, among people involved in tourism, and within the fishing industry. The restaurant "Zama" is one of the main contributors to this project. For two years they have offered customers several dishes prepared with Lionfish, making it one of the first businesses in bring this activity to Isla Mujeres, which includes capturing the fish as well as making customers aware of the importance of ordering and tasting Lionfish. Source: Diario Quintana Roo/ Manuel Valdez 

Daylight Savings Time
Por Esto notes the Daylight Saving Time change occurred today and may cause a few people to arrive late for work, and schoolchildren will have to adjust to it, so there may be some truancy on Monday.The ferries are expected to operate normally.

This blog is brought to you by....
MaraVilla Caribe   Bed & Beach    Three rentals with large glass doors overlooking our white sand beach and the beautiful Caribbean sea, with  kitchenettes & free WIFI. In the coastal neighborhood of  Bachilleres, among upscale villas & boutique hotelitos, convenient to downtown or the colonias, yet separate.  Quiet & Private.   
Free amenities such as hammocks, bikes, outdoor shower, portable beach chairs & beach towels, washer, loungers & BBQ. Breathtaking panoramic views from the rooftop terrace. Upstairs room also available.   Downtown is  ~ a mile away; if you don't feel like walking or biking, flag a $2 taxi or hop on the bus. We also have room for 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

View from rooms

Small room

Large room

Fine dining a few steps away at Da Luisa or try the traditional neighborhood eateries a couple blocks farther. Stroll five minutes down the coastal sidewalk to Mango Cafe or Monchi's,shop at Chedraui or visit restaurants, bars, & beach clubs; minutes away by bike or on foot. Our guests recommend the 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 pharmacy and variety of other stores and small local restaurants

Sunrise this morning from MVC B&B

 On the internet in the past 24 hours...

Photos by Kathryn Finn-Blume.
Wedding on the beach at NaBalam in front of Zazil Ha

Busy beaches on the second weekend of Semana Santa

Above is One Eyed Cajun at Barlito's          Below is Nachos — at Sardinian Smile.

Home-made wheat penne — at Sardinian Smile.

Pink Hat Breakfast Breast Cancer Fundraiser

Kathryn captioned the photo below: And this is the SMALL salad! The best salad I've ever had on the island, with romaine, beets, raisins, carrots, sunflower seeds, and awesome poppy seed dressing! — at Barlitos.

Sunset from Marina Isla Mujeres Redefine Paraiso (Yesterday)

La Catrina special - 3 tacos (fish, chicken or shrimp) and 2 beers,$85MP (Ryan upgraded to Margaritas for an additional fee).

On the Isla Info forum, Kathryn recommended La Catrina:  We ate at Le Catrina last night and it was very good. We got to watch many other entrees being delivered to tables and the reaction of those who ordered, and it was all good. Large portions, very good food, very food service, reasonable prices. Right now they have been running a special for 3 tacos (fish, chicken or shrimp) plus 2 beers for $85MP! Hard to beat that! Chucho plays there sometimes - his nephew and wife own it (and they have a very cute 4 year old that is often there). If you are like me and were afraid to try it because it seems the businesses in that spot just keep turning over and over, this one is a winner. Try it!
It is on Hidalgo where Gomers was, by Madero ave.

Donna Caffo updated her cover photo. by Caribe on Canvas whose website is HERE

Ayuntamiento De Isla Mujeres

INAUGURAN CANCHA Y DOMO DEPORTIVO EN LA COLONIA LA GLORIA (8 photos)

— INAUGURAN EL PARQUE DE LA COLONIA METEOROLÓGICO (8 photos)

Tony Garcia added a new photo.  Betsy...Stylin for the Pink Hat Breakfast benefit for breast cancer

 "Time Lapse" of Playa Norte Webcam:  LINK  

  Playa Norte now in real time in Isla Mujeres   

  The Early Edition with the newspaper photographs and headlines is usually published around sunrise.
This Final Edition with the translated articles, plus original photos including the sunrise and the "Around the Internet in the Past 24 Hours" section usually publishes around noon.
Both blogs always have links to the original articles.
 Usually if an article is "missing",  it may have been published in another paper recently, and translated.in a previous post.
.