Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Naval Protection Of Turtles & Their Beaches, Waiting For Whale Sharks, Festival June 21st In Today's LA Times, Small Hotel Strategy, Agency Audited, Beautiful Weather, Improving Telcom Services Nationally, Chinese Food Delivery 'Til 1a & John's Playing Downtown In Isla Mujeres News Tuesday June 11 Today's Events & Articles: The Final Edition

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








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Unseen Whale Sharks Causing Losses
Whale shark tour licensees say the heavy rains last week caused them heavy economic losses, which are continuing because the animals are still not being seen. A plane tried to locate them without success, and the situation is causing frustration among the tourists and the operators. This affects other islanders since most of the population relies on tourism, directly or indirectly. The largest losses are being suffered by companies who offer refunds when the whale sharks are not seen, and there are operators who spend money on fuel looking for them. Source: Diario Q Roo/Manuel Valdez   The whale sharks generally feed near the surface while visiting the Isla Mujeres area, but weather conditions can send them down deeper, presumably because weather affects the location of their food.


Fighting Mosquitoes With Fumigation
It is reported that personnel of the municipal Vectors agency are performing fumigation work, and there are residents requesting fumigation in their neighborhoods. Recent rains caused an increase in mosquitoes, and the weather also favors outbreaks of other insects such as large cockroaches that can fly into businesses or homes. People have said that fumigation in the evening is needed, including in the colonias and in the residential area of Sac Bajo where the lagoon and lush vegetation favor mosquitoes. Source: Diario Q Roo/Manuel Valdez 

Advising Renewal of Association For Small Hotels
There is an organization of the seven major hotels in Isla Mujeres (HIM) which promotes their services abroad. The organization does not represent the interests of the small and medium size hotels. Formerly there was la Asociación de Hoteles y Moteles with 79 members, but since the death a few years ago of the head of the association, Carlos Cervera Foster, no one has taken over his seat on the Comité Técnico del Fideicomiso de Promoción, where plans are made for promotion. The municipal tourism director, Isaac Sulu said the Hotel Association should be reorganized so this sector of the hotel industry in Isla Mujeres could benefit from government programs, which can help improve their infrastructure and improve their properties. They could organize together and define a common promotional strategy. He estimated that the HIM hotels have an average occupancy of 50 percent annually, while the smaller ones have an average occupancy of less than 30 percent. Source: Quintanarroense/Ovidio Lopez  

Navy Monitoring Turtle Nesting Beaches
Ovidio Lopez/Quintanarroense reports the Navy is actively involved in protecting the nesting areas of turtles during their five month reproduction period. The eggs are rescued and taken to incubate at the Tortugranja, and the hatchlings are later released.  The season began May 15th and will end on October 15. The Committee that protects the turtles includes the Parks and Museums agency and the Civil Protection agency, as well as the Navy. The beaches being monitored include Media Luna, Piedra Rota, Bachilleres, Chiapanecos, Acapulquito, Rastro, Punta Sur and Barrancos.
     When there were fewer residences along the Caribbean coast, the military guys protecting the turtles at night were more apparent, at least to me. While the military & Tortugranja staff can be very stern about not wanting anyone near the coasts at night, they will invite folks over to see a turtle laying eggs, if there are no other turtles nearby that could be disturbed. 
      Once the turtles are laying, having people nearby doesn't interrupt them, but otherwise human activity can send them back to the sea. One year, in addition to the usual patrols or guards, there was yellow "Do Not Pass This Line" caution tape strung along large parts of the coast. 
     There are volunteer opportunities with the Tortugranja, and the public releases of turtle hatchlings should begin in the later part of July or early August. The releases occur at dusk on the Media Luna beach downtown, or on the Guadalupana beach down south & there are usually announcements a day or two before they occur, which I translate & post. The turtle eggs have a 60 day incubation period & last year the hatch rate was 89%.


Mayor Announces Fed Zone Concession Audit
Por Esto reports that in response to evidence alleging that officials within the ZOFEMAT agency have a "lucrative business" regarding concessions for land use in the Federal Zone, the Mayor announced that he ordered an audit of the ZOFEMAT agency. The mayor denied colluding with officials, and said those being investigated have been removed from office during the audit, which will proceed without interference.  He said anyone who is involved will be sought, and the audit will seek to verfiy how many concessions have been granted in this manner of making requests to SEMARNAT.
   The audit will involve  all congruencias / congruences of land use provided by the municipal government since April 10, 2011 generated en la ventanilla involving the agencies for Urban Development and the city's agency of ZOFEMAT.
      He said to avoid these types of problems in the future, he will propose to that all congruencias / congruences of land use in the Federal Zone be endorsed by the full City Council. This way it would not be just the Director of Urban Development who signs off on these concessions, and instead the entire council would consider the applications.
       He said the federal law does not have a principle of preference. He explained that to give the municipalities the right of preference, a legal initiative must be proposed before State Congress, and in turn to the Federal Congress.  This would mean that before a concession is granted to a private individual, it would first determined that the concession is not needed or required by the government, or whether it needs protection environmentally.
      The Mayor said,  "For several years we have discussed how SEMARNAT has given preference to some applicants and not to the City of Isla Mujeres. We have asked for the (concessions to)  areas traditionally available for public use, but these requests have not been heeded. We have indicated the exact areas on countless occasions, and the response has always been the pretext that they are 'mal integrado' poorly integrated." (The City was unsuccessful in its attempt to obtain the concession for the Posada beach, when it became available in 2012.)
      He continued,  "At this time, the City only has one concession in the Federal Zone, near the high school Colegio Bachilleres, which serves the sea turtle conservation program. It is not a safe place for swimming, because it faces the Caribbean Sea."
     En la ventanilla means at the window...and refers to interactions with an agent on the other side of  a counter, such as a bank teller or governmental clerk.  
   The Federal Zone is generally considered to be the area 20 meters from the high tide mark. It is abbreviated ZMFT or ZOFEMAT (“Zona Federal Maritimo Terrestre”). The Governmental agency that defines & maps these areas  is SEMARNAT Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales.


Improved Weather & Increased Tourism
Por Esto reports that after a week of "crisis" due to bad weather,  the tourism industry in Isla Mujeres is improving. On Monday the boat tours experienced an increased demand for their services which included trips to Isla Contoy, El Farito, and other natural attractions in the municipality. With the good weather, people were strongly encouraged to enjoy themselves. Isla mujeres lanchero ('boatman') Juan Francisco Lopez said currently most of the tourists were Canadian, Chilean, American, and some English. He said there had several groups who were staying in Cancun, but not getting much business from people who stay in Isla Mujeres. The reporter noted that from very early in the day, the lancheros were offering their services to tourists. There were more visitors arriving than usual, for a Monday, and this was a great relief for the tourism providers, who were affected by bad weather last week.

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



IN ISLA MUJERES LIVE MUSIC TODAY/TONIGHT: TUESDAY

EARLY                         
 Casa de los Suenos   LINKwebsite  LINKfb 4-7 Banda Sin Nombre
Sunset Grill  Playa Norte   LINK   Dusk    Vocalist & Keyboard

~8p 

Cafe del Mar  8-10 John Cain    LINK   LINK
 El Patio/ComoNo (rooftop) LINK  8:30 - 11 - La Guera & Willys Blues
 Fayne's:   LINK    8:00-10:00-Raul Alexis
 Ocean Blues & Sassy Jazz LINK- 8 - 10  

 LATE
Fayne's  LINK
 On the internet in the past 24 hours...

John Cain  Playing tonight at Cafe Del Mar from 8 to 10...beautiful spot on the beach in front of Jax...
On a Facebook page for English speaking women in Isla, in response to a question by an woman teaching English, I related this experience from my past about struggling to understand Spanish ....   

The first time I made flan from a box (lke making pudding) I was using my dictionary to figger out the directions..and it seemed to say I should take off my top and get agitated...(cook uncovered and stir frequently).

Tony Garcia   Quiet morning. Para ti. Just to listening the birds singing .blue sky nice breeze air from the east. Very warm sun. Ocean bay so clear . frigates birds flying on circle.
Katie Cain   POOL YOGA MOVE is going to be wet & fun this morning. see you on the block.  9AM-Marina Paraiso Isla Mujeres  NO CLASS THIS THURSDAY.
 
It's 9am & el Bufalo is open if ya have la Cruda..or if you're just HUNGRY.. ...& want some breakfast delivered or stop by. Their Chinese chef is supposed to start today.
Good morning, BUFALO IS OPEN NOW! come to eat our BREAKFAST !! (Delivery service. 274 70 03 and 99 81 86 32 42. or order here in my face book !! All breakfast include coffee, fruit, and bread. We have egg a la mexicana, with ham, with sausage, chorizo, omelette, chilaquiles, croissant, sandwich, bread and hotcakes. ONLY 40 PESOS !!



Chinese food in BUFALO too! order 50 pesos, included 1 spring roll, rice, and two different choices of:
1.-Vermicelli with chicken and vegetables.
2.-Tagcu liji sweet chicken
3.-Gongbao jiding chicken with peanuts and vegetables.
4.-Chow fan.
5.-Orange chicken.
6.- Special soup with vermicelli, chicken and eggs.
7.-Spring rolls.(vegetables and chicken)
Diane White Daniel  Yummy breakfast to go from Bufalo. Scrambled eggs, good chorizo, fruit, salad, toast and coffee for 45p. (About $3.50us)

Here is Crown Weather's updated analysis of this Hurricane Season, published today,  and HERE is their original analysis. These are written by Rob Lightbown  Below is an excerpt from today's update:

I still believe that this Hurricane season will have 16 named storms, 9 of those storms becoming hurricanes and 5 of those hurricanes becoming major hurricanes.
The latest long range guidance (especially the European model guidance and to some extent the GFS ensemble guidance) for the next 10 to 15 days shows some sort of tropical cyclone developing in the Bay of Campeche by next Tuesday with a track towards northeastern Mexico and deep south Texas around next Thursday. So, this is something to watch for, but at this point, I am not totally sold on the idea as the next upward motion pulse of the Madden Julian Oscillation isn’t expected until the last week of June and the first week of July.



A new facebook page has just started: MerCaDo liBrE Isla Mujeres HERE is the link & it says:
NUEVO GRUPO donde vender, comprar, cambiar y hasta publicar sus productos compartan la pagina para que el show sea mas interesante!! which translates as...
A New Group..to sell, buy, exchange and publish your products ,and share the page which will make it more interesting!
Other locations on Facebook for buying and selling locally are Merca Isla HERE  and The Isla Community Information board HERE  
Changes in Federal Law To Increase Competition & Reduce Consumer Costs For Phone & TV Services
From Mexico City via the Wall Street Journal LINK (in English),  Excerpts: 
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Monday signed into law a far-reaching overhaul of the telecommunications and broadcast industries that aims to curb the market power of companies such as América Móvil in order to increase competition and investment in the sector.
The changes create a new regulatory body, Ifetel, which will have expanded powers, including the ability to apply more restrictive regulations on dominant competitors and even force them to sell assets.
In signing the overhaul in the constitution, Mr. Peña Nieto set the clock running for the drawing up and approval of secondary legislation, which Congress has six months to complete. The scope and spirit of the constitutional changes, which seek to give Mexicans access to better and less-costly telecommunications services and raise competitiveness in Mexico, should be reflected in the secondary laws, Mr. Peña Nieto said.
High costs and lack of investment have limited the number of Mexicans who have access to modern telecommunications services. A 2012 government survey of households indicated that just 26% of Mexican homes had Internet access, and 32% of homes had computers.
The company expected to be most affected by new regulations is América Móvil, which is controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim and has 70% of the country's wireless subscribers and more than 70% of its fixed phone lines.
Television heavyweight Grupo Televisa which controls close to 70% of the broadcast television market, and TV Azteca  which has about 30%, face increased competition from two planned digital networks and from the possibility that Mr. Slim will be authorized to enter the television market. Television broadcasters will also be required to offer their local channels free of charge to cable and other paid television operators.
.....  Competitors that have struggled for years to make headway against América Móvil and its fixed-line unit Telmex are optimistic that the new laws will help them gain ground.
.....Telefónica is Mexico's No. 2 wireless-service provider, with close to 20% of the country's 100 million mobile-phone subscribers.


Today Isla Mujeres is the Los Angeles (California-US) Times featuring the Whale Shark Festival. LINK 

Today in Isla Mujeres..at Garrafon
These are TV Celebs at Garrafon being taped at the start of the zipline. (When I first glanced at it, I thought "She isn't your average Palapa construction worker...")
Isla Mujeres ¡En vivo el Verano Telehit desde el Parque Garrafón!
¡Live from Garrafon Park!
Hotel Posada Del Mar and Ignacio Acosta Casanova shared Isla Mujeres's photo.
¡Hoy están en vivo los conductores de Telehit en Isla Mujeres! ¡Esto es el verano telehit!


Aqua Adventures Eco Divers Isla Mujeres  Self portrait of our HEAD Divemaster Wilbert just before cavorting with the Tortugas at Punta Sur yesterday.

Invitation from the English speaking women's fb page...Ok Ladies...coming to a Naval Club near you...Thursday the 13th, Breakfast put on by the Navy Wives, with the funds going to the Navy Hospital...9:00am. $100 pesos. Last breakfast until fall.
We have lots of birthdays to celebrate so we thought lets have some fun new specials! We have the Doris Breakfast Panini w/ scrambled egg, chorizo & tomato topped w/ jack cheese & jalapeno garlic cream cheese...the Holdridge Panini w/ grilled chicken, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onion & goat cheese....the Peter Wayne Panini w/ smoked pork, fajita peppers, onions, gouda cheese & chipotle crema...& the Horowitz Sandwich w/ grilled chicken, lettuce, cucumber, red onion & sundried tomato mayo. The Israeli Salad is now on our menu all the time, for those looking for a light, refreshing lunch! We hope to see you at Barlito
Daisy Silver  We had dinner at Las Brisas Grill tonite. Wow, the shrimp fajitas were delicious and the avocado shrimp salad was great. This is my favorite place for fish tacos, but now I will have to send all my clients for these 2 dishes. Jim had the huevos rancheros one time and that too was excellent.
Tony Garcia shared Lionfish University's photo.
Grouper takes lionfish to lunch and eats it!

Photo courtesy of Gay Morse, Pirates Point, Little Cayman
Diane White Daniel Delicious filete al mojo de ajo - fish with garlic sauce $110 pesos (about $8.50US) at Minino's.
I had the filete relleno con mariscos..which is a filet in a foil packet with shrimp and pulpo..octopus...tho come to think of it I don't recall it having pulpo this time..and shrimp in a cheese and tomato sauce. Yummy...as always! The bottom of the fish is lightly seared. There were two sauces in addition to the pico de gallo (with serranos) that were very good.  Bruce devoured his fish tacos which have become his latest favorite thing to order at Mininos. It is on the main street, Rueda Medina, on the seas side, just north of the gas station. You sit with your seat in the sand,  in sight of the boats & fishermen who probably caught your meal. When someone asks for a recommendation for seafood...Minino's usually comes to mind. The viejo brothers were playing...and as always, asked for a requests.

Fish Tacos at Minimos.
 
Bruce   View from Avalon bridge (below).














Bruce Roberts  Wheel of fortune.
Leslie Woodbridge
Unbelievably good alhambres, pollo y chilii poblano...Deysy and Rauls... — in Isla Mujeres.

  • 60 pesos!

  • MelanieNo way!

  • Leslie Woodbridge Way! I didn't even get to all the sides/condimento's....those potatoes are cooked in chicken stock with red chili's...they look like nothing but are lovely and spicy.
The young man from Isla Mujeres that I have been sponsoring will be graduating from university in September with a certificate in criminology. David has some expenses associated with his graduation that are due to the university by July 2nd. David has worked very hard to get to this point in his life. His team of sponsors wants to ensure that he has the proper funds for his graduation so he may put his education to use working in his trained profession.

Less than $600 may not seem like a lot of money to those of us in the US or Canada but David and his family live on an island where the average daily wage is around $8. ($470 titulo (diploma), $75 for the graduation certification and $16 for the event on the day.)

Please send me a PM if you can help David complete his goal of graduating and using his training to support his family which as of April includes a newborn daughter, Sophia.
 
Last 24 hrs "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.
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1 comment:

  1. Congratulations and THANK YOU!!!! Read your post every day!!

    ReplyDelete

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