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Costa Maya Newsletter > Archived Newsletters > Jun. 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

***********************Newsletter: June 9, 2005**************************

Contents:

  • FONATUR FACTS AND RUMORS
  • CONCH AND LOBSTER SEASON
  • FIRES CLOSE BY
  • CISTERNS AND THE DROUGHT - THE HIGH COST OF WATER
  • CHECK OUT THIS SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE COSTA MAYA
  • HURRICANE SEASON
  • CELL PHONE COVERAGE IN MAHAHUAL
  • WORK STOPPAGE ON MAYOR'S OFFICE IN MAHAHUAL
  • UPDATE ON RECYCLING PROGRAM
  • SPOTLIGHT ON YOUR NEIGHBORS - MEET THE TIRADOS!

Hi Neighbors,

You would think this was low season, but most of the better rooms in Mahahual the last couple of weeks were full. The weather has been exceptionally humid for late May so it feels like July. Good news, however - the rain has finally begun to fall. Thanks to a low depression over Honduras, we received 2 inches of rain the other day along the beach. Some areas received more and inland they have been getting a lot of rain - far more than here along the beach. My plants are happy and my cistern is starting to fill up. Please read the section below on Cisterns and the impact of the drought.

You can find this newsletter and archives of past newsletters at this location: http://www.mayanbeachgarden.com/PropertyOwners_Newsletter.html

FONATUR FACTS AND RUMORS

What is Fonature? Nacional de Fomento al Turismo (the National Fund to Promote Tourism)
Why should I care? Fonature is the investment group that created Cancun, the Mexican Riviera and other Mexican success stories and has several other projects in the works - one of which is the Costa Maya.
History: Cancun was selected in 1967 as a tourist area by FONATUR, The land was initially an ejido, and it was confiscated by the government to carry out the planned tourist center. The initial development involved connecting the Island of Cancun to the mainland and constructing the airport, completed in 1973. Afterwards, FONATUR sold the land to corporations. The first hotel opened in 1974.
Statistics (2003): in Quintana Roo, the Cancun-Riviera Maya corridor contributes 90% of the states revenue and 10.5% of the country's GDP.

RUMORED: (not verified but reported in a Cancun newspaper and like any good rumor traveling like wildfire up and down the beach) The massive plans planned by Fonature for the Costa Maya are not going to happen, favoring private investment over Fonature investment. I have heard some people say it is just delayed but will still happen. We will continue to monitor this. If anyone has any concrete information on this it would be great if you could point me to some solid facts.

CONCH AND LOBSTER SEASON

Conch - Between May 1st and October 31st conch use is forbidden. I'm not sure why I still find Conch for sale at Chedrauis, but the law is pretty clear: Capture, transporting selling, buying consuming or serving Conch during this time frame can result in up to a 9 year prison sentence and hefty fine according to Article 420 in the Federal Penal Code. The reason is that Queen Conch (Stombus gigas) is an endangered species and the numbers have become so low that during mating season they can't find each other to mate. This is also the season that they are most vulnerable to harvesting as they come in closer to shore to mate making them very easy to harvest.

Lobster - Between March 1st and June 30th it is prohibited from selling Lobster. This is mating season and Consumers are being asked not to purchase from restaurants who continue to serve conch and lobster in off season. The way that many lobsters are harvested by local fishermen it is hard to tell which ones are female and full of eggs until after they are dead.

This is a SEMARNAT directive.

The University of Quintana Roo is trying to find alternative ways for fisherman to make a living rather than continue to over-fish these species and is supporting fisherman in creating tourist cooperativos rather than continue to over-fish areas such as Banco Chinchorro and the Sian Ka'an.

FIRES CLOSE BY

The drought finally hit close by with a fairly severe fire starting at kilometer marker 19 North on the Tampalam road and spreading south several kilometers. The fire burned for days until teams of fire fighters came and put it out. Because of the drought, trucks had to go quite a ways to find water they could pump into the trucks. The fire smoldered for several days after being put out when rain finally came. Other fires that have gotten out of hand are along the Cafetal-Mahahual highway and on 307 south between San Pedro and Bacalar.

CISTERNS AND THE DROUGHT - THE HIGH COST OF WATER

The last few days have blessedly brought rain. We know that mosquitoes will follow but that's a small price to pay. In days the trees will fill out. During the dry season many people had to resort to buying water as their cisterns went dry. If you are planning on building a home, please consider your water usage. We have just experienced 5 months of no rain. This is not uncommon here. Many lots will not be able to have wells or the wells will be salty or have a sulfur smell from Mangroves. EVERYONE needs to properly plan for a cistern to hold water. It does not always rain when you need water and it often rains when you do not. A properly-sized cistern provides the storage "buffer" that allows you to make it through the dry seasons.
You could make the cistern much larger than you ever expect to need. But the cost of building the cistern is closely related to size. A cistern that is too large is a waste of money. But one that is too small can also be costly when you are forced to purchase water frequently. Think about the following when planning for a Cistern:

1) A truckload of water is currently running about $800 - $1000 pesos for 10,000 liters (about 2500 gallons). Your Cistern should accommodate at least a full truckload to avoid unnecessarily wasting money.
2) Monitor your water usage at home. How many gallons of water are you using per month? Can you get away with less when you are here or is that not something you want to worry about? Will you be on a tight budget if your plans are to retire here?
3) if you plan on renting out your home, realize that the highest number of rentals will come during the dry season. Vacationers by nature are resource hogs. If they are swimming a lot they may be showering several times a day. The income you receive from rentals may offset the cost of purchasing a truckload of water during the dry season
4) Think about water collection. If necessary, collect water from every surface possible. If you have a patio or deck - think about collecting water from those surfaces as well.
5) Your cistern plans will need to be included in your building plans
6) Cistern water is a delight compared to any other water. Well water is hard while rain water is soft. If you are from an area that has hard water you can appreciate the problems that come from hard water.
7) Cistern water is not drinkable without treatment. Bird droppings and insects still get in the water.

Check out this link on my web site for average rainfall in Chetumal. http://www.mayanbeachgarden.com/FAQs.htm#weather This might help you in your planning.

CHECK OUT THIS SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE COSTA MAYA

This image was sent to us from one of your neighbors, Wayne Kelly. It is a large image so if you have a slow connection you may have to wait. Once the image has loaded, click on the lower right corner to zoom in. ftp://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ESC_large_ISS006_ISS006-E-26414.JPG. I can see Placer and our lots. You may not be able to identify yours unless there is an landmark nearby such as some other cleared lots, lagoon or road junction.

HURRICANE SEASON

June 1st marked the beginning of Hurricane season which will run until November 30th. This year mirrors the National Hurricane center's prediction for 2004 with conditions that appear to favor above-normal levels of tropical cyclone activity. The predictions last year were exactly on target. If you will recall, Hurricane Ivan did some erosion damage to shores along this coast, none of which was serious.

CELL PHONE COVERAGE IN MAHAHUAL

If you are traveling to Mahahual and need to stay in contact via phone, there is now cell phone coverage in Mahahual. In order to use the system you will need a GMS phone with a Sym card for Mexico. Coverage is not great for us 22 km North of Mahahual. We have to go up on our rooftop observatory to get good reception, but at least that is possible! It's a great step forward for everyone up and down the beach.

WORK STOPPAGE ON MAYOR'S OFFICE IN MAHAHUAL

The reasons are not clear, but the construction on the mayor's office has ceased. While that may not sound like a tragedy, the office was to house an ATM machine and a post office. It is not clear when work will resume. I am particularly unhappy about the ATM machine. Apparently Mahahual cannot get an ATM until there is a "secure" place to house the ATM machine. (sigh)

UPDATE ON RECYCLING PROGRAM

No new news on the recycling front. We continue to take recyclables to Mahahual. No meetings were held in May. Recycling meetings are to resume next week when the active parties are back in town.
New contributions to the recycling fund:
>>Rick L Scott ......... $100
Total donations to date: 2.041.27

Debits from the fund:
Previous : .............................. $834
May: ........ ............................ $------

Balance: ...............................$1206

SPOTLIGHT ON YOUR NEIGHBORS - MEET THE TIRADOS!

Last months spotlight on your neighbors was a great success. Kristine Garbo and Dick Bonner really appreciated the kind emails they received from many of you. This month's spotlight is a family of 5 - the Tirados from Colorado, all of whom want to move and live in Majahual TODAY! Their lot is located between Rio Indo and el Placer in one of the group lots of 17 & 18. They will be visiting their lots in the next couple of days at which time I will take pictures of the family and post them on the web site. In the meantime, read more information about the Tirados at this link. http://www.mayanbeachgarden.com/PropertyOwners_spotlight.html

Until next month...

Best Regards,

Marcia,

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Updated: 06-May-2008

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