If you ever plan to take the bus from Belize or other parts of Latin America into Mexico, please note the following.  According to the Reporter, a Belizean newspaper, Buses, cargo containers and trucks  are no longer allowed to enter Mexico during the weekends as all vehicles must be screened by gamma rays, a new security procedure to prevent contraband, human trafficking, arms and drugs.  This would impact travelers between Belize and Mexico who want to travel on weekends via bus. 

The reason?  No screening can occur over the weekend since the office is closed.  This is part of a modernization project  to protect the borders of  Mexico.  Only private vehicles and foot  traffic will be able to cross the border.  Actually, this has been a regulation that has been in place since 2006 and equally restricts Mexican buses from entering as well, but it was only on January 30 of 2010 that it was implemented at all border crossings. 

On weekdays, the gama testing office is only open between the hours of  9am and 7pm.  The solution would be to open the offices on weekends.  I don't know about offices along the US border, but as of January 30 2010, the offices are closed at the Belizian crossing.

The solution?  Get off the bus at the border and walk across the border.  Taxi's will be waiting. 

        

The Alcaldia, or Mayor of Mahahual hosted a meeting of foreigners living in and around Mahahual.  Most owned property and some  had been at one time or another victims of some sort of theft along the beach.  Needless to say it was well attended.  If nothing else, it was an opportunity to meet other neighbors. 

The most important thing that came out of the meeting was that if you don't report it, as far as the police are concerned, the theft didn't happen.  Further more, without a report, you cannot reclaim your property.  Most recently thefts have primarily been of solar panels and computer equipment.  The process is that you must report the incident to the Ministario Publico or District Attorney , and then it will get into a queue and be investigated.  Therein lies the problem for most people who insist that incidents are never investigated.  The queue happens to include All of Opon P. Blanco, the biggest Municipio in Mexico - 150 pueblos or towns, of which Mahahual is one of them.  Still, a report is essential for insurance purposes and recovery of your items, if for example, the items are later found in a storage facility.

If you happen to see a crime being reported, you can call '066' and  they will come and investigate immediately.  If, for example you discover something stolen just moments after the occurrence, they can set up road blocks.  HOWEVER, and this is a big however for some people, the phone is manned by Spanish speakers only.  Learning some emergency words would be very beneficial, such as 'Ayuda' the word for 'Help.' Alternately, non-Spanish speakers can to to the Alcandia's office (Mayor) and talking to one of the two English speaking staff members, Cesar or Maria who will help them navigate the system.


Office of the Alcaldia de Mahahual located on Mahahual highway

If you see an occurrence  happening to a neighbor's property and want to make an anonymous call, you can do so by calling '089.'  Still, most reports are after the fact and are not very satisfactory.  It could take days to get the police to come out, only continual reminders and promptings can help get their attention.  However true the statement, It was not too comforting when the group of home owners were told "Remember that you are living in Mexico."

PREVENTION:
Since after the fact investigation by the police is poor, prevention seems to be the best recourse.  Some tips were given to the group:

• If you are going to hire someone from Mexico, make sure they don't have a record.  They should have a report from the police stating this information.
• Employees should have official ID with their picture.
• Report incidents or suspected offenders in the area immediately. The Police do have a database of past offenders in Chetumal (however, do not report someone without cause - laws are similar as to those in the USA and Canada)
• Protect your property.  
• Hire a care taker
• Have dogs on the premises - fenced is better so they stay on the property
• All doors should have good locks
• Bars on windows
• Gates
• Exterior lights left on all night long are not necessarily a good thing. Don't be a target by advertising everything you own by turning exterior lights on all night long.  It is far easier to spot someone with a flashlight.   It is better to have timed lights that go on and off randomly. 

The police do not have the money to patrol the entire coast.  Gas is expensive and it is not in their budget.  Further more, they don't have sufficient vehicles.  Suggestions were made to get ATVs and have them patrol the coast.  The City could apply for a couple more police, but home owners would pay for the ATV and gas.  The idea has merit and they promised to look into the idea. 
 

        

The meeting of the Mahahual Businesses had several noteworthy announcements.  It also brought to light the problem of traffic in the town.  This was the major point of discussion at the meeting.  As more and more businesses spring up on the South end of Mahahual it becomes ever more difficult to get through town to access those businesses.  Add the traffic from the cruise ships and traffic jams occur on a regular basis.  A committee was formed to study this problem and come up with some solutions. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• A new Museum is planned for Mahahual - Museo Maya.  The plan for this museum will be coming on the end of February and will be located close to the Soccer field, but I didn't catch the exact location.  
• The Turtle museum is also being restored.  This is the round building that is located on property that SEMARNAT gave/loaned to the town several years ago.  With very little funds, it was almost restored but Hurricane Dean ripped off the roof.  This property is just North of Super Carolinas
• Meeting for foreigners in Chetumal  Feb. 21at the Convention center.  Sponsored by the Municipality.

TOURNAMENTS AND FESTIVAL DATES

• Carnival - this year, carnival in Mahahual is scheduled to occur on 26, 27 and 28 of February
• Governor's cup - April 30th, May 1st and 2nd.  This is the annual fishing tournament that brings in hundreds of fisherman to fish for Marlin, Mahi Mahi and other trophy fish. This year a children's fishing tournament will be added to the event.
• Copa de Plata - This fishing tournament is scheduled for June 10, 11, and 12 of June
• Toyota/Coca Cola Tournament - date yet to be announced.  
• Jats'a-Ja' (pronounced HAHT-sa-HAH) is scheduled for August 13, 14, and 15 or the week before the anniversary of Hurricane Dean.
  

        

Photo tour of Mahahual new projects

North of the Light house and South are two very different experiences. If you take a look at the fun beach restaurant and Camping spot El Faro (Spanish for lighthouse) compared with the new and modern Lapis store and handicrafts shops - the difference is night and day. Is there room for both in Mahahual? ABSOLUTELY! If you click to play the YouTube video slide show below, you'll see a lot of new shots of Mahahual and maybe a few you have already seen. Most of the shots were taken on the 21st of January, 2010 early in the morning - so they are up to date!

The YouTube slide show presentation below shows these two very different areas.  This is specifically geared to new development in the Costa Maya, but is of interest to anyone wanting to know more about the Costa Maya. 

        

If you have ever visited Mexico you know about the red-light/green-light "Pase" at airport customs. When crossing the border from Belize into Mexico, you go through the same thing. I knew you could bring in 3 bottles of liquor into the country, but I found out the hard way, that if you have an address here in Quintana Roo, you can't bring in any liquor. I was coming through the border from the Belizean Free zone with 3 bottles of liquor for Mayan Beach Garden's Bar when I hit the red light. No Problem, I thought - I never go over the 3 bottles anyway. When they looked at the three bottles, they told me that I couldn't take any because I was a Quintana Roo citizen. No problem. . .I figured I'd just pay the duty and be done with it. That was until I was given the amount of the duty - it was 153% of the original cost of the liquor plus a fee. That means that the $32 USD worth of Bombay Gin and Flor de Cana would have cost me close to $700 pesos! Now I chose to just leave the liquor there. After all, I can buy Flor de Cana in Chedraui's for about 120 pesos, so why would I pay double? But I couldn't just leave, I had to fill out an "Acta de Abandono" stating that I was leaving the 3 bottles there. Was I being taken because it was 3 days before Christmas and they wanted the liquor? What other things are lurking out there that I can't cross over the border with? If anyone has any similar experiences, I'd sure like to know!

Apparently Quintana Roo is in a special duty free category of its own.  IVA, or the value added tax that you pay on goods in Mexico is 11% in Quintana Roo and 16% in the rest of Mexico.  So citizens of Quintana Roo have a benefit that other states do not.  Had my FM3 said I was from another state, OR had I entered the free zone with just my Passport I would not have had to pay the duty. 

        

Despite clouds and the occasional downpour, Beach clean-up day in Mahahual was an interesting event. Mostly because of the National support and aid it received from Mexico City based Project Aware.

July Minter from Blue Ocean Safari was instrumental in organizing the event which included attendance by Mexican pop singer Chavo. At the end of the day, he even performed a free concert in Tequila beach. He was very interested in all the Columbian labeled garbage we found up in the Placer area, so I left him a gift of a bag of well preserved Columbian Beach trash as a gift. In return I received a CD of his new album, Chavo Nueva Tierra.  The Project Aware group may very well be instrumental in finally bringing recycling to Mahahual. I will keep you informed! Again, the problem seems to be location, location location.

Piles of garbage collected on Beach clean-up Day

        

Creating Spanish accents on letters on your computer

Ever wondered how to make the accents in Spanish on your computer? You have several options for this, and it can be kind of convoluted. I've explained several of the options below.

• Cheat. Go to Google language tools, write the word in English and then hopefully it provides the proper translation with all the accents. The problem is that words often have many meanings, so only rely for this for spelling, not for translation. Copy the word and paste it into your document.
• Copy and paste the accented letters from some other Spanish document (also something I used to do - still cheating here)
• Add the Spanish Keyboard option to your PC computer or Laptop . This is easy to toggle on and off with an icon at the bottom of your keyboard.  This is what I use because it is easy to Toggle on and off when you choose the option to show it on your task bar. However, the keyboard acts slightly differently. If you've used an Internet café and found you couldn't use the apostrophe key, you will know what I mean. Instructions are included below the ASCII codes.
• Use the ASCII codes. This is a series of keys you press to create the accents. This works in any program that supports the ASCII codes, which all Microsoft products do as well as standard forms on the Internet (including Mozilla browsers). I can't prove that these codes will work on a PC or a Mac, but I've tested the PC Laptop codes since I work on a laptop. On laptops, you have to press the Num Lk or "Numbers Lock" to make the keys in the center respond to the codes - you may also have to turn on Num Lk on regular PC keyboards as well. There is a light that indicates when it is on.

	PC ASCII (use numbers on number pad while holding down the Alt key)	Laptop PC ASCII Use numbers in color in the center of the keypad. Mine are on the M J K L U I O 7 8 9 keys- NumLk must be on	Macintosh ASCII Press option+__, then release and press the letter you want. For example, "option+e then the letter e" gives you é
á	Alt + 0225	Fn + Alt + 0225	Option + e then a
é	Alt + 0233	Fn + Alt + 0233	Option + e then e
í	Alt + 0237	Fn + Alt + 0237	Option + e then i
ñ	Alt + 0241	Fn + Alt + 0241	Option + n then n
ó	Alt + 0243	Fn + Alt + 0243	Option + e then o
ú	Alt + 0250	Fn + Alt + 0250	Option + e then u
¿	Alt + 0191	Fn + Alt + 0191	Opt + shift + ?
¡	Alt + 0161	Fn + Alt + 0161	Opt + 1
Á	Alt + 0193	Fn + Alt + 0193	Option + e then Shift a
É	Alt + 0201	Fn + Alt + 0201	Option + e then Shift e
Í	Alt + 0205	Fn + Alt + 0205	Option + e then Shift i
Ñ	Alt + 0209	Fn + Alt + 0209	Option + n then Shift n
Ó	Alt + 0211	Fn + Alt + 0211	Option + e then Shift o
Ú	Alt + 0218	Fn + Alt + 0218	Option + e then Shift u

Adding the Spanish Keyboard option to your PC computer or Laptop .

1. Log On
2. Click the Start button
3. Click on Control Panel
4. Click Regional and Language Options - a new window will pop up
5. Click the Languages tab
6. Click on the Details button
7. Click the Add button - a new window will pop up
8. Select United States-International (keyboard layout menu)
9. Click OK
10. Click Apply
11. Read the instructions for "Using the U.S. - International Keyboard" below.

Note: You will now have a keyboard icon on the task bar (usually on the right side). To switch between keyboard layouts click the keyboard icon on the task bar and choose which layout you want to use. Changing the keyboard layout will only affect the log on profile used. No other users will be affected.

Windows Vista

1. Start-->Control Panel-->Clock, Language, Region-->Change Keyboards
2. New Window: Click the Change Keyboards button
3. New Window: Click the Add button
4. Select United States-International keyboard
5. Click OK
6. From drop down menu (Default Input Language) select United States International

Using the U.S. - International Keyboard on your PC or Laptop

Once you have the international Keyboard working, you will find it now reacts differently. When struck, the single apostrophe (') key, does nothing. To type the single apostrophe now, you must strike the single apostrophe key and then strike the space bar. When you strike the space bar, the apostrophe will appear. The next thing to note is that the quotes (") key behaves the same way as the apostrophe key. You must first strike the quotes key and then strike the space bar in order to create the (") symbol. These two minor inconveniences are more than made up for by the ease with which you can now type the special characters. To type the special characters, two keystrokes are required. To type the á, you need only strike the apostrophe key and then the letter a. The other characters are just as easy: To type the special punctuation characters, you need to hold down on the Alt key while you strike the appropriate punctuation mark. On some keyboards, only one of the two Alt keys will work for this, usually the left.

Key combinations á = ' + a é = ' + e í = ' + i ó = ' + o ú = ' + u ñ = ~ + n ¡ = Alt (hold down) + ! ¿ = Alt (hold down) + ?

        

If you live on the Costa Maya and don't already speak Spanish , before long you start wishing you spoke the language better.  When you speak English most of the day to other Gringos or to other Mexicans who speak Spanish, it is difficult to learn.  Before long, you've been in Mexico 6 years (in my case) and your Spanish is not all that great.  I've reached the point that I'm frustrated that I can't speak better.  So I decided to take a Spanish immersion class.  After looking all over, I found that there are programs everywhere, including Chetumal. I knew that if I took something in Chetumal, I would not be concentrating on Spanish, but trying to run my business. 

So I opted for Something that was close - within a day's drive, rural and something that would force me not to hear English. After researching the web, I found EcoEscuela to fit the bill.  We were able to drive there in about 10 hours from Mahahual, even stopping for lunch along the border. Buses are also available out of Chetumal to the town of Flores, the Tikal tourist town on an island in the middle of lake Flores. Next time, I'll just take the bus, since it seems to be easier than taking a car across the border and the return trip from Guatemala was only $170 Quetzales - the equivalent of $22 USD.   I don't know the price in Pesos from Chetumal.  If you are not familiar Guatemala, EcoEscuela is located in the  town of San Andres in northern area of Guatemala, or the Peten and across the lake from Flores. The Peten is where the Mayan Ruins of Tikal are located, and one of the largest jungle reserves in all of Central America. Coincidentally, lake Flores is one of the most beautiful lakes I've seen, rivaling Bacalar.	First view of San Andres, Peten, Guatemala
The reason I chose EcoEscuela over other Spanish immersion programs was: Proximity (#1) One-on-one classes with options of 4-8 hours of class per day Very Inexpensive ($150 per week includes room and board and 5 days of classes) The town is situated on a beautiful lake The program includes daily activities such as volunteer work in the school, meeting with locals, visit to farms and nature preserves, cooking classes, learning how to make Mayan herbal remedies, etc. Living with a local family. Great activities in the area, such as visiting the ruins of Tikal.	Neighbor hood kids coming to visit a family of another student
Here is my review of the immersion program at EcoEscuela: The one on one teaching is very good, although it took a couple of days for the teacher to figure out where I stood.  The website said that they would test me when I arrived, but apparently it is a verbal test.  Had I stayed a week, I might have felt cheated by loosing a couple of days to testing.  I stayed two weeks, which wasn't quite long enough.  The extra activities were great, but I'm not sure that they helped my Spanish.  Still, I liked most of them, especially making herbal remedies with the woman of San Jose (picture at right).  The little town was very safe and incredibly friendly.  A large portion of the town makes some amount of money from the school, which in some form or another provides employment for 35-50 families. A larger portion of the town has to leave Guatemala to work in the US - Sad.  I came away learning quite a bit about grammar, enough that I understand far more than I did before I left - especially when reading.  My speaking is slower because I know all the things that I was doing wrong.  The benefit?  My staff is now correcting me more as they see me searching to say things correctly.	Making Alo Vera Soap with Iris - part of a woman's cooperative of 35 women who make items with local herbs and plants. I also learned how to make Chaca soap (antidote for Chechen and other itchy things).  When I take another coarse, I will split the days with Iris and the school. For $350 Quetzales (exchange rate of 8x1) you can spend a week learning Mayan Remedies.  Or  for $700 Q get room and board at one of the women from the school and spend the time learning to make Mayan Remedies.  She only speaks Spanish as do all of the activities in the town. You will already need to have an understanding of Spanish for this program.
The home stay with Families was a mixed bag for me.  The first family was not very clean so I asked to be changed and was accommodated without comment.  The second family was a delight  and helped coach my Spanish.  It made a world of difference to my perception of my stay. I talked to other students and all of them loved their families, so I think my first family was unique. Beds at both homes were relatively comfortable, but I was not accustomed to some of the noises.  Most notably the sound of roosters crowing outside your window and Masa grinding machines starting up at 4:00 in the morning.  Luckily the time difference was an hour, so it was really only 5:00. I could have used better light for studying - I was busy in the extra activities and running into Santa Elena (the largest town in the area) that I didn't really study in the day.  RECOMMENDATIONS IF GOING: I wish they had given me a list of things that make it more comfortable.  The program is geared mostly to students and backpackers, not to 50-somethings.	Courtyard of the second family I stayed at.  We nightly stayed outside and visited and then at 8:00 went into watch the Soap Opera "Manana es Siempre" or something like that!
Make it clear in advance your level of Spanish and insist on a clean family.    Bring a pillow- I woke up with a headache many mornings missing my memory pillow. Bring a flashlight - there were several times with no power, or in the middle of the night I didn't know where to find light switches or didn't want to bother the family turning on the lights.  Hand sanitizer is a must - almost every day there was a time where for a few hours there was no soap.  The second family always had water to pour over your hands, the first unclean one had neither water or soap.  If you want better light, bring a battery lantern.  I had a little Barbie light to read by.  It wasn't sufficient for studying. I did do some reading by flashlight. Surprisingly - all the toilets had seats.  This was a very different experience than in Mexico.  BUT toilet paper was scarce in every public space.  The good news was that bathrooms were free and cleaner than they are in Mexico.   For sure take a day and visit Tikal.  There are buses going there.  The school is very good at helping you get around if you don't have a car.  Visit the market in Santa Elena - market days are Tuesdays, Fridays and weekends. The Internet is fast there (slow in San Andres where the school is) and there are several ATMs.	Tikal is 90 km  away on a good road.  The site is huge, so allow a full day.  We didn't arrive until noon and at 6:00 PM had not seen everything we wanted to. shopping for Guatemalan items is best done in Tikal.  The market in  Santa Elena has some Guatemalan fabrics you can purchase by the yard.

 

        

On August 21st of 2007, Hurricane Dean, the 3rd worst hurricane ever to hit land slammed into Mahahual. The small town was devastated. Not only was the town in shambles, the the main source of income, the cruise ship dock was damaged. A Year later, in 2008, the annual festival of Jats'a-Ja' was created to celebrate Mahahual's rebirth.
This year, they have moved the festival up to July 17-19.  Not enough time to promote it accurately, but it is a great celebration that you will enjoy if you can make it to Mahahual.	The Mayan Word Jats'a-Ja' means the moisture that enters house when it rains - there is no equivalent in English or Spanish and it has little to do with hurricane, but it is a beautiful word for a lovely ceremony.
Schedule of Events Friday, 17th of July   6:30 PM opening ceremonies at Plaza Martillo 7:00 PM Nautical procession of   Jats'a Já - Participants are requested to wear white 8:30 PM Mayan Ceremony and offering to the gods - Mayan prayer to Mother Earth, seeking mercy towards her people in order to keep hurricanes away  and bless this land. 9:30 PM fire works 22:30 PM Disco at Tequila Beach Saturday, 18th of July 9:00 AM Photographic exposition opens 11:00 AM - 1:00 - Kite flying and Kite creation contest 2:00 - 4:00 PM Gastronomica - Flavors of the world 5:30 PM Aquathalon 10:00 PM - Dance on the Malecon/Tequila Beach Sunday, 19th of July 8:00 AM - Sand sculptures - between the Lighthouse and Tequila Beach 1:00 PM - Soccer Match 2:00  PM Skating tournament - "Free Wheels" 3:00 PM Thanksgiving Mass 5:00 PM Closing ceremonies and awards All photos shown are from 2008	Eventos Viernes 17 de julio   18:30 hs Inauguración en la Plaza Martillo 19:00 hs Procesión náutica y ofrenda floral al Jats'a Já -En el trayecto, se lanzarán al mar las ofrendas florales que previamente se distribuirán en cada embarcación.Desembarcarán frente a Capitanía de Puerto, donde estará preparado el altar para la Ceremonia Maya.  Se solicita a los participantes ir vestidos de blanco. 20:30 hs Ceremonia Maya - Ritual Maya ofrecido por sacerdotes  provenientes de Tihosuco, Q. Roo que consiste en una oración a la madre Tierra, solicitando su clemencia hacia sus pobladores con el fin de mantener los huracanes y malos tiempos lejos del lugar y bendecir estas tierras. 21:30 hs Juegos pirotécnicos 22:30 hs Baile música disco - Tequila Beach   Sábado 18 de julio   9:00   hs   Exposición y Concurso Fotográfico “Vive Mahahual” 11–13 hs  Concurso de papalotes “Echa a volar tu imaginación” 14–16 hs  Muestra gastronómica “Sabores del Mundo” 17:30 hs   Acuatlón 22:00  hs  Baile en la plaza Pargo Domingo 19 de julio 08:00 Concurso de figuras de arena “Es...culturas en Mahahual” 13:00 Partido amistoso de Futbol Mahahual vs ? 14:00 Torneo de Patinaje “Ruedas libres” 15:00 Misa de acción de gracias    17:00 Clausura y premiación

                             

        

If you don't know what a Lion fish is - you;re not alone, but the more people that know about this exotic fish, the better. Last week, a flier was circulated  via email to all the dive businesses and eventually forwarded to me because a lion fish Pterois volitans (Linnaeus) has been spotted, captured and killed in the Sian Ka'an.  There are quite a few along the cost of Florida with spottings in Cancun, Playa and it appears to be moving further south.  Why is it dangerous? Lion Fish are member of the Scorpion fish family whose beautiful spines are venomous creating a danger to divers and fishers if stung. Although there have been no known fatalities caused by lion fish stings, they are reportedly extremely painful. Researchers urge caution to anyone who encounters these fish.Secondarily, it has no natural predators in the Atlantic and its a voracious predator eating fish larger than its 1 foot length and consuming 2-3 times it's weight a day.

This image is from a  NOAA article on Lion fish

Most observations of lion fish occur in waters more than 100 feet deep, so divers and those fishing in deep waters are most likely to have encounters with the fish. Wading, snorkeling or swimming in shallow water will not pose a threat to tourists. Other names: fire fish, lion fish, ornate butterfly-cod, red fire fish, red lion fish, turkey fish, zebra fish MORE INFORMATION and LINKS Lion fish research and reporting Lion fish media coverage National Geographic article on Lion fish

So what do you do if you find one?  --1st Mark the location via GPS, dive computer or other method --2nd Only capture it if you are trained - remember it is venomous - if you aren't trained - don't attempt it --3rd If possible kill it --4th report the sighting experience on this exotic species reporting form --5th If stung, treat with as hot a water as you can stand - similar treatment to sting ray or sea urchin spines You Eat it - it is supposed to be very delicious (now I'm dying to try it) - but use gloves to remove spines.  Cooking removes all toxins.