The Cozumel Drift
Your E-Newsletter
from Scuba Shack,
Blue Bubble Divers,
Dive
ECO-cozumel & the Village Tan
Kah
Cozumel,
Mexico
December 2007
Welcome to the latest edition of The Cozumel Drift, brought to
you by
your friends here
at Blue Bubble Divers, Dive ECO-cozumel, Scuba Shack & Village Tan
Kah
on
the
island
of Cozumel. For
newest members, a
huge welcome.
For all of the
rest of you,
we sure have been busy this year, thanks to all of you who have visited this year. We thank each and everyone of your for your continued loyalty !
For all of the
rest of you,we sure have been busy this year, thanks to all of you who have visited this year. We thank each and everyone of your for your continued loyalty !
IN
THIS EDITION:
Blue Bubble Blurb / Scuba Shack Skinny
...
Who, what,
where !!!
Island
Info... you should see downtown!
Poinsettias... Did you
know...................
Open Water classes... Made
easier !!!!
Travel News... a couple of specials for
some great airfares !!!!
Holiday ideas... A great Christmas idea - a
Gift Certificate for diving !!!!
*Blue Bubble Blurb/Scuba Shack
Skinny
Well, this
year seems to have flown by. It is hard to believe that it is
the holiday season already. We all hope that you enjoyed your
Thanksgiving. Christmas is fast approaching.
The Mexican tradition for a celebration
is to begin the party/dinner at the moment the special day begins.
For Christmas, that would be Dec. 25 at 00:01 in the morning, or midnight
of Dec. 24th. So, if you are planning on being here, more
restaurants stop serving dinner on Dec. 24 at 8 or 9 PM, so that their
staff can finish work, get cleaned up, and be ready for their big dinner
that begins at midnight.
The Mexican tradition for a celebration
is to begin the party/dinner at the moment the special day begins.
For Christmas, that would be Dec. 25 at 00:01 in the morning, or midnight
of Dec. 24th. So, if you are planning on being here, more
restaurants stop serving dinner on Dec. 24 at 8 or 9 PM, so that their
staff can finish work, get cleaned up, and be ready for their big dinner
that begins at midnight. Now, on to the dive shop news -
1 - Abel,
as most of you know, moved to the southern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula,
to Majahual, just a bit north of Chetumal. This was just a couple of
months before Hurricane Dean went through and unleashed his wrath on that
town. Thankfully, Cozumel was spared. Unfortunately, Majahual
was not. We were quite concerned for Abel and his family, especially
since his daughter was only 6 months old. And of course, with no
electricity down there, news was slow to get out. But 2 days later,
we saw the front page of the newspaper here a picture of Catherine
and Luna, walking along what used to be the beach. At least from
that, we knew they were safe. They went to Canada
for a month to visit family, and are now back
in Majahual.
for a month to visit family, and are now back
in Majahual.2 - A very special thanks
needs to go out to a couple of really great friends who chose to stay in
Cozumel for the hurricane and help get our place all boarded up
! Kurt Anderson, Gregg and Beau, Pat and Mary Bray - there is
no way that we would have been able to do it without you - thanks so much
!
needs to go out to a couple of really great friends who chose to stay in
Cozumel for the hurricane and help get our place all boarded up
! Kurt Anderson, Gregg and Beau, Pat and Mary Bray - there is
no way that we would have been able to do it without you - thanks so much
! 3 - If you
were unable to make it down here this year, the dive shop is back across
the street ! And looking very good. Thanks to Gregg, we have a
really nice, new wooden counter top. The locker room is set, great
shower....... now, if we could just get the owner of this property to put
in a new pier, everything would be perfect !
4 -
Well, since the last update, there have been a couple of cat changes here
at the hotel. Unfortunately, both Hurricane and Patches are no
longer with us. Patches had a very bad accident and was unable to
recuperate. And Hurricane just disappeared one day ! But never
fear, there is 1 more cat here now - Latte. He is about 10 years old
and fixed already. So he belonged to someone before. But he
just started hanging around the hotel, and has now become a permanent
fixture. He is a pretty cream color and part Siamese - so very
crossed-eyed and VERY hard of seeing. When he arrived, he had a
bad infection in his teeth, and they all fell out. But he is A-OK
now ! And ready to be pet, just like Euro and Diamond
!
*Island Info - New and improved
downtown.
In August,
the city began a huge project of remodeling all of the sidewalks in the
side streets. And they are beautiful. Take a
look......
They have
redone all of the cement so that all of the walk ways are even now !
YEAH ! That means you can really look around and take in the scenery
when you walk without risking a fall in a crack ! They are
planting lots of palm trees and plants, putting up benches -
it is very beautiful. And, they are expanded one side of each of the
streets sidewalks so that it is easier to walk. This is the double
edged sword - by expanding the sidewalks, they have eliminated all
parking. This is for all of the side streets from the Post Office
(Calle 7 South ) to Cinco Soles (Calle 8 North), from the main waterfront
back to 10th Ave. After 7 PM, you can park on the main waterfront
and on 10th as well. So, with a lack of parking, there are lots and
lots of small parking areas opening up - at 75¢ (8 pesos) an hour, it is
well worth the few extra cents for nice parking !
Restaurants News -
The Wynston - This is the new Prima
groups restaurant that is located on the 7th floor of the El Cantil
Condos, right next door to the Cozumel Palace. The restaurant has
one of the best views on the island - it is gorgeous, especially at
sunset. Apparently, Albert is planning on closing Prima and I guess
moving it to where Wynston's is.... he says that the landlord is raising
the rent too much. It is certainly going to be sad if he does decide
to close Prima.
Lobsteria - has also closed - sad to
say. But, there new place right on the water is Margaritaville -
great margaritas..... and they have a nice swimming area with lots
of swimming toys - water volleyball, water trampoline, etc.
La Quinta -
great new restaurant opened by chef who's previous accomplishments
include Guido's. This restaurant is located on 5th Ave between
2 and 4. Or, between where the Sports Page was and Zermatt bakery
is. Kris, the owner and chef, has created a marvelous, in his own words, "Mexican Bistro". The food is
fantastic and the prices will not break the pocketbook. A definite
addition to the dining list !
Poinsettia's - did you
know........... Did you know that the Poinsettia - the Christmas flower - is actual a native to Mexico ? The first US ambassador to Mexico - Joel Poinsettia, brought this plant back to the US in 1828. And it was so well received, the English name was named after him. The flower part of the plant is actually not the red petals that we associate with this flower. It is the small, yellow cluster that is found in the center of the brightly colored leaves, which are often mistaken as the petals. Now, in northern countries, such as the US, Canada and Europe, you know the poinsettia as a potted plant. But it is really a sub-tropical shrub that can grow up to 10 feet high. And contrary to popular myth, the plant itself is NOT poisonous. The sap of the plant can cause an itchy rash on some people.
Mexicans have long
seen this plant as a symbol of the star of Bethlehem.
The legend of giving this plant as a Christmas gift began with a
young girl who had no gift to offer to the Christ child.
But knowing in her heart that it was the thought that counts, she decided
to pick some weeds on her way to church, to create a bouquet that she
would offer as her gift. When she arrived at church, the weeds
had transformed into beautiful red poinsettias. Thus creating the
gift of giving poinsettias plants at
Christmas.
* Open Water classes made
easy..........
Both PADI and SSI have introduced a new classroom format called
eLearning. Students signs up for a class on the PADI or SSI
websites. The student must preregister with the dive shop where they
will be completing the rest of the course. In this case, Scuba Shack
or Blue Bubble Divers can be listed. Then the student gets online
to complete all of their classroom, book work and exams. This
format allows the student more flexibility for reading the book and
completing the paperwork. Once done, the website registers the
student as completed and send the appropriate E-mail notifications
to both the student as well as the dive shop. Then, they only have
to come and complete the diving portion of the
class.
We have had a number of students complete this course
already. And everyone is happy with how this system works. So,
if you know of someone who is getting ready to take the class, have
them contact us for more information about eLearning !
* Travel
News...........
Traveling these past few months to Cozumel has been a bit
difficult. In September and October, most of the airlines
reduced their flights dramatically. Thank goodness that we are
back to normal now with flights coming in every day. Continental now
has 2 flights daily in from Houston, as well as the weekly flights from
Cleveland and Newark. And there are some great deals out there
!
MLT
Vacations has a great offer for people traveling from Denver ($129
USD RT) and from Dallas($99 USD RT). This is for travel from
Jan 6 through the end of Feb. So, if you have not booked yet, check
this out at -
* Dates
for Carnival
2008
The dates for Carnival have been officially rescheduled and announced by the Carnival Committee, and the main events are scheduled for January 23-30, 2008. The schedule of events includes the parades down Ave. Rafael Melgar, the oceanfront street. They begin at 6 PM each evening, and are scheduled for Sat. Jan. 26, Sun. Jan 27, Mon. Jan 28 and the final parade is Tues. Jan. 29.
2008The dates for Carnival have been officially rescheduled and announced by the Carnival Committee, and the main events are scheduled for January 23-30, 2008. The schedule of events includes the parades down Ave. Rafael Melgar, the oceanfront street. They begin at 6 PM each evening, and are scheduled for Sat. Jan. 26, Sun. Jan 27, Mon. Jan 28 and the final parade is Tues. Jan. 29.
*
Holiday
Ideas...........
Holiday
Ideas...........We have had a number of people
ask to make them Christmas gift certificates. Something that we had
never thought of before. But what a better way to show someone how
much they mean to you during this holiday season - a gift certificate for
diving and/or hotel ! Contact me and I am happy to send the luck
recipient a voucher for any of our dive services or hotel. And with
the new eLearning possibilities, you can really make someone's Christmas
special !
Thanks !
Hasta Luego,
Amigos!!!!
Robert and Roberta
and All of the
staff of Scuba Shack, Blue Bubble Divers and Dive
ECO-cozumel and
All of the staff
from the Village Tan Kah hotel !
================================================================================
CUBA
HACK (011-52-987) 872-4240
On the beach between Casa del Mar & Park Royal Hotels
ROBERTA'S
IVE
CO-COZUMEL (011-52-987)872-4187
IVE
CO-COZUMEL (011-52-987)872-4187
LUE
UBBLE
IVERS
(011-52-987) 872-1865 and 872-4526
ILLAGE
AN
AH (011-52-987) 872-6142
info@VillageTanKah.com
In the south hotel zone, directly across the street from Scuba Shack
In the south hotel zone, directly across the street from Scuba Shack
TECHNICAL
STUFF:
This
newsletter is produced by Roberta
Cwiertnia, sponsored by Blue Bubble
Divers, Roberta's Dive Eco-Cozumel, Scuba Shack &
Village Tan Kah. We welcome all
contributors, although we reserve the right to cut and
paste. To be removed from this
mailing list, simply reply to this an e-mail and
write "Remove From Mailing List" in
the body portion of
the E-mail. Thank you
!