September 2003 Issue 10

Q ROO SPELEOLOGICAL SURVEY CONVENTION 2003

            The second annual QRSS Convention 2003, is to be held in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo Mexico on the evenings of September 5-6, 2003.  The venue is the OLD Movie Theatre on Avenida 20 between Avenida Juarez and Calle 2 Norte. 

Presentations will begin on Friday at 5:30 in the afternoon.  A convention program will be available at the main entrance of the convention center.  Each presentation is limited to 30 minutes; and the speaker may or may not elect to reserve a brief period for questions during their address.  Lectures will be delivered in the language indicated by the subject title in the printed program available at the door.  There will be a 30 minute break after the third speaker.  The presentations will resume at 7:30 pm with another round of three speakers, to draw to a close at 9:00 pm.  The conference will resume at 5:30 Saturday afternoon and repeat the general timetable of the prior evening.

The event is free to the public to underline the commitment to education and constructive dialogue, while providing an enjoyable and a cordial atmosphere for all the attendees and speakers.  Nearly 300 people attended last years' convention.

The Quintana Roo Speleological Survey (QRSS) supports the safe exploration, survey and cartography of the underwater caves and cenotes of Quintana Roo.  Created in 1990, the QRSS maintains an extensive archive of cave survey data for over 93 underwater caves and cave systems.  The survey database includes data and reports on 435.9 kilometers (270.8 miles) of underwater cave passage.  Many reports include water chemistry, biological, archaeological, and environmental observations.  The QRSS information is a current summary of painstaking research by numerous explorers, cartographers and scientists who are concerned with the conservation and scientific documentation of this region's anchialine caves and cenotes.  This effort may be considered to be one on the largest archives of underwater cave survey data in the world.

The QRSS companion pursuit is to encourage cartographic representations of these caves.  Only 11 complete underwater caves or cave systems in Quintana Roo are illustrated through various types of cartographic media.  Of these cave maps, most are outdated in view of recent explorations!  QRSS hopes to stimulate cartographic endeavors to further an understanding and appreciation of all the underwater caves of Quintana Roo.  QRSS welcomes all individuals who are interested in participating in QRSS mapping and science projects.  See http://www.caves.org/project/qrss/qrss.htm
 

CLAUDIA MUNOZ BONO GOING TO MAURITIUS

             Claudia Munoz Bono, as Vice President of Asociacion Mexican de Mujeres de Empresarias (AMMJE) -- MEXICAN ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN INDUSTRALISTS A.C. -- Riviera Maya, A.C., has been selected to represent Q. Roo and Mexico at the 51^st FCEM World Conference on October 1 - 4 at Port Louis, Mauritius Island.  Claudia, only one of five women representing Mexico, leaves on September 27^th for Mexico City, where she will receive some prerequisite immunization shots before continuing on to Port Louis, via New York and Johannesburg.

            AMMJE, founded in France in 1945 as Les femmes Chefs D'Enterprises Mondiales (FCEM) is a leading business networking association for women all over the world.  There are three chapters in Q. Roo, specifically in Chetumal, Cancun, and the Riviera Maya.  Business women wishing to become involved with the Riviera Maya chapter can contact Claudia Munoz Bono at akumalsur@msn.com or go directly to the AMMJE web site at http://www.ammje.com/

Mauritius, where Claudia is going, is right about here.

DID YOU KNOW?

            Mauritius, a 65 km long and 48 km wide island in the Indian Ocean, 800 km east of Madagascar and 1,800 km away from Africa, with geographic coordinates of 20 17 S, 57 33 E, gained its independence on 12 March 1968 from UK.

There are two Internet Service Providers and 158,000 Internet users on Mauritius.

DID YOU KNOW?

            Mauritius, a 65 km long and 48 km wide island in the Indian Ocean, 800 km east of Madagascar and 1,800 km away from Africa, with geographic coordinates of 20 17 S, 57 33 E, gained its independence on 12 March 1968 from UK.

There are two Internet Service Providers and 158,000 Internet users on Mauritius.
  

AKUMAL STAR SEARCHERS & EYEBALLERS SOCIETY

            At 5:30AM, on the morning of August 27, 2003, the Akumal Star Searchers & Eye-ballers Society (ASSES) had their first meeting of 2003 outside Robin Goble's house to view Mars as it reached its closest point to Akumal in the last 60,000 years.  Unfortunately, the ASSES were unable to use the telescope to view the red planet, which was 34,647,420.5 miles (55,757,930 km) +/- 60 feet from Earth, depending if you were at sea-level or on the 2^nd or 3^rd floor roof, due to equipment malfunction.  Mars will not be this close again until 2287, the date of the next ASSES meeting.

This sharp, natural-color view of Mars reveals several prominent Martian features, including the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons; a system of canyons called Valles Marineris; an immense dark marking called Solis Lacus; and the southern polar ice cap.

Olympus Mons (the oval-shaped feature just above center) is the size of Arizona and three times higher than Mount Everest.  The dormant volcano resides in a region called the Tharsis Bulge, which is about the size of the U.S. and home to several extinct volcanoes.  The three Tharsis Montes volcanoes are lined up just below Olympus Mons.  Faint clouds are hovering over Arsia Mons, the southernmost of these volcanoes.

The long, dark scar, below and to the right of the Tharsis Bulge, is Valles Marineris, a 2,480-mile (4,000-km) system of canyons.  Just below Valles Marineris is Solis Lacus, also known as the "Eye of Mars."  The dark features to the left of Solis Lacus are the southern highlands, called Terra Sirenum, a region riddled with impact craters.  The diameters of these craters range from 31 to 124 miles (50 to 200 km).
 

DID YOU KNOW?

"All the planets in the solar system rotate anticlockwise, except Venus." 

Remember that sentence from the August issue?  The term "anticlockwise" caught the eyes of numerous readers who were unfamiliar with the term.  A Google web search on "anticlockwise" results in more than 33,000 entries, and one dictionary provides the following:

anticlockwise (adjective) =

1. in the direction opposite to the rotation of the hands of a clock Synonyms: counterclockwise, contraclockwise

 anticlockwise (adverb) -

1. in a direction opposite to the direction in which the hands of a clock move

"please move counterclockwise in a circle!"

Synonyms: counterclockwise
 

INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION

            The construction of the infrastructure has started on the development between South Akumal and Hotel OASIS Akumal.  The initial activity is the bulldozing of the jungle and mangroves to layout the road system, which seems to be quite extensive.  During the day, the noise from these machines can be heard in South Akumal and along the rocks that front the development.  It seems as if one of the roads there comes right up and abuts the South Akumal property.
 

COMINGS AND GOINGS

        This remains a risky column, because with all the comings and goings, as well as the timing of the publication, you know somebody is going to be missed.  Hey, everybody going is missed, and we even miss some of those who come.

 In no particular order or sequence:

THE ABC SUMMER LEAGUE

The Akumal Bowling Consortium (ABC) summer league continues to score high marks at the Kuklucan lanes, and Steve & Ingrid Clouther, continue their leadership position with high single, series, and average in their respective divisions, even though their handicaps have been increasing in recent weeks. 

Denny Mahan still leads all bowlers in all divisions with the most strikes in a row.  In a recent match, Denny threw a 5-bagger across the 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th frames of the third game to beat SteveC by one pin.

The following week Ingrid Clouther amazed the crowd as she converted the very difficult 6-7-10 split into a spare.  Fantastic shot!!!

On August 21^st, during the banquet for the 2002-2003 season, Steve Clouther was presented with the Bowler of the Year trophy.  SteveC commented, "It is a great honor to win this award in this very competitive league.  It is only unfortunate that we do not have a fireplace mantel at Casa Colibri on which to display this exquisite trophy."
 

DID YOU KNOW?

            Is bowling an Olympic event?  The Summer Olympics 2004, to be held in Athens, Greece, are less than a year away.

In the ancient Olympics, athletes competed in the nude.  The word "gymnasium" comes from the Greek word gymnos, which means naked.  In ancient times athletes practiced in the nude to the accompaniment of music.  They also performed naked at the Olympic Games.  Women were not allowed to participate or even to attend as spectators.

            Today's Olympic gold medals actually are sterling silver covered with a thin coat of gold.

            A badminton shuttle travels easily up to 180 km/h (112 mph).  It is one of the fastest objects in sports.  Can you guess what piece of sports equipment that led to????
 

WHAT HAPPENED TO LOW SEASON?

            It's here now, but The hotel occupancy rate in Cancun was near the 100 percent mark up to mid-August, and it was running in the high 80s to low 90s all along the Riviera Maya.  Unfortunately for the Cancun hotels and the numerous all-inclusive resorts along the coast, they were on the verge of losing money.  In an effort o compensate for the scare they received last season after 9-11, the all-inclusive hotels lowered their room offerings to $45US per night, and that includes food and beverages.  This is $22US less than the average rate in effect last summer.  In some instances the rates were as low as $38US!!!

            At those rates the hotels are barely meeting their costs, and the high occupancy rate has forced them to either keep their full complement of employees - when they were laying off last summer - or even hire more personnel to meet the basic needs of their guests.

            This, coupled with the influx of Mexican Nationals flocking to the Riviera Maya, created a very busy time, even in Akumal.  On Sunday, August 10^th, there had to have been more than 30 (thirty) buses in the Akumal parking lot.  This was the last big weekend prior to the Back to School exodus.

            But, now in September, the 'normal' low-season seems to have returned, so if you are not here, join the Comings portion of "Comings and Goings."
 

LOL-HA CLOSING.

            Laura says, "I am closing the Lol-Ha restaurant for September, and part of October, most likely, but the pizzeria will remain open.  I shall be announcing a few things that will be going on at the snack bar as I organize them.  I may do a dessert bar once in awhile and stuff like that."
 

DID YOU KNOW?

Since TSA (Transportation Security Agency) took over aviation security in February 2002, workers have seized more than 7.5 million illegal or banned items that passengers tried to carry aboard flights in checked bags.  Among them: 1,437 guns, 2.3 million knives and 50,000 box cutters.
 

NO HURRICANES IN THE CARIBBEAN

As of August 13^th, all was relatively quiet in the Caribbean, with no hurricanes or tropical storms in sight.  But, this is still early/mid August.

Return to Top