MARS IS CLOSER THAN EVER IN HISTORY

     Turn off the television, step outside and look eastward:  Mars is back, and it's better -- and closer -- than ever.  Closer, in fact, than at any time in recorded Akumal history.

            Officially, the red planet's closest approach -- about 34.6 million miles from Earth -- will take place Aug. 27 between 5:53 a.m.

 and 5:54 a.m. EDT, when the planet will be low on the southwestern horizon, just before sunrise.  Then our neighboring planet reaches opposition on Aug. 28, which means that Earth will be exactly between Mars and the sun.  Mars reaches perihelion, or its closest approach to the sun, on Aug. 30.  Astronomers call this event a perihelic opposition. 

 Visible in the center of this picture is the largest known chasm in the solar system, Valles Marineris.

            This is Mars as seen with the naked eye from Akumal, or is it by an eye of a naked Akumalian???

 Add all of this up, and sky gazers get an up-close, full-face planetary view.  Mars is going to be spectacularly bright -- the brightest Mars you and any of your ancestors have ever seen -- at negative 2.9 magnitude, making it easy to see even from light-polluted urban areas.  In the constellation Aquarius, Mars can be found in the east-southeastern sky.  It now rises at about 10:15 p.m., and it will cross the meridian, about 38 degrees above the southern horizon, at about 3:20 a.m.  By mid-August, Mars will begin rising an hour earlier.  At the end of the month, this fabulously bright planetary neighbor rises in the east-southeast at around 8 p.m.

 Mars now has the sky all to itself until Saturn rises at about 3:30 a.m. You can find the ringed planet in the constellation Gemini, high in the eastern sky before sunrise.  Venus and Jupiter are hanging out with the sun, making them difficult to spot.
 

DID YOU KNOW?

        All the planets in the solar system rotate anticlockwise, except Venus.  It is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

 Earth is the densest planet in the solar system and the only one not named after a god.
 

COMINGS AND GOINGS

        This is a risky second time 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:

*  Mary Henderson has departed, but Robin is back.

*  Neil and Paula Humphreys returned for vacation from Qtar, but have since departed.

*   Hugh has been here too, but leaves on Friday.

*  Robert Dorner's friend, Vania, from New York is visiting also.

*  Lisa Combs (Tankah) was back with her friend Chris.

*  El Moreland came back to talk with architects about building on his lot.

*  Steve Guynes was here for a short visit with his girls, Kelly and Courtney.

*  Roger and Denise Burton also visited for a short time with son and grand daughter.

*  Gayle and Pauli Rathsmussen are back for another short visit.

*  Isabel returned from her vacation in Vail on August 13.

*  Richard and Arlene Pargot return for a short visit on September 5^th.

*  Myrna and Jason are back after their vacation in London and Amsterdam.

*  Steve & Emma Alsford were back to visit Aventuras Akumal.

*  Cliff and Susie Hall have been back in Aventuras Akumal for an extended stay.
 

CEA TURTLE UPDATE

        As of August 5, 2003 there are 49 Loggerhead nests and 15 Green Turtle nests on Turtle (Jade) Beach; 3 nests in South Akumal; 6 nests in Akumal Bay; and 47 Loggerhead and 2 Green Turtle nests in Half Moon Bay.  The volunteers reported seeing the first Green Turtle Hatchlings.

        Check out http://www.ceakumal.org and get on the distribution list for the CEA Monthly Electronic Newsletter.
 

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.

WATER SPOUTS VISIT AKUMAL

       June and July were somewhat exciting months for two interesting events.  One was the Saturday evening a storm passed through the area with clouds full of water spouts.  Numerous ones actually came down to the water in Akumal Bay, just outside the Lol-Ha Beach bar, where one came ashore - probably looking for a Cuba Libre.

 Another was reported to have "visited the Blanchard's house,” where it blew furniture around and blew out a window/door.  No injuries were reported in any of these incidents.

SKELETON UNEARTHED ON AKUMAL BEACH

 The other "event" happened in late June.  A skull was uncovered by heavy rain on the beach just in front of the Akumal Dive Shop and CEA.  The police and INAH, the Mexican antiquities department, were notified, and the skeleton was excavated.  The initial excavation went quite slowly, and it was reported that the arms were folded across the chest, like might be found in a burial site, but nothing has been confirmed.  As it turned out, the excavation then proceeded, and the photo shows the results
 

DID YOU KNOW?

A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle - a group of geese in the air is a skein.
 

THE FERRY SERVICE IS POSTPONED TO 2004

The seasonal ferry between Tampa and Mexico has been postponed until one of two ports (Puerto Morelos) on the Yucatan Peninsula is made safer for navigation, officials said.  The Yucatan Express, operated by Scotia Prince Cruises, was set to run twice-weekly cruises from Tampa to Mexico (Puerto Morelos and Progresso) in November, but company officials are holding off until the shipping channel at Port Morelos, just south of Cancun, is dredged.  Scotia Prince expects to resume the voyages in November 2004.

"We didn't have a choice but to stop sailing at Puerto Morelos," spokesman Mark Hudson said.  "It's not as deep as we were led to believe.  We did not want to endanger the passengers."

 Hudson continued, "It is clear that the route cannot work with just one port.  We did have great loads through the end of last season, but it is just not cost effective to have our ship sitting idle half the week.  The GOOD NEWS is that we do believe in the Florida-Mexico market and will continue working hard to resolve the issues which have necessitated this interim delay in service.  We continue to work on channel dredging for Morelos and hope to begin accepting vacation reservations early next year for recommencement of Yucatan Express service in November 2004."

No tickets for the 2003 season were sold.  The decision to pull the schedule came three months after the Nova Scotia-based company announced it would resume the 36-hour voyages in November. 

The operator, Scotia Prince Cruises still have their Web-site at www.yucatanexpress.com.

            The Maya Lines, or Ro Ro Maya Express, seems to now be only focusing on Roll-On/Off Cargo, and their Web-site is http://www.mayalines.com/ .
           

CAPA IS BRINGING WATER TO AKUMAL

            CAPA (Comision de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado) is in the process of running a new water line from Chemuyil (reportedly) to Puerto Aventuras along the east side of Highway 307 to provide water to North Akumal, the Akumal Pueblo, and Puerto Aventuras on both sides of the highway.  They'll also be working on drainage for the Akumal Pueblo in this part of their project, with, apparently, a treatment plant.  This is the first phase of a long term project for water and drainage between Tulum and Puerto Aventuras.  As of right now, no pipe is being put down south of Akumal, in the direction of Chemuyil, that the author is aware of.

      The pipes are reportedly asbestos, but there is no evidence linking asbestos water pipes to any type of cancer.  The main concern with asbestos is in inhaling it, not ingesting it, and since it doesn't dissolve in water, there is no way for it to get into the water.  The only real danger is for the guys laying the pipe, and only then if they need to cut it.

            CAPA is also in the process of clearing a large tract of land on the right side (as you enter Akumal) of the Akumal entrance road for a 1,500 cubic meter reservoir and re-pumping station.  There have also been reports that the water will be treated at this reservoir.

            While the actual delivery of water to North Akumal seems like a long way off, it is reported that the owners had another meeting Wednesday, August 13th at CEA at 3:00, at which time they were able to make and pay for their contracts – this is only as a convenience, and it can be done later at the CAPA offices in Playa del Carmen.  It costs $1,416 pesos for a domestic contract and $2,340 for a commercial contract.

            At this point in time it seems to be very unclear if CAPA plans on using this new 14-inch pipe along the highway as a feed into Jade Bay, South Akumal, or Aventuras Akumal.
 

DID YOU KNOW?

Evidence of the first bowling game was found in an Egyptian tomb.  Apparently the Pharaohs liked to bowl.

 It is well known that Martin Luther translated the bible to German.  What is less well known is that he wrote a book of rules for 9 Pin bowling.

 Bowling was known as "Kegling" and was a highly popular pastime with the nobility.  Henry the 8th of England bowled when he wasn't busy executing wives.  Sir Francis Drake bowled while waiting for the Spanish Armada.

 The game of 9 Pins was introduced to North America by the Dutch.  The story of Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving is one of the first literary references to the game.

 In the American colonies 9 pin bowling became the sport of the common man, mainly because they liked to gamble on the outcome of matches.  A ban of 9 Pin bowling was attempted in order stop the gambling. 

 The enterprising Americans just added a 10th pin and changed the pin set up from a diamond to a triangle.  American 10 pin bowling was born.

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