August 2005 Issue 29

INTRODUCTION

It's five weeks since Hurricane Emily visited Akumal, and for the most part, everything is (almost) back to "normal", whatever "normal;" might be considered here in "Paradise."  Admittedly, there are some properties that still need repair, and there is still a lot of brush that needs to be collected and disposed of, but life does go on.

The Akumalian is one of those things that is almost back to normal.  This issue is a bit later than what has been the case, and it also tends to be somewhat shorter than "normal."  Some of the pieces that have become "regular" are not here, or they are shortened.  Then again, it is the slow month of August, and there is not that much happening right now.
 

CONSEJO DE DESARROLLO DE AKUMAL A.C.

            The last General Meeting was rescheduled from Friday, August 5 to Monday, August 8, and it apparently was well attended, as more than 20 owners and new members attended.  One of the highlights was the announcement that Gonzalo Arcila is the new President of the Akumal Council.

            Because of the timing of the General Meeting (three weeks after Hurricane Emily) most of the agenda was filled with discussions of the aftermath and clean-up.  The Minutes of the August 8^th General Meeting were distributed within the Executive Committee on August 10^th (good, fast work Sergio), and these were then subsequently distributed to the different Akumal Bays.  If you have not received your copy yet, please contact your representative on the Akumal Council.

            And once again, if you are in arrears on your Pledge, please bring it up-to-date, and if you are not a member of the Akumal Council, please consider becoming a member ASAP.

Check out the Akumal Council's web site at www.arkumalcouncil.com for the 2004 Annual Report, and the 2005 Business Plan.  And be advised that the next General Meeting is scheduled for Friday, September 30, at 11:00 AM at Lol-Ha.  If you are in town, you really should make an effort to attend.
 

HOUSE INSURANCE

            House Insurance and deductibles have been a favorite conversation for most of the past five weeks for a lot of people, and here is an interesting piece of related news.  Most of us are insured with ING through Luis Lobo, and our policy came up for renewal four weeks after Hurricane Emily.  Lo and behold, surprise of surprises, our premium is 13.16 percent lower than last year's, but it is still 16.59 percent higher than 2003.  A decrease is a decrease.
 

RIO LAGARTOS

By Karen Kantor

 In late spring, my husband, Larry, and I were spending two weeks in Akumal and wanted to travel for a couple days on an adventure.  Leaving on Sunday about 11:30am, we arrived at Casa Cenote in Tankah for Gary's Texas BBQ (not quite an adventure), and we proceeded onto Valladolid for the afternoon and evening with reservations at the lovely hotel on the park.  The restaurant in the center of the hotel is a cooling oasis from the hot, dusty city. 

Over the last 25 years we have passed through the city, but never actually stayed.  On Sunday evening local music is played in the park and couples dance in beautifully embroidered native dress.  Our main purpose in staying in Valladolid was to be able to wake early and shorten our trip to Rio Lagartos to see the flamingoes. 

The planning worked well.  We enjoyed an early breakfast and drove to the river in 90 minutes.  Along the way we passed through rolling fields and many Mexican towns.  When we arrived at the river, we found the guides to be very organized, and the cost is about $50.00USD for several hours.  To be sure, we needed sunscreen, lots of water, and a snack or two is great.  Binoculars and cameras are an absolute necessity. 

As we motored across the river, we began to see various wildlife species.  When the motor was turned off we loved the quiet of the river.  While there were not thousands of flamingoes, there were hundreds in a variety of colors depending on age.  Crocodiles, ospreys and other wildlife were pointed out to us by our guide.  At the end of our trip, the guide took us to the salt flats which were fascinating.  Climbing out of the boat into ankle deep mud - THRILLING....NOT - but it was worthwhile to see the salt flats.  Also, this mud is supposedly used for very expensive facials in Cancun.  Yes, bring along a plastic container that you can seal, and then you can go home and bask in the salt mud of Rio Lagartos.  It was an easy trip and getting up close and personal to the crocs and flamingoes was enough of an adventure for us.
 

COMINGS AND GOINGS

Due to Hurricane Emily and the related aftermath of problems, there has not been any recording of who was coming and who was going, other than Emily herself.
 

CLOSING EMILY REPORT BY STEVE & INGRID

            On Wednesday, August 3, the electricity was restored to the last six houses in Akumal Sur (18 days with NO electricity at all), and on Saturday, August 6, the telephone service was restored.  During the weeks of August 7 and 14, the electric company was repairing the infrastructure and turned the power to Akumal off almost every day for between 3 and 12 hours.  As of August 21, we have gone three days with no electricity outages., and there have been some severe storms with slashing wind and rain.
 

AKUMAL TELEPHONE BOOK

This story is being reprinted from last month's issue of The Akumalian, where it went mostly un-noticed due to the aftermath of Hurricane Emily.  The acknowledgement of this effort was less than 0.008 percent, so The Akumalian is wondering if the effort involved with this project is worthwhile.  Some specific questions:

1.      Is this something that you think is worthwhile and beneficial?

2.      Is this something you would take the time to validate/confirm entries related to you?

3.      Would you want to be represented in this Akumal Telephone Book?

4.      Do you have any other entries (people, business, service, etc.) to be included?

5.      What are your thoughts on a hard copy?

 The Akumalian is slowly "working on" The Akumal Telephone Book, and it is in its very early stages of data gathering and entering into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.  Data is coming from personal information and other people’s lists, and other lists are always welcome.  The current entries are primarily in Akumal, but there obviously are entries from Tulum, Tankah, Puerto Aventuras, Playa del Carmen, Playacar, Puerto Morales,  and a few from Cancun.  There might be one or two from Puerto Morales.

The data being captured includes first & last names, house name, location, telephone number, cell telephone number, business name, and e-mail address.  Both spouses/companions will have individual entries.

The thinking is that the information can be sorted and organized by each of those characteristics, so more than likely The Akumal Telephone Book will have every entry in each and every section, except the business name section.  So, the section organization might look something like these sorts:

Last Name

 Location

House Name

 Business Name

 If you do not want to be included in The Akumal Telephone Book you need to notify The Akumalian.  Same is true if you have some others who might want to be included.  This is growing and now includes lots of people who own property in Akumal, or regularly visit Akumal, but they do not have telephones in Akumal; may include telephone number outside of Mexico; i.e. U.S.

The distribution methodology is still To Be Determined.  It would be nice to have a paperback edition, but that would be too expensive without funding, so initially, it might just be an electronic Microsoft Word document.

      Speaking of telephones, Telmex issued $140.67 peso BONIFICACION (a credit) POR INTERRUPCION DEL EL SERVICIO on each phone line in this month’s bills.!!!!!!
 

RUMORS

LAST MONTH’S RUMOR

While they were in Akumal, Ron and Shari Stern made an offer to Bob Knill on his ½ share of the first floor of Casa Zama – Leroy & Margaret have the other half – and Bob has accepted.  The sale is scheduled to be settled by the end of July. 

THIS MONTH’S RUMOR

This sale has fallen through!!!!!
 

ELIMINATING SCALE IN YOUR WATER

Approximately 85 percent of Akumal and the United States experiences hard water.  Water hardness is a common quality of water which contains dissolved compounds of calcium and magnesium and, sometimes, other divalent and trivalent metallic elements.  Hardness prevents soap from lathering by causing the development of an insoluble curdy precipitate in the water.  Another problem associated with hard water is scale.

What is Scale?
Scale is a coating or precipitate deposited on surfaces that are in contact with hard water.  Water that contains carbonates of bicarbonates of calcium or magnesium are especially likely to cause scale.  When water is heated or evaporation takes place, scale minerals precipitate layers of rocklike deposits inside pipes, water heaters, equipment, and on fixtures and glassware.  While most common scale is a result of calcium carbonate, other combinations of ions commonly found in water offer a variety of scale.

Common Evidence of Scale
Scale is most visually evident as hard white to off white deposits which build-up in faucets, shower heads and drains.  Scale leaves deposits on dishes, glassware, sinks, countertops and on vehicles that were just washed.  Most scale formations are hard and very difficult to clean.  Visual references also include fixtures such as toilets, bath tubs, showers and appliances like coffee and ice makers.  Swimming pools and spas can experience scale build up on tile and pump equipment.  Cooling towers have tremendous scale problems that cause that industry alone a billion dollars a year to remove.  Unfortunately, because scale forms a "coating" it can significantly effect thermo-transfer and reduce the flow of fluids. 

There are four basic technologies available to control the effects of hard water, and one is Electronic Conditioning.  Electronic water conditioning is a relatively new technology which evolved from the use of magnetic fields in water improvement.  The advent of these systems introduced both variable energy and frequency changes.  Electronic treatment is based on the principal of creating an oscillating field of energy with the use of low frequency radio or square waves.  This action stops any further build-up of scale and because the solubility of the water is increased, existing scale is taken back into the water and gradually removed. 

ScaleBlaster's signal cable produces an oscillating electric field using a unique and complex modulating frequency wave form that produces an inaudible sonic impulse that changes the electrical and physical properties of the scale-forming calcium molecules.  This causes the adhesive properties of the calcium carbonate crystals and other minerals to repel rather than adhere to pipes, fixtures and remain suspended in the water.  This action stops any further build-up of scale and because the solubility of the water is increased, existing scale is taken back into the water and gradually removed.

Check ScaleBlaster out at http://www.solarstop.net/ionizers/scaleblaster.htm and/or http://www.scaleblaster.com/   These also can be purchased at the DesJoyaux pool store in Cancun.

 Return to Top