Que Paso? June 8 2008

Call me sentimental but it feels like things are changing here. It is one of those Puerto Morelos days when you remember why you love living here. Blue skies, gentle breeze, water calm, families laughing and playing, baseball match on the field, taco stalls on the highway doing brisk business, friends waving at you in the street and a neighbour offering help if you ever need assistance. This morning, a Sunday, I went to the Police Station to deliver photos and number plates of a couple of suspicious cars some of the neighbours had seen and I went into the Transito office and the woman made a real effort and the detective actually came out of the other office to talk with me on a Sunday morning! He was interested and helpful and thanked us for being so observant and said they are open all the time for us. Anyone baking extra cookies? This week also saw a very important neighbourhood meeting about security in Puerto Morelos, our guests included the US Consul from Merida, Karen Martin, and the Chief of Police from Cancun, Francisco Valasco. The minutes of this meeting make VERY good reading and they are important for all residents of PM. So please click HERE to read the minutes and be informed about what is going on and then just hit your back button to get back to the newsletter. Great news also is that Puerto Morelos now has its own ambulance. Leon's friend who owns '911', a company in Cancun, donated the ambulance for the Mother's Day celebrations on 10 May and then said well why not let it stay in Puerto. June 8th saw the signing of a one year lease for our ambulance - 911 is not charging for this service. For people who are going to the public free hospitals and clinics it is free and for people going to private hospitals there is a charge, from 2500 pesos up depending on insurance and level of injury. BUT there is no-one paying for the paramedic, doctor, drivers, fuel, maintenance. We need to put our thinking caps on. Leon is contacting the hotels and asking them to each sponsor a paramedic. He is contacting Marina El Cid tomorrow to see if they will donate diesel. There are 9 people now volunteering for the ambulance so it can only operate 8 hours a day. Amancia has donated the monthly cost of a Nextel phone (400p) and he needs 8 more. He also needs 4 x VHF units so that they can be in contact with Police, Firemen etc he also needs the supplies for the ambulance - bandages, oxygen, gauze, solutions (I will have a full list) . This is a great step forward for PM and we should all do what we can to help. Can YOU help? Do you know someone who can? Let 's work together to keep it going. You can specify donations to the charity specifically for this if you want. This ambulance is a great benefit to the poorer community here and a must for the locals and tourists alike. If you need an Ambulance call Leon 998 115 6749 or the 911 company in Cancun 01800 640033/998 8872371/998 8793155. Kathleen from Mission of Love has located a fire truck for us and we are working on getting that here, more on this later. Photo here taken on a rainy day with Police, Civil Protection and the Ambulance arriving to remove a trouble maker in front of Amancia's! Beach Bar Ixchel doing well with the volleyball being a great
attraction on the weekends for locals and visitors. There was also a party there last weekend to celebrate the wedding of the son of the people who work at Tom's, Enuncio and Jolande. The recent visits of the girls from Austin (thanks to the cheap fares from Viva Aerobus) saw fun on the beach too and Cindy and Abbe singing at Cactuz. Cactuz had a live band also last Saturday who played reggae, rock n roll and ballads with the lead singer changing wigs accordingly - great fun. Blue Marlin closed recently and the feisty Doña Triny has opened her new restaurant there. Seen here Doña Triny elated and the priest blessing the restaurant and guests, trademark artwork on the walls and the view from the street. Laura was excited at her birthday party on Saturday at Caribbean Reef villas fun for children of all ages in a great location.


El Rey Polo Club has just received 9 new horses and one of them is mine! Meet Popeye currently in training (and so is his rider), we are getting along famously and of course just what I needed - another challenge. Talking of which I poured the floor for my second story on the new houses last week, that machinery just gets me all worked up! The new houses are going to have a great view of the mangalar and the sunsets. Cindy's daughter from Texas seen here with our mobile pastry van, one of the other delicious treats in PM. Have you ever been to Aktun Chen? The horses were from there so I got to go recently and although dry caves are not my favourite these were very interesting, the caves are extensive and the guide informative. Kids also loved the small zoo they have on site too. Our wonderful cactus next to the Police station bloomed again recently, it is an extraordinary survivor. And can any one tell me what is this new road block, seen Sunday on the road to El Cid??Mmm? Now go back and read the minutes of the meeting!