Time Change for Quintana Roo

The times are changing, here in Cozumel.  Literally.

 

Cozumel is in the state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and the Mayan Riviera. Tonight, Quintana Roo will officially change it's time zone from the Central Standard Time (CST) to Eastern Standard Time (EST). This means that the sun will rise 1 hour rise later (at about 7:30 am instead of 6:30 am), and set later (at about 6:30 pm instead of 5:30 pm). 

 

Why are they doing this?  It's generally agreed that tourists don't get up early.  So, mostly, this change gives tourists more daylight to drink on the beach and buy stuff in the stores.

 

What does this mean for me?  Not much.  Except. My (volunteer) English classes are at 7 pm.  So I usually leave the beach at about 5, when the sun is setting, to come home, wash, eat dinner, and get ready for class.  I like this routine.  Now, I'll have to either rush to get ready for class, or leave the beach when the sun is still about one hour from setting.  Which will feel like I'm "missing out".  Hmmmm.....what to do about that ???

Photos
1 - In the distance, one of the 20-30 cruise ships that come to Cozumel each week in the high season.  This means up to 80,000 visitors!
2 -5 some of the stuff people buy in Cozumel.
Mexican style Christmas ornaments, I think these are dried and spiced grasshoppers!  Fancy leather boots.  And beer with fun labels!

The Spanish English Academy (SEA)

It's amazing, how quickly the time is going! One of the things that's keeping me busy is volunteering at the Spanish English Academy (SEA).

Barbara is the owner of SEA. She's a really nice American. My cousin Linda, who's retired, started volunteering at SEA in November.  Since then, Linda has been taking her "Teach English as a Second Language" (TESL) certification online, and is now teaching for pay.

I completed my TESL certification a few years ago. So when Linda told me about SEA, I was in!  As a volunteer. Monday to Thursday, from 7-8 pm, I help with a beginner class.  On Friday from 8 to about 9:30pm, I teach French.

Most of the students work really hard. A few of the teenagers, who's parents likely sent them to the classes, don't seem to fully appreciate the importance of learning English.  But here in Cozumel, it can likely make the difference between a good job and a less good job.  I like to think I'm helping them understand that.  And inspiring them with my "in progress" Spanish. :)

It's been a really nice way to give back to the community and meet new people.

Pictures
1-SEA from the outside at night.  It's a really cute airy little building.
2 - the reception desk. with the resident black cat.
3- the nutritional value of cacao, before you add all the sugar...
4- the vessel with the "cut-away" is for making hot chocolate. it's like a butter churn. the stick in it, and the ones below are to beat the mixture.  there are doodads on the sticks to make froth.  very clever!!

Chocolate y un canasta!

Today might have been my favourite day here in Cozumel, this year so far. I went to a (very small) chocolate factory,  and finally got a basket for my bicycle!!

At the chocolate factory, our tour guide was Ruby.  She started by telling us the history of chocolate, while in the small museum.  Of course, chocolate was discovered by accident.  The Maya or Aztecs ate the fruit around the beans, but not the cocoa beans because they tasted bad.  When raw. They disposed of the beans in a "garbage" fire. When they smelled the burning/roasting beans, they hauled them outta there!  They soon learned how to roast, crush, and mix the beans with spices and water for beverages. Eventually the Spaniards mixed them with sugar and milk to make the chocolate we love.

Turns out, white chocolate is made with cocoa butter.  So it is actually a cocoa product! And cocoa powder has no fat because it's the stuff that's left after you press out the cocoa butter.

Then, in a kitchen / lab space, Ruby showed us how to grind roasted beans and add sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla to make a paste we could eat there or bring home to make hot chocolate.  Yum! and Fun!  Then we got to taste all the different types of chocolate they make.  More Yum!

On my way home, I saw another bicycle shop.  I asked the nice repairman if he could install a basket (canasta in Spanish) on my bike.  Unlike all the others, he said yes!  My bike is an old Czechoslovakian bike, standard parts don't seem to fit.  He worked pretty hard to install the basket, but he did it, and I love it! And he fixed my breaks.  A good thing too.

Pictures
1-roasted and partially crushed cocoa beans
2 -the grinder we used and the paste we made.
3 - the man who wraps all the chocolates by hand!!
4- my wonderful bike shop and guy.  yes, is a little rudimentary and chaotic.  but he seemed very competent and got the job done!

Bicycling around town

It was kinda chilly today.  So it was a good day to get a few things done and explore town a little.

Allow me to define chilly: the need for a long sleeve t-shirt with my sandals and shorts.  Too cool to sit almost naked and wet on the beach.  Boohoo, I know, I know.....

So I started by painting.  I'm working on some alpacas for alpaca farmers who were at the farm Christmas craft sale with alpaca wool products.  They liked my cows, and goats, and sheep.  And said they'd buy an alpaca painting if I made one.

Then breakfast at Sylvia's.  I was the only client at the time, so I got my favourite table, and got to spread out to study my Spanish.  I like doing that there because Sylvia helps me with words and grammar sometimes.  And I've been teaching the staff, Samantha and Guadaloupe, some useful English words.  Samantha is very enthusiastic about it.  That makes me feel good.

Then I cycled around town for a while, and poked around in some stores. I couldn't help myself!  There are so many beautiful and fun coloured things!  I bought a scarf (yes, like a winter one), a cup, a toothbrush, a dishcloth, and some reusable grocery bags!

Pictures
1 - My colourful purchases
2- Someone has a sense of humour.  Look at the restaurant name.
3 and 4.  These are houses right beside each other. The contrasts between rich and poor here is pretty big sometimes.

Laundry adventures

Visitors in Cozumel can do their laundry in several ways. My way usually works well, but can be an adventure.

You can stand in the shower with your clothes on, bring your clothes to a laundromat and watch them swoosh and spin around for an hour or two, or you can bring a bag of your dirty clothes to the neighbour to wash.  The latter (neighbour) is the way the guests at my villa do their laundry.  There's an arrangement with him.  Knock on the yellow door, say hi to the dog, give the man your dirty stuff, get it back all clean, dry, and neatly folded a few hours later.  For about $4.50 per grocery bag. Easy!

Except, that sometimes you receive  clothes that aren't yours.  Oops!  It happened twice last week.  Once to me, and once to Susan and Chris. A total of three pieces of mystery clothing.  The really weird thing is that the mystery items didn't belong to anyone at the villa, the neighbour's only clients, apparently.  And he couldn't figure to whom they might actually belong!

Now, I take a picture of all the clothes I send, in case some don't come back.  I can hopefully track them down more easily.

Pictures
1 - some creative light covers at the carnaval.  they remind me of the Styrofoam cups with little holes / stars in them we had when camping
2 - I'm not sure that black thing is supposed to be hanging there like that....
3 - cruise ship people enjoying a beverage and balloon hats at Senor Frogs
4 - maybe some of them will stop at the shops on the way back to the ship to get "supplies" - look carefully at the centre of the photo!

Out on the town

Last night, I went out with Linda.  We drank a little, danced a lot, and had a really good time!
I was definitely ready to let loose a little.

We went to Woody's, a popular night spot near the main plaza.  They have live music every night.  We thought Pako would be playing.  He's a very charismatic singer who does great covers of a huge variety of songs.  He's also very good at gauging his crowd and catering to their preferences. Unfortunately, Pako wasn't playing.  But the band that was there, was very good.  So Linda and I had a couple of drinks, we danced, and chatted. 

That would have been a good evening in itself.  But on my way home, I walked through the pre-Carnival amusement park.  It's bigger than last week, and is now here until Carnaval proper.  I was feeling a little hungry.  So I bought a cooked plantain. So Yum!!! And full of karma too.  The plantain was 25 pesos.  I only had a $20 US (it's a long story...).  The vendor gave me my change.  I was counting to see if it made sense.  Another vendor came to help with the counting.  I was short about $2US.  I said it's ok.  Cause big US bills are a pain.  But he insisted and gave me more back.  It just felt really nice.  Everybody being nice...

 Photos -
1 - the band at Woody's.
2 - Linda and me
3 -the vendor and his cart, so cute!
4 - my yummy plantain! complete with sweetened condensed milk. they put it on everything! did I say yum?!!

Domesticity

The last couple of days have been kinda busy and quiet all at the same time.  Mostly I've been shopping, cooking, doing stuff with the English school.

In order to eat well and save some money, I've been eating only one meal out about once every day or two.  I don't mind. It's kinda fun to learn how to cook with local fruits and vegetables.  Some new ones I learned about this year are tomatillo and mamaye.  I've become re-familiarized with jicama and chayote.  And I learned that chipotle is a jalapeno that has been marinated.  And you shouldn't lick your fingers after cutting one up!!!

Yesterday, was pretty chilly and windy.  Not a beach day at all. So I browsed in the stores and walked around town. While in a store called Cinco Soles (five suns) I had a nice karma moment. A salesman asked me if my name is Magdalena.  Here, that is my name when I speak Spanish.  At first, I didn't know who he was.  But he reminded me that we met at the English school. 

We chatted for a while, and then he let me try several tequilas the store had to offer.  It was really nice!

Last night, I went to a casual rooftop party hosted by Barbara, the owner of the English school.  There were about 10 people there, including some of her advanced students, Linda, her boyfriend Martin and me.  A real international multilingual event!


Photos
1 - jicama.  it's hard, slightly sweet, and refreshing.  Good raw or in stir fry
2 - milk comes in carton here.  I bought that tea mug cause it's nice and big!
3 -chipotle in a small tin, the diameter of the top is a little bigger than a loonie
4 - mamaye.  it's like a cantaloupe combined with papaya.  I don't like either of these fruits much, so I don't like mamaye much either

Sacbe

What is a Sacbe?  You ask....It's a little store, a distributor for stuff sold on the Island.  Mostly costume jewelry, but also hats, bags, and of course, wrestling masks!

Brindle, a talent agent from Halifax, who I met the other day told me about Sacbe.  So I checked it out.  On the ground floor, individually sold items are displayed on every inch of wall and in bins.  The display is similar upstairs, except you have to buy bulk quantities there.

I was kinda inspired by Brindle, and got a little outta control.  I bought 2 pendants and 4 rings. All for about $25. The pendants are made from coconut shells.  The rings are opal like stones and stainless steel.  Hopefully, they won't crack or tarnish, too much!

 Pictures
Top - The second floor at Sacbe's.  So much stuff!!
Middle - Small purses made from "recycled" packaging.  Hmmmm....I'm starting to wonder if it's really recycled?
Bottom - a fun painting I saw at a nice hotel I checked out.  $400 per night, buys nice art!

Cafe del Mar Beach Club

Susan and Chris introduced me to a new beach club today.  It's called "Café de Mar".  I like it!

It's a small place, just north of downtown.  One of three in a row that have been open, then not, through the years.  But this particular reincarnation is very nice!

The location is great!  Only a 10 minute bike ride from home.  There's lots of water space for a big swim or snorkelling, and very few boats.  Except for around 4:30 when the small fishing boats were coming back to shore.  I can live with that.  The staff were really nice and friendly.  The food was yummy!  I had a great salad with mango and pineapple and coconut and a balsamic dressing.  And they have these great bean bag type chairs.  Very comfortable! And mobile.  I was able to bring my blue bean bag chair right up to the water's edge.  Nothing between me and the beautiful vista!

Photos
Top - The fun and colourful umbrellas at Café del Mar
Middle - My yummy salad.  I was hungry again 1 hour later, but it counterbalanced the eggs and cheese I had at breakfast!
Bottom - My view from the blue bean bag chair.  Yes, I was studying my Spanish verbs.  It's not all about lounging!

Lunch with Carl and the Hot Water Issue

Today, I had lunch with Carl and ran out of hot water.  Just to clarify, these events are unrelated!

I've mentioned Carl before.  The friendly grumpy guy who first introduced me to Cozumel. He's done many nice things for me.  So I invited him to lunch, my treat.  It felt nice to say thank you this way.  He suggested a lobster 2for1 special at a place past the airport.  I'm not a big seafood person, but I was excited to try somewhere new.  In my mind, the airport is near/off the waterfront.  So I thought great, a nice place, on the water!  I even dressed up a bit.

Turns out, it was a place I had been to before.  La Perlita.  Deep in the neighbourhood, I guess near the airport itself, not the entrance.  It has a great 2for1 lion fish special on Thursday nights.  Yum!  So I was disappointed that it wasn't a new place.  But I like the restaurant so I was still happy to be there. The food presentation was great!  The rice yummy!  But sadly, the lobster was a bit chewy.  And though I was nervous about having to disassemble a whole lobster, I was excited about the new experience.  It was "only" a tail.  Already mostly disassembled.  Oh well.  It was maybe for the best....

For 3 days now, I've no hot water for my shower.  On day-1, I didn't say anything to Dennis, the landlord.  I assumed other guests might have used it all up.  On Day-2, I told Dennis, who said we needed gas, and got some.  On Day-3, still no hot water, Dennis said there was likely air in the gas line and said it's fixed.  I'll be kinda sad/mad if there's no hot water tomorrow.  But Chris and Susan said I could shower in their unit if I want/need to.  How nice!

 Photos:
Top - Carl at lunch with the pretty plate.  Check out how the cucumber, orange, and radish are cut!
Middle - The guy filling the propane tank
Bottom - a public area recycling bin.  They are giving it a good try.

A small fun park and pre-carnaval stuff

Carnaval is coming to Cozumel in February, so the preparations have begun!

This week, a small midway / family fun park came to town.  Complete with kiddy rides, games, and lots of junk food!  So I went last night to check it out. I love all the colour, the smells, and how so many families come out to enjoy themselves.

Last night, right beside the midway, the town introduced this year's potential grown up and kiddy Carnaval Kings and Queens at a big show.  There is a whole voting process that goes on for several weeks, on Sunday evenings, prior to Carnaval itself. 

One thing that really stood out for me was that there seemed to be a Queen candidate with Down Syndrome.  She was beautiful in her orange sparkly dress.  And she seemed very comfortable with all the parading and dancing.  Until.  All the candidates were on stage for a big photo opportunity.  Fun!  But suddenly, out from the stage floor, in front of all the candidates, came sparkler type sparklies! Taller than the potential Kings and Queens!  I don't know if the Kings and Queens knew the sparklies were coming, or not.  But it certainly seemed like the young woman with Down's was very scared.  It was so sad.  Lots of the others candidates went to her aid.  But what an unfortunate way to end the big event!

Photos (from top to bottom)
1-Some fun midway colours
2 - the big sparklies at the front of the stage
3 - that little kid was soooooo cute!
4  and 5 - families and friends seemed to be selling cake and other goodies to raise funds for the of the King/Queen candidates

 

Embracing my "propeller head" and "hippy" ways

Depending on who you talk to, I am a "propeller head" (ie smart nerd) or a hippy. I like to think they're both terms of endearment.  They both applied today.

During the last two Mexico Adventures, I spent most mornings doing school work by the pool.  I don't miss the school work or the time it took.  But I did miss sitting by the pool in the morning, and the learning. So today, I started sitting by the pool in the morning to study my Spanish.  It feels productive.  It provides a nice way to say good morning to people. I like it!

Then, I cycled to Money Bar to swim and hang out.  Although I'm not exactly working hard, in any traditional way, I haven't really just hung out for any amount of time since my arrival.  But it was pretty windy, the waves were pretty big, it was a little chilly, and the hanging out was pretty appealing.  Drool on your towel while you nap kindof appealing!

The nap was really nice.  But while cycling home I got warm and I kept looking at the ocean.  I needed to swim!  So I did.  At a local / Mexican swim place.  It wasn't fancy in any way. I was the only gringo in sight.  The waves were a bit big.  But it was great!  And, when I was done swimming, I used my Spanish to chat with two young women who are studying "Tourism" in the State of Hidalgo (near Mexico City) and who are doing a work placement in Cozumel.  Very pleasant!

Photos:
Top - Puddles, the cat, decided he likes me.  I like him too.  The only thing, is he has razor sharp claws and he was "kneading" (scratching / pawing) my chest.  Ouch!
Middle - Susan and Chris got pedicures before coming.  They have the pretty coloured toes.  My toes are plain and kinda hidden, by accident.  But it's not a big loss.
Bottom - More cool street art!

The Humane Society and Billy's

One of my goals for Cozumel this year is to volunteer at the Human Society. It's something that Susan and Chris want to do too.  So we checked it out today!

To prepare for this "event", Susan emailed the Humane Society to find out when we could come and where they are.  A good idea!  Once we knew that, we hopped on our bikes and made the pilgrimage.  I say that, cause it's located on the outside of town, on a road none of us had ever been on before.

When we first got there, we were invited to play / hang out with the cats.  There are about 20 of them.  We were in a cat house with about 10.  But it's hard to be sure how many there were because there were a lot of fun hiding places for them.

Then, we walked some dogs, twice.  Each time, an employee came with us to make sure we were all safe.  That was a good thing because there are a lot of "family pet /guard" dogs around the humane society.  Two of which were kind nasty looking and acting.  We'll likely got back to do more cat playing and dog walking.  We'll also likely go back on some Wednesdays to help "wake up" animals that have just been spayed / neutered.

On our way back home, we stopped for dinner at Billy's BBQ.  YUM!!!  We ordered a combo plate fit for any carnivore!  It had BBQed ribs, chicken and porc.  Enough for 2 or more meals each for about $27 total including tip and one pop each.

Photos:
Top - Chris in the cathouse
Middle - Billy's team making yummy BBQ happen!
Bottom - Susan and Chris with our carnivore's delight!

Snorkeling with the gang

Today, I went snorkeling with Susan, Jan and Bruce and Sondra and Randy, all guests at Casa Deja Blue.  Only Chris, Susan's partner, couldn't come because she didn't feel well.  It was fun and sometimes very zen.

Our first stop was El Cielo.  A shallow area known for it's starfish.  When I was there 3 years ago, I  wondered if the starfish were fake, put there for the benefit of tourists.  But nope.  Today, I saw that they were for real.  Our guide put his snorkel in the sand so we had a point of reference.  You could clearly see that the starfish was "walking" on the sandy bottom.  He explained that they are vegetarian.  They move to areas with weed and sponges to eat, then to sandy areas to hide and mate.  Very cool!

Then we went over Columbia reef.  I was cold and intent on warming up.  So I didn't snorkel again.  Instead I looked through the glass bottom on the boat.  We saw more fish and some coral.  But the highlight was definitely two sea turtles!  The shell of the biggest looked about 3 feet long!  Apparently they come up for air about every 6 hours.  Wow!

Then we anchored in a very shallow area where we could walk in the warm water while our crew made guacamole, ceviche, and pico de gallo for us.  Yum!

The boat ride back was very cool too.  The light was a bit dramatic because there was some sun and some storm clouds. Wonderful!  Especially combined with wind!

Photos:
Top the gang at the dinner table on the boat
Middle: Susan and me hanging in the shallow water
Bottom: Angel, our guide, blowing a very neat bubble, seen through the gass bottom of the boat