Buccanos History

February 17, 2018 was the last time I wrote about Buccanos.  Since then, I've learned a little more.

Buccanos is a beautiful beach club. It's most notable feature is an amazing entrance/lobby and restaurant.  All with super thick walls made of stone.  It feels like a Mexican version of our Canadian railway era hotels, like the Chateau Montebello, Chateau Laurier, and Banff Springs.    

Connected to the beach club building, is an old hotel.  It looks like it was never finished and like it might be abandoned.  Turns out neither of these is true!!

The hotel looks unfinished on the outside because it was built in 1964 of  stone from the island in the "Old Mexico" style.  And was intended to have a natural look.  At the time it was called Hotel Cozumel Caribe, and was a luxurious 5 star hotel that hosted the rich and famous, including Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968.  

It is, indeed, largely mostly empty though.  Google says that after the hurricanes (Gilbert then Wilma in 2005?) "they began removing the debris, rocks etc that had lodged underneath the hotel...which made the hotel unstable and they had to stop. It is slightly leaning towards the sea"  Debris under the hotel???  I don't quite get that. And I did NOT notice a tilt.  But it is mostly unoccupied, except for about 6 rooms on the first 2 floors.  Where members of the original owners family live.  The Barbachanos family.

Apparently, there are huge lobbies on each floor, wide hallways, and  magnificent archways. 

Pictures 

1) This is the hotel.  This view definitely does not show a tilt! But you can see the stone construction and archway in this photo.

2) It always impresses me when a place puts effort to make their bathrooms interesting.  I love these pig sculptures on the bathroom counter!

3) It rained pretty hard the day I was there.  These clouds make the place feel a little ominous.  It''s not always like that of course!

4) There's a very nice garden area for quiet time. 

5) The is the covered link/passage between the restaurant and hotel. It's shaded and breezy.  Delightful!

6) The restaurant is so grand and cavernous!

7) I snooped a little.  I found this impressive cocktail bar on the second floor.  

8) They were setting up for a wedding. Very pretty!  

This is the link to the article about Jackie Kennedie's visit to Buccanos in 1968.  It's largely about her clothes.  But it's still kinda interesting.  https://historicalmx.org/items/show/156

Laundry

Laundry.  It’s a funny word when you type it all alone.  But I digress…..

There are lots of laundromats here in Cozumel.  So in theory, I do not have to wash my clothes.  I admit, it is kinda nice to drop off dirty clothes, and pick up clean nicely folded clothes the next day.  But I prefer to wash my own.  For a few reasons.

The laundromats can get expensive.  About $5-7 USD for a plastic grocery bag of clothes.  It’s not a fortune.  But it adds up, and I’d much rather spend that on other things.  The laundromats use really smelly soap.  Kinda nice.  But tooooo strong!  And shlepping my clothes around town. Not my favourite thing to do.

More importantly!  I like washing my clothes by hand here.  Especially in my lovely outdoor sink!  With my bar or Zote Laundry Soap.  For some reason, I have a thing for Zote!  I think it’s the simplicity of it. There is a zen to hand washing clothes with Zote.  When one has few clothes to wash, and not many other responsibilities. 

I like drying my clothes outside too.  This place has so much great outdoor space for it!  

Pictures

1) My awesome outdoor sink!  I love that I can do laundry while looking at tree branches, and enjoy the breeze!  Notice my bar of Zote in the bowl. 

2) From google.  A picture of Zote in its packaging.  It comes in pink too.  Not for me!  Zote means “all”.  Makes sense I guess.  I kinda preferred when I thought it was just a fun word. 

3) I think my drying setup is clever.  I put the wet clothes on plastic hangers so they don’t pick up rust from the railing.  

4) Not really laundry related….But I was so excited!  I made a finger!  For my new gloves!  I’ve never knit gloves before.  So I’m doing lotsa learning.

5) My view from my knitting bench in the park.  I like that they’re using rakes instead of leaf blowers.

6) This statue is a Monument to Mothers.  The text says: “No ames lo que eres.  Sino lo que puedes llegar a ser” “Don’t love what you are, but what you can become.” A quote from The Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, who wrote Don Quixote. 

El barrio Cuzamil

Cozumel is the Island.  Cuzamil is my neighbourhood.  They sound similar right?  They should.

Cuzamil is a Mayan word.  The phrase “Ah Cuzamil Peten” means “the island of swallows”.  That’s what the Mayans called Cozumel.  In Spanish it’s “Isla de las Golondrinas”.    The word, Cozumel, comes from Cuzamil, of course! (Check out my blog post from February 14, 2017 for more about this topic)

When I chose this apartment, I knew it wa s much further away from the tourist zone & waterfront than my accommodation in previous years in Cozumel.  I felt the price, awesome patio, swimming pool, and bicycles, which came with the apartment, were worth the distance.  I also thought it would force me to explore and appreciate a different part of the town.  

So this week, I spent some time slowly walking around my new neighbourhood (barrio in Spanish).  I’m still adjusting to the extra distance from the waterfront, but I’m starting to appreciate the little joys of Cuzamil.   

Photos:

1 & 2:  The most interesting thing about Cuzamil, so far, are 2 blocks of houses, that are separated by narrow walking lanes, instead of streets.  Which gives the area a quiet cozy feel.  When I walked through this week, I saw these adorable baby socks drying on a line.  The woman who had hung them said I could take the picture. Charming! 

3) can you see the man, half way up the tree?  He was harvesting coconuts!  Across the street from my house!  Once he'd climbed up the tree, with only his bare feet and hands, he used a long rope around a branch to lower the coconuts which he cut off with his machete.  Amazing! 

4) There are several parks in Cuzamil.  I’m happy to say they seem well used by the locals.  

5) There are many very small home based businesses in Cuzamil. This house offers tamales and pozole, a traditional soup made with porc, corn, and chiles.

6) look carefully!  Buzon means doorbell.  So clever!   I think they mean “ rattle the lid” as a doorbell! 

7) This large park has exercise equipment.

8) A panoramic view from  my rooftop.  There’s a nice amount of vegetation around me.  It feels nice. 

  

Art on the waterfront

I found my zen!  
It made a lovely appearance on Friday, when I was walking on the waterfront.

I set out early on Friday, to go to the local immigration office.  I wanted to try get my visa extended.  Why??  My current visa said/ still says I can stay 66 days.  Which means I’d leave the island and country on March 14.  As planned.  But Toby was considering a flight that would leave March 16.  I wanted to stay with him until then.  Also, what if I test positive for Covid19 and can’t leave?  Or my flight is cancelled, like so many are these days?  

Lucky for me, I was second in line at the office when it opened.  It only took 45 minutes for my turn.  And the nice desk lady, and an immigration consultant who was there with a client, spoke English.  This conversation was definitely beyond my Spanish skills!   

The answer was no, they could not extend my visa.  If my departure is delayed, keep all proof of reason, keep your head down, hope for the best!  Not ideal.  But I might not be delayed.  And if I was, I
would not be the only one these days.  Try to not worry.

Since I was downtown early in the day, I stayed.  The air was just that right amount of warm and cool.  It was still quiet.  I walked from downtown to the north end of town.  To have breakfast, knit, and enjoy the waterfront.  Lucky me!!

Pictures

1) Huevos estrellados con salsa verde (Sunnyside eggs with green sauce).  One of my favourites!  With lemonade, knitting, and an ocean view.  Wonderful! (I could do without the kinda loud dance music tho…)

2) I think there’s a little more art on the island than before.  Can you see?  Scavenged items hanging in the tree.  And this sailboat that got grounded years ago is being used for murals.  Interesting.  It was much further from shore before.  I’m assuming the part that’s in the water is rotting, so the whole thing is being pushed closer to shore by waves and wind?

3) Cozumel is a big scuba diving destination. This sculpture is representative of the underwater world with coral and fish.

4-5) Some fun sculptures on the waterfront. 

 

Cozumel 2022 - Settling In

 It’s been 3 years since my last time here!   It feels like yesterday in some ways, and feels all new, kinda foreign, in others.

For many reasons, I chose to stay in a different place than before.  That's definitely partly why I'm having a relatively long, and a little tricky, adaptation period.  

My new accommodation is really really nice.  The patio is wonderful.  Big, shaded, with a breeze and nice furniture.  There’s a very nice pool and deck, which I share with only the owners who live below me,  on the ground floor.  The inside is more plain, but very clean and definitely good enough.

The most tricky part is being much further back in the neighbourhood and having difficulties with the bicycles that come with the apartment.  The bicycles, one for me, one for Toby when he joins me (I hope) were in the shop when I arrived.  Grrr…then, I got one, but the brakes were seized.  Then I got the other and its brakes were seized. Grrrrr….

I’m making progress though.  One of the bikes works well now.  I just need to get a front light and cushier seat.  My butt is sore! 

The bike thing is especially important because I’m too far from the ocean to walk, practically.  About 2 km+ And there are no other guests staying in my place.  So I’ve felt a little isolated, on and off.  

That’s already improved, cause I managed to bike to the beach yesterday, despite the seized brakes! And I had dinner with my friend Pat tonight.  Yay! 

Pictures:

1, 2, 3) My home for winter 2022!  The patio and pool are definitely the best parts! 

4) There are only ceiling lights on the patio and inside.  I was looking for some table lamps.  I found this battery operated neon like pink flamingo. It’s not a great reading light.  But it’s was fun!  I also have a long string of Christmas lights inside.  They’re great! But don’t show very well in pictures.

5) One of the 2 bicycles that came with the apartment.  It looks super trick!  But performs less trick.  The climate here is super hard on bikes! Everything rusts in no time at all. In many ways, it’s better to have one with no gears.  I’m still very glad to have it.  I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

6) On my second night, I ate at Jeanie’s on the waterfront.  It’s one of my favourite places.  

Visits with the Aunts

When he was young, Toby lived for a while in the same house as his aunts, in Colombo. The same house the aunts live in still. During our visits, I was very happy when his aunt Moi (Moira) showed me around, shared a few stories, and taught me how to prepare some traditional Sri Lankan foods!

The aunts' house is about 90 years old.  The decor hasn't changed much for a long time. But it's very clean and tidy . With everything in its place. For me, that was charming. It was a glimpse into Toby's past.

The most interesting part of the house was the little back yard and its open shed.  Like many Sri Lankan back yards, this one has several plants that provide food, including bananas. On our last visit to the aunts house, Toby and I got to harvest some. Totally cool!!!

The shed was also magic!   It was only about 8' x 4'.  But this is where the family dairy cow used to live!  Until the aunts grew up. Except for every evening, when a hired man took the cow out for a good exercise walk!  The shed also had lots of neat tools.  A little clay stove and pot holder used to make tea and string hoppers. A coconut shredder that you could sit on.   And mortar and pestle for grinding spices! Every day.

The kitchen was also really neat!  There, his aunt Moi showed me how to make string hoppers, sambal, and potato curry. 

Pictures
1-Me, chopping the trunk of the banana plant into small pieces for the garbage/compost truck to accept.  Look at my knife action!!!
2- Toby proudly holding the bunch of bananas we harvested.  Most of them were green.  But enough were ripe that we got to eat some that day, and some before we flew home to Canada.  Yum!!!!
3- The trunk of the banana plant is made of layers that look kinda like corrugated cardboard full of water.  Pretty easy to cut.
4-Toby and his aunt Moira with a piece of dried coconut shell.  In the little shed in the backyard.
5-Toby with the mortar and pestle used to grind spices each day.
6-Aunt Moira steam cooking the string hoppers.  String hoppers are like little flat piles of thin rice noodles.  Very tasty with dhal and other curries!
7- The countertop coconut grinder, and a bowl of fresh coconut milk.
8- The tool to make the string hoppers. Like a playdoh press.  And little piles of string hoppers on a plate.
9- The inside of the aunts' house.  Like stepping back in time into a cool calm space.
10-11 Toby used to take a steam train from the Dematagoda station, near his house, to the Maradana station further from his house, then walk to school.  This is the steam engine from his youth!  And the Maradana station, looking almost exactly the same as back then!

 12- When we arrived at the Maradana station, looking a little lost, this lady stepped right up to offer directions.  So charming!  Then she crossed a crazy busy 4 lanes of traffic like it was a walk in the park!  We also crossed that street, using the overhead pedestrian walkway....
13- The front of the aunts house.  Located on a very pleasant quiet dead end street.

A Good Cause- Pitipana Mahavidyalaya

This blog entry is about a good cause.  A school in Pitipana, close to where I’ve stayed in Negombo, Sri Lanka, needs classrooms and supplies.  Maybe folks who read this, will be able to help? 

Pitipana is a community with 175,000 inhabitants on a narrow piece of land between the Indian Ocean and the Negombo Lagoon. Many of the people who live there are fishermen with very low incomes. 

The Pitipana Mahavidyalaya (school) is the largest school in the area. It has over 1,400 students from ages 4 to 20.  At present, there are 9 buildings on the school grounds and a total of 37 classrooms.  This includes several specialty rooms for science, IT, dance, art, cooking, and the library.  Some of these buildings/rooms are fairly new and in nice condition.  Even by Canadian standards.  And meet the needs of the students and teachers well. 

But some of the existing buildings/rooms are in poor condition.  Even by Sri Lankan standards.  Several of the buildings are divided into classrooms only by partial walls or walls made of cardboard. Which are very poor sound barriers.  The noise makes it difficult for the teachers to communicate, and for the students to hear and concentrate. 

There’s a shortage of classrooms.  So, the science lab is being used as a general classroom instead.  Because the cooking classroom has no stoves or cooking utensils, it’s also being used as a general classroom. 

The only classroom with air conditioning is the IT lab.  Some rooms have ceiling fans, but many do not.  The average temperature in Negombo is 30 degrees Celcius. Sri Lankans are well adapted to the heat.  But it would be good to have ceiling fans in all the rooms.

Some of the washrooms at the school have recently been renovated with new floor tile and toilet fixtures. But others are in disrepair. 

A British man, Tom Goffin, has donated his time and 3,000 British Pounds of his personal money to help the school. In the last year, he has installed new floors and walls in one classroom; plumbing, toilets, and ceramic tile in 20 bathrooms; 4 ceiling fans; 4 large whiteboards, and 45 lockers for teachers. He has also bought stationary and a mobile library; and repaired the main water supply for the school.

With money raised by family and friends in the UK, Tom will buy drums, cymbals, trumpets, melodicas, geta beras, and udekkis for the younger and older children school bands.   In May 2020, 4 young adults from the UK, Tom’s friends and family, will live with Tom for a month in Negombo and volunteer at the school to level and tile floors, paint, and clean at the school.  They have raised 6,000 British Pounds to contribute to the school. 

Why is Tom doing this?  He lives in Negombo near the school.  He’s retired.  He can.  It’s a good cause.  All money raised goes directly to the school.  Tom’s accounting is clear and transparent.

Pictures

1- When we visited the school, the kids were so excited to have their pictures taken!

2-Nilmini (means blue gem), the English teacher who gave us a tour of the school.  All the female teachers wear saris to work.  They look beautiful and professional. 

3-The school yard is pretty.  Especially where there are trees for shade. The government provides paint for the exterior of the school buildings. But no money for labour and no paint for the inside walls and desks. Teachers and parents provide the paint for the inside walls, and all the labour to paint inside and out.  Because the climate in Negombo is harsh, and the windows to the classrooms are almost always open, painting is done every year.

4-6 Some of the newer classrooms are well built and equipped.  You can see the teacher and student pride and hard work.

7- This is the media studies classroom.  It is has no outside wall, no fan, and the ceiling/roof looks like it might leak during the monsoon season.

8- This building has 5 classrooms with half wall and 3/4 height dividers.  The noise makes it difficult for the teachers and students to work and concentrate

9-.10 There are toilets dedicated to the various grades at the school.  Twenty of them were recently renovated by Tom Goffin. They are now clean and functional.  But others are still in need of repair. 

11- The girls in the traditional Sri Lankan dance class were proud to strike a pose for the camera. They were beautiful!

12- These little girls were adorable!

13- The playground was nicely decorated with murals.