Cozumel News May 12th, 2016: Playa del Carmen Athletes to represent Mexico, Cozumel Annual Home Maintenance Guide: The first step to Hurricane Season Preparation, Aurita’s Corner, and New Cozumel Emergency Numbers. Read the latest Cozumel news at www.thecozumelsun.com.
Playa del Carmen Athletes to represent Mexico
Two athletes from Playa del Carmen will be traveling to Costa Rica later this month to represent Mexico in the II Parapanamerican Games to be held in the city of San Jose, Costa Rica this year.
Athletes Omar Echeverría Espinoza and Domingo Santis have been selected to compete in the Men’s Mayor Compound category in the discipline of Archery wheelchair.
Cozumel Annual Home Maintenance: The First Step to Hurricane Season Preparation
Next month is the beginning of hurricane season in Cozumel. I will be posting my annual hurricane preparation article for those of you that live or visit the island during hurricane season. However, my annual home maintenance guide is the first step to prepare for the elements. Whether you are a long-term renter or a homeowner there are things that must be done around your home when you live in Cozumel. The process can be costly by island standards and time consuming. Here are the tasks my family undertakes each spring:
Inspect and clean the rooftops: Debris accumulates on the rooftops that will fly around in a storm and cause damage as well as clog your drains. The cement roof will wear with age and eventually cause leaks that can weaken the walls and ceilings in your home. Resurface/Seal Roofs when necessary.
Clean, repair, and replace (if needed) the drainpipes: It is not as simple as cleaning the gutters around the roof back home. We have unattended property on two sides of our home, dirt, sand, and leaves make their way into the tubing very quickly. Cutting overhanging branches is necessary. Take great care to avoid cables and wires.
Inspect all the doors: Replace the weather-stripping around the doors as needed, check your locks, door handles, and hinges.
Inspect all caulking around windows. One year we found all the window caulking held well, but some glass bricks in one bathroom wall allowed rain in when the storm was coming in from the south.
Inspect the walls: The south side of our home is very inaccessible from the outside. The owners of the property next door keep their gate locked. The property consists of some crumbling structures with weeds, bushes, and trees that had been left unattended the three years we had lived here, possibly for many years. I obtained permission to enter and got the key to their gate for what I thought would be a simple caulking task. Wrong, that entire side of the house had to be reinforced with cement. That wall was deteriorating to the point that serious damage could be caused by the next hurricane that came along. I contacted a cement worker and had a crew reinforce the south side of the house. This is another argument for using good outdoor paint with a sealant!
The procedure on the island is to get an estimate for the labor, a list of supplies and a start and end date. You buy your own supplies and have them available for the workers. The day they finish the project, you give the workers lunch and beers.
Inspect window protectors: The neighboring property is an eye sore and that side of our home had just been out of sight, out of mind. There is only one small window that sits high on our bedroom wall on that side of the house. To our dismay, we discovered the Window Protector was held in place with screws! Anyone could have come along, unscrewed the wrought iron protector, and entered our home in our absence. I promptly contracted the “Iron Man” to cement in the window protector and inspected the installation of all the window protectors in our home.
Check all screens for holes and tears it is dengue season. Normal wear and tear will enable the little creatures to get in your home.
Inspect the hurricane shutters; make certain they close properly and find the keys.
Inspect everything metal and iron: We are on an island were everything rusts due to the salt water. A thorough inspection of everything that is metal is necessary annually. If maintained annually, the wrought iron gates, window protectors, and patio furniture will only show a minimal amount of rust and will just need to be touched up. By touched up I mean sand it down, apply rust proofing paint, and then the color paint. One year I discovered that the two new overhead fans we purchased and had installed only months earlier had metal blades. What I thought was a little dust on the edges was rust. The inside lid to our washing machine and almost all major appliances had small rust spots. A little sand paper, rust proofing and a touch of metal paint will extend the life of everything, prevent major expenses, and save time in the future. (Note that we also own our gas tanks, their upkeep will prevent having to buy a replacement.)
The water tanks or Tinacos must be cleaned annually. Even though they are kept closed, stuff grows in there that you do not want to be bathing and washing with. Make certain they are still securely attached.
Air conditioners need annual maintenance to keep them operable and running efficiently. Make certain they are securely attached to your home.
Have repair-person inspect all plumbing: Plumbing should be inspected for slow leaks you might have not noticed. Faucets and fixtures need replacing often on the island, I do not know if it is because of the wear and tear or the quality available. The shower-heads need to be soaked in a special solution periodically to unplug clogged holes. Leaks are costly! The minute your water bill goes up, check your plumbing!
Get out the Generator: Run your generator to make certain all is well. Change the oil and buy a new spark plug.
Paint or Touch up the Outside of the house: When you paint your home, you can save money by purchasing a good quality of paint. Buy the paint that contains a sealant. Spending more money on the paint initially will save you the cost and labor having to paint annually. We have been lucky the last few years and have only had to touch up some spots that were stained, discolored or had been newly cemented.
Clean storage areas and rooms: Pull everything out of storage areas for a good cleaning. It does not matter how clean you keep your home, the humidity affects everything on the island and we have critters that will find their way into your home. Store in plastic! Cardboard attracts insects! A Clorox bleach or vinegar and water solution is necessary for disinfecting and fighting mold.
You should Oil everything wood on a regular basis, especially wooden handles on knifes brought from the States.
Fumigate regularly, we fumigate monthly because of the unattended lots on either side of our property.
Aurita’s Corner
I am daily channeling Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, “I Want to Go Home!” “I want to Go Home!” Lord, as much as we love our children and grandchildren, I do not ever want to be away from our home in Cozumel this long again! Perhaps, it is because week after week our lives revolve around doctor appointments and therapy sessions. I return home exhausted after every outing, I could not go out and do something fun, even if I wanted to. Maybe it is because we just cannot adjust to the cold weather, cold fronts still come in May and beautiful days turn chilly in a matter of minutes.
The great news this week is that we were able to purchase a battery operated wheel chair for my husband Charles. It is called an EZ Cruiser, and it has change our lives. Because of Charles’s right-sided paralysis, diabetes, heart complications, and artery blockage, he is unable to walk long distances. After ten years, I have reached the age and condition that I am unable to manually push Charles. This has led to Charles being home bound for weeks at time. This inactivity has led to depression and refusal to exercise that of course leads to more muscle weakness and other health issues.
Charles is now one happy trooper, zipping around the neighborhood in Mission Viejo, maneuvering himself in and out of the wheel chair accessible transportation to doctor appointments and therapy sessions. It has done wonders for his self-esteem. On the other hand, I now face a different dilemma, how to keep up with him! I accompany him to therapy and appointments, but when he tours the neighborhood, he is on his own and it makes me very nervous. There is no way that I can allow him to run around Cozumel on his own, he does not speak Spanish and has communication problems in English due to the stroke. I cannot keep up with him on foot, my hip replacement recovery can take up to a year, and I will have to return to deal with the knee and back problems.
I have made the decision, that the next goal is to purchase a second EZ Cruiser for myself before returning to Cozumel. We really cannot afford the chairs and it will mean really stretching our funds and a little temporary help from our friends. The chairs will give Charles and I a quality of life we have been lacking. Now there is a good chance my readers will actually be able to run across me in Cozumel. If you see us wheeling around Cozumel, stop and say hello! I am so looking forward to meeting everyone!
45th Annual Cozumel Fishing Tournament
Saturday and Sunday May 14th & 15th Weight in at the Ferry Pier both Days (big Family fun to participate and Watch).
Cozumel Emergency Numbers
New Location for Cozumel AA Meetings
The A.A. 12 step recovery meeting room has moved from Avenida 10 and Calle 5. We are now located on Avenida 15 on the corner of Calle 2. There is a meeting everyday including holidays at 6:00 p.m.
Reminder: The Saturday Mass in English held at San Miguel Church have been suspended until January 2017. See the Cozumel Sun’s section on worship services in English for other alternatives.
STOP BY OUR STORE AND SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY!
Our New Neighborhood store Papelería & Novedades Mama Lilly is up and running. The word is getting out that our prices the lowest in town and the immediate neighborhood is thrilled to have a nearby store. We owe a fortune in merchandise and are purchasing additional supplies weekly as we discover the needs of the community.
I addition to school, Office, and art supplies we do copies, lamination and binding. We have gifts, gift bags and wrapping paper. We also have decorations, clothing, handbags, wallets, reading glasses, games, picture frames, and lots more. Spend your money where it will help a local family, shop with us!
The store is locally owned and ran! Please stop by and give us a try!
PAPELERÍA & NOVEDADES MAMA LILLY
Come Shop with Us!
35 Avenida Entre Calles 17 y 15 Bis
Colonia Independencia
Email: Mapapeleria@outlook.com www.facebook.com/papeleriamamalilly/notifications/
987-120-5903 – 987-118-4453 U.S. – From U.S. 386-445-8702
