The Cozumel Sun News November 22nd, 2017

Follow me

Get ready for another exiting month starting with Ironman this Sunday! This marks the beginning of the Christmas Season in Cozumel. Look for daily activities in our Facebook Pages of things to do in Cozumel. In this special edition, the Cozumel Women’s Breakfast, Cozumel Men’s Breakfast, Real Estate Scams in Protected Areas, Limited Number of Divers allowed in Cozumel, Brandon’s Eye Surgery, and much more!

Cozumel Ladies’ Breakfast

I was able to attend the breakfast this morning at Costa Brava Restaurant, it was another good turnout. I enjoyed a wonderful exchange on my end of the table with new comers Kay Ellis from Michigan who has just purchased a small Condo on the island and Marlise Witschi from Canada, originally from Switzerland. Marlise is moving here and is looking for a place to rent, contact me if you can help her out! Also in our end of the table was Sherry Nixon and her lovely Mom from Texas. I discovered that we are almost neighbors and have much in common.

Our friend Dayle Pomerantz known for her wonderful Books Wave Project in Cozumel, asked for prayers for her son Steven who has been diagnosed with Leukemia. Corrine Allen, a force of nature in Cozumel, informed the group of the return of her cancer for the third time. She explained that she will be moving from Cozumel and returning to Washington State where she will be undergoing a surgery. Corrine, known to friends as Corki, has been the volunteer coordinator for Ironman Cozumel for years, at Christmas time she is Candy Cane Corki, and she travels around Cozumel with Santa delivering beanie Babies and candy canes to the children of Cozumel.

Our entire group joined in prayer for Dayle’s Son, and Corrine, as well as to give thanks for our many blessings. Please join us in sending prayers and positive vibes their way. The Ladies will meet again next Wednesday at Cozumel Islander, The Cozumel Sun’s Facebook pages and website posts weekly breakfast information.

Note: If you have not already done so, please go to the “Ladies Wednesday Breakfast Club Cozumel” Facebook page, click “LIKE” and “FOLLOW.”

Our group meets every Wednesday at nine at different locations throughout the year. In addition to meeting wonderful Ladies from all over the world, the breakfast club is an excellent source of information gathering and networking. Breakfasts are informative and FUN! All Women are welcome to join us, even if you are just visiting our beautiful Island.

The Men’s Breakfast Group

Once again the men are re-instituting the ancient and revered tradition of “Men’s Breakfast”. At last, a vehicle for the passage of knowledge, wisdom and the Cozumel way. If you have some knowledge of “how things work” on the island, you should come. If you do not, you really should come.  Breakfast is every Friday at 8:30 a.m. at “Fogo do Brasil”, the Brazilian restaurant on the second floor. Fogo is located on Melgar Avenida just south of Calle 5. This is where the McDonalds used to be.  If you have problems with the escalator, the staff will stop it for you so you may get on and off and reverse directions when you depart.

Fogo Do Brasil has a parking lot free – Park in the lot on Calle 5 between Rafael E. Melgar and 5 Av (alongside the Hyperbaric Chamber).  Present your ticket to your server at Fogo Do Brasil and your parking is free of charge.

Real Estate Scams

I read an article in El Semanario addressing the many real estate scams that are taking place among the local community. Properties are claimed by people who do not appear in the housing register as legal owners. It stated that due to the need for housing many people continue to fall into the clutches of scammers offering land in Ejidal areas or  land where it is impossible to obtain a property title.  By definition, an Ejidal is a tract of land held in common by the inhabitants of a Mexican village and farmed cooperatively or individually.

It is important that before giving money or buying people first go to the offices of the SEDETU (before INFOVIR) to inquire about the availability of the property. Representative of the SEDETU on the island, Gener Hernández Maldonado, asked that people not to fall for this type of deception, to first get advice. He stated that they have started placing keep out signs on some lots to prevent people from blatantly moving in.

Hernández Maldonado said that there have cases where the claimant’s name does not appear on the registry and cases where the same lot is being claimed by up to three people, which indicates that there is an irregular sale problem and a possible a fraud.

Limited Number of Divers

Did you know there is a limit to the number of Divers that can visit Cozumel’s protected Reefs? According to Conanp, the marine park has an established capacity of not receiving more than 1,500 tourists a day. The Director of the Conanp in Cozumel, Cristopher González Baca, was quoted to say that in the low season the reefs of Cozumel that are inside the Marine Park receive an average of a thousand visitors a day+ and in high season there will be days that will exceed the established maximum capacity of 1,500 visitors.

The good health of the Cozumel reefs continues to be the main attraction for visitors. This has been achieved thanks to the participation of diving guides and providers of nautical services in general who have understood the importance of taking care of the environment with Good practices and avoid damaging them just by getting a few dollars in tips. The good practices and increase awareness by divers are also accredited with keeping Cozumel’s reefs healthy.

Work will continue in coordination with the Secretariat of the Navy and Harbor Master’s Office to prevent “pirate” vessels without authorization from working within the marine park, they are the ones that cause the greatest damage to the area.

Our Community Projects

The Holidays are fast approaching, and I am way overdue for a report on how my community projects are going. Thank you everyone that has assisted this year by giving us “their stuff” to sell in the garage sales, to our Sponsors, to the readers that donated, you have enabled us to help some of the less fortunate this year again. We still need help, after each category I have typed in bold letters what you Can do to help us.

Brandon’s Eye Surgery

One of my projects this month is raising funds for an eye operation for a neighborhood child. Our neighbor Patricia Tello is raising three children ages 15, 10, and 4 on a very limited income. Her four-year-old son, Brandon Leonel Villanueva has an eye condition called Convergent strabismus. Surgery for Brandon is scheduled for December 1^st at Clinica de la Vision in Playa del Carmen. The cost for the surgery and related expenses will be $20,000 (pesos).

The strabismus is an abnormality in the parallelism of the two eyes of a child. It occurs when there is a deviation in the focus of the gaze, so that the eyes seem to go either on their side or converge towards the center. Brandon has the most frequent form, convergent strabismus, in which his eyes turn inward. This defect of the parallelism of the eyes causes in some cases, binocular vision or double vision, or a blurred vision. Brandon’s vision is affected to the point that he must turn his head in order to see things right in front of him. Surgery can improve this vision problem, which is not just an aesthetic problem.

The exact causes of strabismus are still unknown, although some studies have revealed that it is associated with a family history of the disease and periods of hypoxia during delivery. The origin of strabismus can also reside in a poor functioning of the eye muscle, in a cerebral inability to fuse the image of both eyes, or in refractive errors that do not allow good vision and divert the eyes. However, strabismus can also develop from secondary forms through strokes, diabetes, vascular stroke, brain tumors, arterial hypertension, neurological, muscular, or degenerative diseases, among others. An infectious disease can also cause strabismus.

Mom Patricia has been resourceful and has received $7,500 from the City Department of Parks and Museum and has raised $1,500 in Garage Sales.

The Cozumel Sun’s goal is the remaining $11,000 pesos by November 28^th.

We have been in touch with the clinic and will be depositing the money directly into the Clinic’s account.  They require payment no later than two days prior to the surgery. December 1,  is the scheduled surgery date.

Our Finca Family

In December of 2014 I introduced my readers to the Paredes family from the Fincas, Cozumel’s poorest of neighborhoods. They had worked hard to purchase their plot of land almost to the end of Las Fincas. They built a palapa, had a stove, refrigerator and washer. Because of the bad wiring, their Palapa burned down with everything in it. They had already saved up and built a large cement room. Thankfully, at the time of the fire, they were all with the Dad working on the room. It had a roof, no doors in the doorways, an unfinished floor, no windows, or bathroom. This is where they lived with one small mattress and a hammock. They cooked outside with wood that they collect. It gets cold there at night, and after the rains, the mosquitoes look like small helicopters. They had no screens. They raise chickens and turkeys; have a pigeon that lives in the house, a three-legged cat, and a dog for protection. The pictures are of the family, Jesus Antonio Paredes Castillo, his wife Angelica Maria Cuxium Yami, Daughter Luz Aurora Paredes Cuxium, and son Jose Ismael Paredes Cuxium in their humble surrounding.

Over the past three years with the help of our wonderful sponsors and readers, we were able to make their one room home livable, windows, doors, flooring, a bathroom, we gave a dining room table, and a friend a bed. Dad’s work in cement comes and goes. He works one job until it is complete, but then there is usually a lapse before another job is found. This caused problems with food in the past. I hired Mom to work in our neighborhood store and/or housekeeping during the hours the children are in school and pay her weekly, so there is now always money for food. They have managed to replace their stove so she can cook in doors. They still have no refrigerator or washer.

This year’s project is to help buy the material they need to complete two bedrooms in back. I have taken pictures of the progress so far, we need put in roofing, flooring, and windows. For the Holidays we do a food basket with necessities, buy the biggest bags of Cat and Dog Food, feed for their chicken and turkey, and gifts for the two children.

Our Neighborhood Papeleria / Bazaar

I grouped these two projects together as the Garage sales have enabled us to keep our store going. Bazaar/Garage sales in fact are reported as store income for purposes of taxation. Thanks to all of our readers that contributed their clothing, accessories, and household goods to our Garage sale we were able to distribute shoes and clothing to many needy families I the Fincas neighborhood and raise much needed funds to keep our projects afloat.

“Get Rid of Your Stuff” is the slogan for The Sun Garage Sale that was started as a means to collect gently used clothing and goods to be donated to the poor and/or sold at low cost to raise funds for our many projects in Las Fincas and our immediate neighborhood. Please keep donating the items you do not need, drop it off anytime day or night, or call and we will pick up!

The store provides discounted school supplies to some families in need and extended credit to some families for school supplies. We have provided school supplies for a number of children free of charge. We have paid for school fees and helped with school uniforms. We have one computer available for the neighborhood children to do homework.

We hope this year to expand and advertise a cyber café section with telephone service. We cannot make it with just providing school supplies for the neighborhood, we must market the larger clientele such as businesses, schools, etc. In 2018 we hope to expand the sales to some form of necessity such as clothing.

Note for you readers on the island, SUPPORT our store, in addition to school and Office supplies, we do copies, printing, laminating, and book binding. We also have a small area of gifts, wrapping paper, gift bags, and reading glasses.

Christmas Toys and Food Project

We are providing full and partial support in the form of food and necessities to four families (15 people).  In addition, no one gets turned away from our door that is hungry. We will be purchasing presents for 10 children. I took advantage of Buen Fin and placed most of the presents on a charge card.

I have two more children to shop for and five food baskets to purchase.  Of Course,  we will have to pay the charge card back!

Patsy Chilson CIPS
New Office Now Open!
Cozumel North Shore Properties
@ Peninsula Grand
Skype: queenoftherock1
Tel MEX 987-111-4685 Mexico Office 987-688-0015
cozumelpeninsulagrandcondos@gmail.com