January 2008 Issue 61

Happy New Year

INTRODUCTION

2007 is now history, and as we embark on a voyage into 2008, we face new challenges and opportunities as we pursue our personal objectives.  The Akumalian, has been “on-line” for about a year now, and it continues to strive to be better than ever, and it just happens to be a good vehicle for communicating various events and meetings to the Akumal community at large.
 

ROBIN'S BEST SHIRT AWARD, JANUARY 4th

Come one, come all, to the Beach Bar, where we'll have a ball.

It's time for another "Best Shirt Award", which is held on the first Friday of each month during Happy Hour at the Lol Ha Beach Bar. 

This award is based on Robin's penchant for good, classy Beach Bar shirts, and his sister, Mary, is ready to once again be the judge and jury as she selects the "Best Shirt" for January. 

The extended global Akumal community has overwhelmingly responded to the brief Questionnaire to ascertain if this should continue into 2008, and over 96 percent said, "YES!" 

The community also voted for the competition to be open to men and women (70%), and the format continues to be shirts only (62%); i.e. "Best Shirt".

A shirt is defined as: a garment for the upper part of the body; a cloth garment usually having a collar, sleeves, a front opening, and a tail long enough to be tucked inside trousers or a skirt. 

A blouse, on the other hand is defined as: a usually loose-fitting garment, especially for women, that covers the body from the neck to the waist.

The December competition was won by Bob Anders, and the photos for the December competition are located at December Best Shirt Award.

IMPORTANT JANUARY FACTS

Capricorn - December 22 - January 19
Aquarius -  January 20 - February 18

January Birthstone: Garnet
Garnet is a beautiful stone that comes in quite the range of colors.  Large garnet gems, while not approaching diamonds or rubies in price, can make your wallet take a deep breath.  The red garnet is the one used for the January Birthstone. 

January Birthday Flower: Carnation
The carnation, scientifically known as Dianthus caryophyllus, is a historically rich and meaningful flower choice.  With its scientific name dianthus roughly translating to "flower of love" or "flower of the gods", depending on the source, this flower is one that has been revered for centuries.  One of the world's oldest cultivated flowers, the carnation is appreciated for its ruffled appearance, clove-like scent, and extended blooming period.

JANUARY BIRTHDAYS

Birthdays and Anniversaries
1          Kelly Colladarci
3          Arlene Pargot
3          Thierry VanderElst
4          Bob & Diane Mather Anniversary
8          Diane Mather
8          David Richards
9          Nance Walker
9          Annette Bartsch
13        Mike & Lydia Pontius Anniversary
16        Neri
17        Tricia Haynes
22        Cheryl Ragan
25        El Moreland
25        Linda Tate
25        Kate Turner
26        Myrna Bush
26        Maribelle
26        Salvador Company
27        Lisa Combs
29        Tom Baxter
30        Richard & Arlene Pargot Anniversary 

There must be more than this.  Let's hear about YOUR birthday before it happens. 

Missed December Birthdays / Anniversary
December 26 Bruce Eanet

CONSEJO DE DESARROLLO DE AKUMAL S.A.

The Akumalian has agreed to be a de facto site for reporting and publishing various communications that are issued by the Akumal Council (Consejo de Desarrollo de Akumal S.A.) as another vehicle for communicating to the extended global Akumal community.  The official web site for the Akumal Council can be found at www.akumalcouncil.com  

http://theakumalian.com/Akumal%20Council/Councilindex.shtml is the "Home" page being utilized as an anchor for the Akumal Council, and it has been expanded to host pages for/about General Meetings and Events, Letters to the Municipality, and Letters to the Membership. 

A new section has been added just for the North Akumal Road project, and you should look at this and the pictures of the progress.  See North Akumal Road Update.

The Akumal Council 2007 Year-End Report is also available, and you need to check this out to be aware of where and how the Akumal Council is helping you and the general Akumal community at large.  Go to 2007 Report.

COMINGS AND GOINGS

            The Akumalian is working from a remote site in Harwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts and is dependent on on-site reports from the Lol Ha Beach Bar for this month’s "Comings and Goings" section, so the verbiage may be a little dated once this issue is published.   

Comings:
·        David Richards popped into town for a very short stay.
·        Michael Schwartz here for the weekend in mid-December
·        Macon & Susan Gravlee were in Akumal Sur for a spell.
·        Bruce & Ellen Eanet were seen at the Beach Bar in mid-December.
·        Pat & Cheryl Ragan visited Akumal in mid-December too.
·        Myrna & Gary Sparks arrived on December 19^th.
·        Janet & Marshall Thurber arrived in South Akumal on December 19^th, and Janet is hanging around until May 10.  Marshall will be coming and going.  On another note, Marshall's son, Rawson Marshall Thurber, Director and Screenwriter of THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH, is a finalist in the Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival, so Marshall and Janet will be heading to Park City in January for the Festival.
·        Greta Blatner was visiting Bud & Alice just before Christmas.
·        Arriving on different schedules were Alice's daughters, Melissa and Pamela.
·        Shelly B. Rodrigues arrived at Casa de Colores on December 22^nd.
·        Leroy & Magret Wiedman arrived on New Year's Eve for their annual visit.
·        Denny & Diane return in mid-January, maybe the 7^th.
·        Richard & Arlene Pargot arrive on the 13^th for a 2-month stay 

• Nance Walker arrives on January 2^nd with her two daughters

Goings:
·        Bob & Sherwood Anders left Akumal after an extended stay.
·        Lucy James bailed out on Christmas Eve.
·         

WHAT’S NEW AROUND TOWN?

AKUMAL

Still No Lights on MX 307
The highway lights along the Akumal stretch of MX 307 have not been re-installed.  However, it looks like the Municipality is in the process of installing a new kind of highway light further north, so it should only be a matter of time before the night sky is illuminated by these necessary lights.   Unfortunately, these lights are a distraction to star gazing from the rooftops.

ATM at El Pueblito Mini-Market
The ATM at Super Chomak is not the only one in town now.  There is another ATM at El Pueblito, right across the road from Super Chomak.  There are reports of yet another ATM in the game room at Lol Ha. 

North Akumal Road Repairs
Progress continues here, and as of mid-December the construction got to the curve in the road.   Reports indicate that this piece of road should be completed in the near future, sometime in very early 2008.  

Akumal Police Station
The remodeling of the Fidecaribe building by the parking lot has finally commenced, and it is proceeding at a very nice pace.  At the rate they are going, it will not be too long before Akumal has a high profile facility for the police and tourist information.

The View in South Akumal
For the residents of South Akumal, the view southward down the beach is punctuated by construction at Akumal Point, and it looks like the view south will be further impaired as more houses are built on the point at Akumal Point. 

Getting to Jade Bay and/or South Akumal from Central Akumal
The expanded 4-lane MX 307 has extended the drive from Akumal to Jade Bay and South Akumal quite a bit.  You now have to drive south past Hacienda Donna Isabel and Bahia Principe to a RETORNO that allows you to head north again.  After the turn, you need to drive north past Bahia Principe, Aventuras Akumal, Gran OASIS Akumal, and the entrance to Akumal Point to get back to South Akumal, which has a small hand painted sign for "Akumal Sur."

PLAYA DEL CARMEN

City Club
City Club, the wholesale club of Mexican grocery store Soriana, is opening a store at the Centro Maya Mall in Playa Del Carmen.  Soriana has been the anchor store of this mall.

Soriana, a retail department store chain in Mexico that now practically covers the country, is 100 percent Mexican-owned and competes head on with Wal-Mart.  Wal-Mart has introduced its Sam's Club to Mexico, so in order to compete, Soriana started its almost identical City Club, which is directly across the highway from Sam's Club. 

Actual Decoracion
Actual has opened a store right beside Interceramic in Playa Del Carmen. 

Le Porton
Interestingly enough, another restaurant has opened right beside VIPs at the north end of the parking lot for Sam's Club in Playa Del Carmen.   VIPS and El Porton, along with Sam's Club, are all owned by Wal-Mart.

Telebodega
Telebodega is constructing a BIG new building just north of the Chevrolet dealership on MX 307. 

CANCUN

Home Depot
Home Depot has reportedly closed its original store in Cancun as it moves to a larger facility.  They are relocating next to Soriana – on the adjacent lot just after Soriana - on Kabah.

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE, JANUARY 2

Hey, Hey…..The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is returning to Akumal this month, and the first real good viewing will be on Wednesday, January 2^nd at 5:39pm.  It is coming out of the southwest heading towards the north east, and it will be a tad on the southern side of Akumal.  Get out there and look skyward for the HST.

Other good viewing dates and times are:
January 1 at 5:41pm, looking towards the SSE
January 3^rd at 5:37pm, looking towards the NNW – N
January 4^th at 5:36pm, looking again towards the NNW
January 5^th at 5:34pm, looking again towards the NNW; it’s getting further north.

FULL MOON, JANUARY 22nd

Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the jaguar packs howled hungrily outside Mayan villages.  Thus, the name for January's full Moon.  Sometimes, it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule.  Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
 

ALUMINIUM WINDOWS AND DOORS

Most houses in Akumal and the Riviera Maya have sliding aluminum doors and windows, and after awhile they tend not to slide or roll very easily.  This past month we had such a window, and on closer inspection, here is what we found; i.e. a bit of rust and a lot of oxidation on one roller that actually jammed the adjacent window.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BIRTHDAY, JANUARY 15th

The Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., often called Martin Luther King Day, is a United States holiday marking the birth date of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15.  It is the only United States federal holiday commemorating an African American, and one of only four to commemorate an individual person.

            Martin Luther King Day was founded as a holiday promoted by labor unions in contract negotiations.  After King's death in 1968, Rep. John Conyers introduced a bill in Congress to make King's birthday a national holiday, highlighting King's activism on behalf of trade unionists.  Unions did most of the promotion for the holiday throughout the 1970s.  In 1976, trade unionists helped to elect Jimmy Carter, who endorsed the King Day bill.  After that endorsement, union influence in the King holiday campaign declined, and the King Center turned to support from the corporate community and the general public.  The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released the single "Happy Birthday" to popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981.  6 million signatures were collected for a petition to Congress to pass the law, termed by a 2006 The Nation article as "...the largest petition in favor of an issue in US history."

            Opposition to the bill was led by Senator Jesse Helms, who questioned whether King was important enough to receive such an honor.  He was also critical of King's opposition to the Vietnam War and accused King of having Communist connections.

President Ronald Reagan was also opposed to the holiday.  He relented in his opposition only after Congress passed the King Day Bill with an overwhelming, veto-proof majority (338 to 90 in the House of Representatives and 78 to 22 in the Senate).

At the White House Rose Garden on November 2, 1983, Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor King.  It was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986.

On January 17, 2000, for the first time, Martin Luther King Day was officially observed in all 50 U.S. states.  The day is marked by demonstrations for peace, social justice and racial and class equality, as well as a national day of volunteer community service.

CARNATION DAY, JANUARY 29th

The carnation was originally called dianthus by the Greek botanist Theopharastus.  The carnation has been cultivated over 2,000 years.

            The name carnation has two possible origins.  One thought is that the name comes from "coronation" or "corone" since it was used in Greek ceremonial crowns.  Another thought is the name is derived from the Greek carnis meaning flesh, which was the original flower color.

Carnations in general mean fascination, love and good luck.  A white carnation stands for innocence, devotion and pure love.
 

EVENTS

Once again, Robin’s “Best Shirt Award”, was the only recorded "Event".