Hola Amigo !
BIENVENIDOS ... or WELCOME to The Drift. If you are new to the Scuba Shack and Village Tan Kah family, this is our newsletter that keeps you up to date with COZUMEL's happenings, as well as your favorite dive shop and hotel. Fingers crossed that you like it!
If you think you have been missing The Drift, well, you are right. The last one that was sent out was in March. So sorry that we have not been able to get a newsletter out. April was such a busy month. And then in May, there was a trip to Egypt and I was gone for the entire month. And did not get it out ahead of time. So apologies and we will do better !!
|
|
Have you missed the boat? |
|
Well.... If you were planning on coming to Cozumel with NO cruise ships, well... you missed the boat !!!! HA HA HA The very first cruise ship back to the island was last week, Wed, Jun 16 - Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas. It will be in port each week. So, only 1 ship, 1 day a week. Then in July, another ship will begin to arrive... on the exact same day of the week! OK 1 day, 2 ships. In addition, Carnival is starting to add ships as well.... 2 each week in July. So slowly but surely, they are returning, which will bring back some normalcy to certain industries on the island.
|
|
|
|
|
In addition, more and more flights have been coming to the island, making it easier for you to get here and NOT have to travel through Cancun. Many of the winter routes at sticking around. Boy, has United Airlines stepped up to the plate. They are offering so many NEW routes and options.... |
|
Los Angeles - DIRECT to Cozumel... can you believe it? This is a totally new route. Cancun has had daily flights with many carriers, but this is a 1st for Cozumel. Now everyone from the west coast can get here in 1 day with no connections, every Saturday! Woo hoo !
Chicago (ORD) - United has kept this winter direct flight, every Sat. Don't forget that Frontier flies in on Saturday as well from ORD.
Denver - United again. Amazingly they are offering flights on Sat, Sun, Mon and Wed. Wow! Denverites, you must be ready to travel ! Frontier as well.
|
|
What the..? I see Milky, and... I see Milky! What gives? Well, guess what... this black cat was hanging around the hotel this spring, and I was trying to keep her away. But once I left for the trip to Egypt, well, you figured it out. I DON'T NEED MORE CATS !!! |
|
Meet Lucy, who is Milky's almost exact double. She really is so sweet. Can you tell which is which? |
So, how can you tell the difference? Lucy has the extra white stripe that goes down her back and across the shoulders. Milky just has the white shoulder pads. Anyone want to adopt ??? |
|
|
|
Did you know.... that a mountain on Mars was named after a Mexican scientist. Meet Sr. Rafael Navarro, an astro biologist who worked on the portable lab that is on Mars. Unfotunately, he passed away this past Jan, due to Covid complications. But he is not the only Mexican scientist working on the project.
|
|
Covid testing has been going well, but there has been a change. Apparently Scuba Shack and Village Tan Kah clients were the only travelers taking advantage of their clinic here in the south hotel zone. So they either had to close the clinic or up the price. The clinic closed. So now you will have to take a taxi there. The taxi will wait for you, and then take you on to where ever you would like to go. And we will print out your results for you. Still about $ 32 USD. |
|
|
Have you heard? The CDC approved a Do-it-yourself Covid test that you can take with you. You need to bring it with you, and then be online while a Doctor monitors you taking your own nose swab, and doing the analysis. Very intersting. You can order online HERE. The cost is just about the same price as we are getting at the Amerimed hospital.
|
|
|
|
As you may have heard, the Covid situation in the state of Quintana Roo has been quite high lately. Actually, a few weeks ago the governor was threatening to move us back to RED. Oh no !! What is going on?? Well, as you know, the mainland has more cases that our beloved island. But we are grouped together with them. They are 3-5 tines higher than Cozumel. So, what is the cause of all of this?? |
|
#1 - Mothers Day. The same as last year. The increase in cases began 2 weks after that.
#2 - Campaigning for the elections. On Sunday, Jun 6, the entire country voted for local mayor's, and then federal representatives. And you know, with all the campaigning, caution was thrown to the wind and.... still lots of cases.
Now that the elections have passed, 2 weeks ago, we are seeing the numbers come way down. A 66 - 75% decrease in the daily infection rates. Woo hoo ! And I anticipate that it will continue to go down.
|
|
Vaccinations have been steadily increasing here. Every couple of weeks or so, they bring in a couple thousand more, and everyone lines up to get them, sometimes for hours. Seriously... hours. can be 1... or 4... sometimes more. So a huge HOORAY to my staff who have waited in those lines and gotten there shots ! |
|
Breakfast, the most important meal of the day! |
|
If you have stayed with us before, then you know that we offer a really nice continental breakfast with homemade bread and marmalades. But not everyone can enjoy bread, especially if you have a gluten free diet. Well, that does not mean you have to miss out on our homemade marmalades. Sometimes you can find gluten free bread in chedraui or Mega. But why risk not finding it here?? Bring a box of gluten free bread mix and we are more than happy to prepare it here for you. And speaking of the kitchen, you ARE ALWAYS more than welcome to use it. That is if you want to cook on your vacation. Some people make eggs, or pancakes, or whatever you fancy.
Did you also know the the Village Tan Kah has a grill? And Chedraui and Mega have charcoal and lighting bricks. Just let us know if you would like to use it.
BTW.... I am sure that the cats would be willing to assist !
|
|
Seaweed.. both good and inconvenient |
|
YEAH!! It's summer time, the water is warming up... and yes, the sargassum is back. Did you know that seaweed is actually a form of algae? It is buoyed by oxygen-filled bladders that keep it floating, allowing it to clump together in HUGE masses, and the currents bring it to the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Where does this all come from? Many studies have been done by Florida Universities on this phenomena, and using satellite imagery to monitor the size of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, located Africa and Brazil. |
|
|
Also known as the Sargassum Sea, was recorded as early as 1492, by Christopher Columbus. So this is NOT a new phenomena. But things are changing that are influencing the amount of sargassum blooms. In that region, there is a range of nutrient sources that contribute to the algae blooms: nutrient-rich run-off from the Amazon River and the Orinoco River; upwelling of Nitrogen rich seawater; Sea surface temperatures; even the Sahara Dessert dust provides additional nutrients. So each year, the amount of seaweed fluctuates. |
|
|
|
Everything about seaweed is not bad, it does offer some good things....
- absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
- provides safe havens for baby turtles to grow
- therapeutic potentials that are being studied, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, among others
- there are lots of fish that just live in this unique environment such as frogfish, nudibranchs, shrimps and crabs
-
CLICK for cool images
|
|
Of course, no one really likes to have their vacation affected by it. For one, no one likes to have to wade or swim through it along the shore. Nor does it look nice on the beautiful Caribbean beaches. During the summers, the winds primarily come from the east, washing up the seaweed on the eastern coasts. This affects the east side of the island, and of course all of the mainland. So hotels and beach clubs over there are doing everything that they can to eliminate this ugly and smelly mess. Retention buoys are in place in Playa so that it never reaches the beaches. And where it does, bulldozers and brigades of people scoop up the algae to dispose of it. Some gets used as fertilizer - which is quite good. |
|
The Mexican Government has also enlisted the assistance of the Navy to help the coastal regions prepare and combat this problem. Reconnaissance flights report what is coming to this area. In addition, there are 11 sargassum boats, 1 oceanic sargassum vessel, 4 sweepers, plus an additional 300 naval elements to collect the seaweed BEFORE it arrives to the beaches. |
|
|
Sargassum has it purpose... but with the changing climate, and other factors the excess Sargassum is causing issues that vacationers don't appreciate. Back in March of 2020 we posted an article on our website ( CLICK HERE for the link to that article) that the University of Florida study was actually predicting less Sargassum seaweed for 2020. Well, shortly after that COVID hit every where, and I honestly don't remember if that prediction came true, but there is additional information and facts in on this page, too." Initial reports on Sargassum bloom predict this will be a record year! Thankfully, Cozumel has been developed on the western side of the island and we are not as affected by this growing phenomena. |
|
Recipe of the month ...... |
|
|
|
Especially for you Holly Gehri....
Coconut Quick Bread
|
I had found a recipe in a cookbook that my grandma had giften to me on my 18th birthday - the Encyclopedic Cookbook by the Culinary Arts Institute. It looked like it could easily be adapted for some more tropical flavors... coconut, lime.. and voila !
I hope you enjoy it !
|
|
|
|
INGREDIENTS
- 2 C flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 C butter
- 1 C sugar ****
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 C coconut flavoring, add 2 tsp vinegar to the measuring cup, and then fill with milk to 2/3 C total
- 1 C shredded coconut
|
|
DIRECTIONS
Preheat over to 350F. Grease a loaf pan.
In a separate bowl, mix together first 3 ingredients. Cream sugar and butter until well mixed. Add the eggs and mix well. Althernately add the dry ingreadients and the liquids to the batter. Once mixed, add in the coconut making sure to not over mix.
Bake at 350F for about 1 hour.
|
|
*** Here's a fun fact. All those YUMMY cakes and breads you enjoy on the boats, I have been reducing the amount of sugar in all of the cake recipes with perfect success. I usually reduce by 25%. So, 3/4 C sugar instead. |
|
We hope you can make a visit soon ! |
|
Every day we are thankful for the continued support of all of our customers. not only during this past year, but always. Without you, we would not be here.
We truly hope that you have enjoyed your vacations with us. And we look forward to taking you on some more Cozumel diving adventures !
And I promise to do better with the newsletters !
|
GRACIAS !
Hasta Luego Amigo !
Roberta and all of the staff of Scuba Shack and the Village Tan Kah
|
|
|
Roberta's Scuba Shack
+52-987-872-4240 - Phone
+521-987-114-3568 - Cell and WhatsApp
|
|
|
Village Tan Kah
+52-987-872-4240 - Phone
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
