Category: Things to do

The Humane Society in Cozumel

While you’re staying in Cozumel, don’t miss the opportunity to help out animals in need of love, affection, adoption and even transportation to their ‘furever’ homes.  There are SO many animals that are neglected, abused and unwanted.

When we are on the island, my son and I ALWAYS spend time at the shelter playing with the animals and bringing supplies.  Yes, it’s hard to see those precious animals in a shelter environment.  Yes, we always want to take all of our new four legged friends home with us.  Yes, we always feel like we made a difference in those animals lives when we leave.  It’s worth it.  🙂

Volunteer at the shelter.  It is so important for the dogs and cats to get individual attention.  You may walk the dogs or play with the puppies and cats everyday 11am to 1pm and 3pm to 4:30pm.  Children must come with a responsible grown up.

Donate money or items.   Find out what the Humane Society needs and bring those items to the shelter.  Sometimes, they need things that are trash to us (old newspapers and towels).   Sometimes they need dog food, cat toys, pet carriers or collars. Just give them a call to see what would be most useful.  If you’re short on time, you may always donate money via their website.

Be a travel ambassador.  Sometimes people in Canada or the United States will adopt a pet on the island and those guys need help getting to their new ‘furever’ home.  You may assist by traveling with a pet back to your area.  The new ‘parents’ will meet you at the airport and pick up their new ‘fur baby’.  All paperwork is completed for you and there is no cost to you.

Adopt.  If you fall in love with a new fur animal, the shelter will make sure you have all the paperwork in order for easy travel back to your country.  There is NO quarantine time.

Visit the Humane Society Cozumel website to learn more.  Phone number: 987 112 3376

 

 

False Killer Whales Sighted by Cozumel Divers Last Week

photos by Bonnie Pelnar, article by Jen Pobiak

Bonnie Pelnar, from Underwater Colours, was teaching a photo workshop at Scuba Club (which she does bi-annually) when she managed to capture these amazing images of False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens) underwater. Since it was during one of her photo-seminars, everyone on board the Reef Star was a photographer. We had just finished our dive at  San Franciso Wall and were heading north toward our second dive site, Santa Rosa. The captain shouted that he had seen whales and we started noticing several pods making their way north. There were at least 60 or more as they were cruising along side our wake and surfacing right along-side our boat, as well as along-side several other dive boats in the vicinity. After watching them for 15-20 minutes, several of us jumped in with snorkel gear and cameras.*

While we were in the water, several of the curious whales came to check us out. A friend of ours, Kevin Frillman, can be seen in one of the photos freediving with one of the whales. We saw him dive down and slowly turn and the whale did the same in synch! I had my own special encounter as two of the whales came toward me and circled me, one coming within arm’s reach. I cannot even begin to describe the shivers that I felt as I made eye contact with this beautiful, intelligent animal. It was an absolutely amazing experience. It reminded me that I am just this small entity, this little fish in a huge sea, yet we are all connected. There was this beautiful intelligent animal and we had this encounter for just a moment. It went on with its travels and I will be going on with mine, but I will never forget it as a constant reminder of just how precious our oceans resources and animals are.

*It is recommended to exercise great caution and not get in the water with these whales. Although social, there is no real documentation of how these wild animals interact with other species. The people in our group who entered the water were advanced scuba divers and photographers with past knowledge and experience of snorkeling and diving in deep waters with marine life. 

Turtle Nesting Season Well Underway



Cozumel is fortunate to play host to thousands of sea turtles coming
ashore to nest each year.
During the nights of May through September, on the Eastern shore of
the island, two species of sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs on
the beaches of Cozumel.

The turtles, known as the loggerhead turtle (Careta careta or as they’re commonly known caguamas) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), generally lay
from 100-150 eggs and can nest up to 6 times in one season. Roughly 60
days later, the young hatchlings emerge at the surface of the nest,
typically at night when the temperatures are cooler, and immediately
head for the ocean following the light reflected off of the water’s
surface.

In addition, the bays and reefs of the Cozumel area are also
foraging areas where sea turtles such as hawksbill (Eretmochelys
imbricate) turtles and giant leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles
have been sighted swimming just offshore.

Since the nesting season began this year, already over 600
nests have been identified. Of these nests 75 of them are loggerhead
turtles and 56 are from green
sea turtles. Volunteer brigades are patrolling the eastern side of the
island from Mezcalito’s down to the ecological reserve “Faro
Celarain” in search of nests. 

During the Cozumel nesting season, the City works in co-ordination with
local police and Federal armed forces to limit activity on the east side
at nights during turtle nesting season. In the evenings of nesting
season, only the salvation program participants with specifically
designated biologists, interns, and volunteers are allowed to walk the
beaches in search of nesting female turtles, turtle nests, and recent
hatchlings. Among their duties include the protecting and tagging of
females, the collection scientific data, the relocation of eggs to more
favorable locations on the beach, and the release of hatchlings to the
sea. From the data collected, the salvation program is then able to
determine turtle hatching success, behavior, distribution, and
population.

At this time there are essentially two turtle salvation efforts in progress:

  1. The Parks and Museum Foundation’s Punta Sur Park Salvation Program
    – This program began in 2000 and covers the beach area from the
    entrance of Punta Sur Park all the way to the south lighthouse. Since
    access to the park is closed to the public at night, this program enjoys
    significant protection from poachers. This is a FOR PROFIT endeavor
    that offers tours that are publicized through the Cozumel Museum.
    Tickets for these excursions run about $50 per person and are sold
    through the Cozumel Museum downtown.

  2. The City of San Miguel’s Volunteer Salvation Program
    – This program began back in the late 1980’s and covers the beaches
    from Mezcalitos south to the Punta Sur Park entrance. What began as a
    grassroots effort by a few citizens interested in turtle conservation,
    eventually evolved into a small City funded program whereby the City
    relied upon volunteers to do the nightly work, but were able to fund the
    salaries of 2 biologists to supervise the sanctuary and the work of the
    volunteers. For many years, no other funds were available to further
    develop the program or to provide supplies, gas or vehicles for the
    volunteer groups working the beaches each night.

How can you particpate?

Beginning with the 2006 season, in an attempt to generate more interest
and increase awareness of Cozumel’s turtle population, the Turtle
Salvation Program’s governing Committee of Brigades has made a provision
to allow “one time guests” to participate in the Program provided these
guests are supervised and work within the structure of a Brigade.

Those wanting to participate and work with a
Brigade for 1 or 2 nights during their vacation stay must request
permission in advance, be approved and be assigned to a Volunteer
Brigade. 

There are 2 ways to participate ~

Tourists visiting Cozumel or those living here who would like to work for an entire night (or morning) side by side with a turtle brigade can do so during the sea turtle nesting season for a nominal donation per person June 1 through November 15th annually.

Tourists visiting Cozumel or those living here who would like to observe, learn and release baby turtles one night for a few hours with a turtle brigade can do so during the sea turtle nesting season for a nominal donation per person from June 1 through November 15th annually. 

To make a request to participate or observe please visit
Turtle Brigade Participation Application or Observation Request Form

NOTE: Requests are submitted to an approval process and are handled
on first-come, first-serve basis. Please allow 1 week for a response.

Also, please remember to never take dogs to the other side
of the island during the turtle nesting season (day or night).  Many dogs will dig holes and take out the eggs.  Also, the scent of
dogs may discourage a female turtle to nest where she smells ‘predators’.

Where to snorkel in Cozumel!


One of the places my husband and I always snorkel is the Barracuda Hotel.  If you’re staying at Casa Cascada, you can walk to the Barracuda for some awesome snorkeling right off the beach.  I’ve seen stingrays, all types of reef fish, a lionfish (and a stonefish) and of course, a few Barracuda. Enjoy their awesome pool with float up bar (and a great restaurant) while you’re there too!  http://www.hotelbarracuda.com 

Also, try the roped off area to the right of the Money Bar.  You can see rays, barracudas, octopus, turtles, crabs and lobsters. Snorkel all the way to the other end of the ropes and don’t forget to circle around the rocks and coral formations as that’s where most of the critters are hanging out. 

Punta Sur Park has a great long reef to explore. Costs money to get in, but well worth it! 

Cozumel Canine Park in the Works

Plans are in the works for “Cozumel Canine Park”. The intended project is to adapt a space large enough for pets to have their own recreation space. A proposal is being overseen by the Chairman of the Veterinary Association, Julio Gutierrez MVZ, from Centro Médico Veterinario Cozumel, and the Cozumel Humane Society. Since they’ll be soliciting government funds to help sponsor the park, they’re asking all interested parties to “like” their facebook group, so they can prove interest in the project. Please take a moment to show your support!

New Tulum Archeology Discovery

Aktun-hu, the ancient cenote located just outside Tulum, has already gained notoriety for hosting a skull that pre-dates the Mayan culture, however further archeological investigation is now revealing even more treasures from this site. 


In a press conference on Monday representatives from Proyecto Espeleológico Tulum (PET), announced the discovery of bones that could possibly belong to a Gonfoterio, which is an elefant-like species similar to a Mammoth. 


These remains are believed to be over 10,000 years old. Also found near the mastodonian remains were bones believed to be part of a human arm, and might even be connected to the original skull discovery. This discovery gives scientists interesting insight into the hypothesis that human life co-existed with these pre-historic creatures. 


Don’t forget…Cozumel is a great jumping off point for a day visit to Tulum!  Stay in Casa Cascada as you check out the mainland.  

Cozumel Red Cross (Cruz Roja) Looking for Volunteers for Ironman 2010

As it did last year, the Cozumel Red Cross (Cruz Roja) will be
running the emergency medical service and staffing the medical tent at Ironman.  
And, this year, it hopes to offer a station to reunite competitors with their
friends and family during and after the event.

This means that we need
English-speaking (including bilingual) medical and lay volunteers to assist
over the course of this very long day. Nurses, doctors, EMT’s
& paramedics will take charge of an “advance triage” area near
the finish line to determine which competitors require medical services vs
post-race observation, massage and/or nutritional recovery.

Some of these
trained volunteers will be stationed in the recovery tent to observe and others
will be needed in the medical tent to run IV’s, warm patients, etc. Non-medical
people are needed to run the “reunion” area, which must coordinate
with Ironman staff, the registrar at the med tent and the ambulance service to
track the competitors.

There are also some thankless tasks that must be
done that day, such as keeping the med tent clean and shopping for any
unexpected but necessary supplies. These services open at the
start of the race and close around 4 or 5am Monday morning.  Most volunteers
will be utilized between 12pm and 1am. Shift length will be determined by
volunteer response.

Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] if you would like to
participate.

Ironman Cozumel November 28, 2010

Ironman is back in Cozumel this November 28, 2010.  Pre-race activities will start that Thursday and the awards ceremony is Monday the 29th.

The final race course for this year has been approved by the local  authorities, which will be more spectator friendly and spectacular as well.  AND Casa Cascada is 3 blocks away from one of the race hot spots (City Hall or Palacio Municipal) that is promoted on the Ironman website ! 

So what is the Ironman anyway?  It’s 2.4 miles of swimming (3.8 km), 112 miles of biking (180 km) and a 26.2 miles run (42.2 km).  The race is limited to 2,300 triathletes and the prize money is $50K!

Here are the details…

SWIM:2.4miles (3.8 km), (1 lap) :

It will be an ocean swim, 1 lap, 1 massive in water start.   

During the first part of the course participants will be swimming against the current and at the end participants will swim with the current.  

The water visibility is 100% and big buoys will be placed every 200mfor your reference with smaller ones along the course. Water temperature will be around 84 F, wetsuits will not be permitted.

Cozumel Ironman provides a brightly colored swim cap for each athlete. This cap is provided for safety and must be worn throughout the swim.

Cut off time: 2:20 hours after the start.


BIKE: 112 miles(180 km), (3 laps) :

The bike course starts at the CHANKANAAB parking lot (T1), and finishes atT2 next to Cozumel’s City Hall in the heart of downtown.   Participants will complete 3 laps along the Highway around the Island in a counter clockwise direction.  Every lap will go by the City Hall,between T2 and the finish line.  The City Hall is 3 blocks from the house and you can see the huge Mexican flag that flies outside daily.

Here’s the complete bike course:  Upon leaving T1 at Chankanaab park, turn right on the Cozumel highway for about 12 miles towards the south side of the Island (Punta Sur).  At this point you will continue towards the north for about 9 miles right next to the ocean, with strong cross winds,  until the junction with Juarez Ave. (a place called Mezcalitos), where you will turn left and go straight until 30thAve. where you´ll turn left and go straight to 11thstreet,turn right until City Hall to complete lap 1.Two more and you will have finished this beautiful bike ride. The entire course is flat and the pavement is in perfect conditions.     

* Bike’s cut off time: 10:30 hours after the start.


RUN: 26.2 miles (42.195km), (3 laps):

After finishing the bike portion of the race, participants will hand in their bike to the T2volunteers who will rack the bike.  Participants will then proceed to the changing tents.

The run will start towards the North along the main street(Rafael Melgar Ave.) until reaching the turnaround point near the Cozumel Golf Course.   It will be an out and back course to which you will run 3 laps and finish right in front the City Hall inside the main plaza.     

Car access will be totally restricted in this course.

Cut off time: 17 hours from the start of the event.

There will be race officials at every turnaround and along the course,as well as timing mats and video cameras.  

If you need additional information such as registration information, a detailed schedule and more…This is the official website of Ironman:  www.ironmancozumel.com


**This post is getting quite a few hits so please feel free to submit any information below to help out fellow Triathletes.  I will post comments within 24 hours.