Cozumel News Vol 8

Note: These articles are a great deal of work to find and translate. They are under copyright. But we all know what a temptation it is to want to share interesting info all over the internet. We don't mind you copying short snippets. But .....

The national consumer protection agency PROFECO has established permanent programs designed to prevent consumer abuse and warns tourism-related businesses that their prices must be publicly displayed.

Ramiro Vélez Marino, head of Cozumel's PROFECO, asserted that his unit is visiting individual companies in an effort to ensure that accurate pricing in both Spanish and English is clearly displayed within the business.

The consumer protection agency is also asking restaurants, hotels, and service providers to make all important information available in both languages, ensuring that national and foreign visitors are not taken advantage of.

At the same time, Vélez Marino is working in conjunction with Mexico City and Cancún PROFECO offices as they make continuous visits to timeshare sales offices. The group is focused on protecting Mexican and foreign tourists alike so they are not defrauded or abused by timeshare salespersons.

The controversial importation of dolphins from the Solomon Islands has taken a new turn with the resignation of SEMARNAT general director Georgita Ruiz, who has been directly involved in the case up to this point.

Local ecology groups announce that they will redouble their protests in an effort to prevent the dolphins from being transported to Cozumel where a new dolphin arena awaits them.

Sara Rincón Gallardo, president of the Humane Society, says that Ruiz resigned under pressure to authorize the transfer to Cozumel.

Anyone wanting to learn to dive can solicit lessons with any of the numerous dive shops on the island, and can expect to pay an average of $350 for a course. After four days of training, instruction and practice, students will be certified as beginning divers.

Certified divers that wish to take advanced or rescue courses can purchase a package for $55 or $60, paying an additional $21 for equipment rental and a $2 entrance fee for Cozumel's national reef park.

Dive courses are offered to individuals aged twelve years and older and registration can be accomplished via internet or telephone from anywhere in the world.

At the end of the 1960's, the island converted into an international dive destination as a result of the area's rich marine life and exquisite coral formations.

By the 1980's Cozumel was one of the world's top dive spots, known for excellence. At that point tourism activity converted into an actual industry, offering diversified services to the island's growing number of visitors.

INCREDIBLE
Instructor Eve Akerman emphasizes that Cozumel has incredible areas for diving. These are absolutely one of a kind because they remain virtually unaffected by the contamination that has occurred in other parts of the world.

Despite the great numbers of visitors diving the waters of Cozumel on a daily basis, the reefs remain in excellent condition. The small areas of coral that do exhibit some damage are those located closest to the town, popular tourist areas, beach clubs and hotels.

Akerman stressed that while there are divers or "frog men" who are trained and certified in the military or through various international entities, these individuals still must comply with the standard requirements or they will not be permitted to work as an instructor or guide. The dive master level is the equivalent of someone who has had a specialized training; a master scuba or dive trainer is one who trains nonprofessional dive masters; the staff instructor is a trainer's assistant; the master instructor teaches dive instructors; and the course director is one who teaches certain levels.

In 1995 Cozumel realized its first dive instructor course in Spanish. There are currently 130 dive shops on the island and a total of 328,000 divers registered with the national reef park last year.

Cozumeleños believed that they were the owners of the island..the owners of the beach..the owners of the sea.

Now they haggle over a piece of land because the "administrator" always shows up. The administrator not only establishes the rules, but also administers the nation's property and that of humanity itself. In an effort to accomplish this, the administrator created the marine park in order to have to profits at his disposal, citing the following rule: If you're going to play, you have to pay". The time is gone when an individual, no matter what his nationality, could swim, dive, or enjoy any other type of aquatic activity.

The citizens of Cozumel have shaped their own history and developed the island with their own hands since the moment the settlers arrived in 1847, often in the face of adversity and difficulty. One of the most significant moments came with the construction of the municipal pier. This was constructed during President Lázaro Cardenes' term while he governed what was then a territory called Quintana Roo. Meanwhile Rafael E. Melgar was mayor of Cozumel and Ricardo Villanueva was municipal delegate.

Today that pier belongs to the federal government as "administrator" and all of the benefits of said pier are for the federal government and of course for government thieves.

Another significant moment in Cozumel's history was the rescue of the Chankanaab lagoon which today is Chankanaab National Park. Development began 20 years ago and was originated by then governor Pedro Joaquín Coldwell. Even more than a project, it was a vision that that continues even today. Without the governor's interest and work, it would only be a point of reference, however, it forms part of the lives and social development of Cozumeleños and the people of Quintana Roo.

To accomplish the rescue of Chankanaab, Joaquín Coldwell solicited the intervention of specialists and that's how men like Eric Jordán Dahlgren, the project director, and a great number of investigators from the University of Mexico came to be involved in the project. The funding for the project came from the state; the federal government offered not one single peso. Thanks to all those involved, today we have Chankanaab Park and the Foundation of Parks and Museums.

The Cozumeleños created a beautiful island, but then the "administrator", better known as the federal government, stepped in. Working through thieves like Rafael Muñoz Berzunza and Robert Cudney Bueno, who head up a government environmental agency and the national reef park respectively, the
"administrator" administers and disposes of resources - a clear violation of municipal autonomy.

Pedro Joaquín Coldwell left an inheritance to the people of Quintana Roo. What will our present governor Joaquín Henricks Díaz leave?

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