Yucatan Living

Yucatan News: Orphans and Turtles

News starting September 28, 2009

You Can Help: Orphanage in Yucatan
The extranjeros who are interested in both living and working in Yucatan are forever asking us if there is an orphanage where they can be of some use to the children. Well, now we know where there is one and how you can help the forgotten children of Yucatan. Jim Mann, former owner of Mayan Living Real Estate, has been helping the poor for years. Now, Teresa, one of the new partners in Mayan Living, has discovered an orphanage in Merida that cares for approximately 30 small children. Please take the time to read this newest addition to her blog, “Beach Bum In the Yucatan” and follow the links she provides to bring Christmas to children who have nothing. We have also just learned that increasing enrollments in primary schools have left yet another school, this one in Tzucacab, without desks, so children are having to sit on the floor. This too sounds as if it is a candidate for someone’s next project. Can you help?

170 Baby Turtles Released
This past week, 170 endangered baby sea turtles were released from the beach at the ISSTEY Resort in Yucalpeten. For those who are unaware of this resort, it is a place that provides an affordable vacation for the workers of Yucatan and their families. This means that there is always a steady supply of children available for turtle releases. CETMAR rescues the eggs from nests all along the beach, incubates them at their facility in Yucalpeten, and then uses their release by the Yucateco children as an environmental teaching tool. This makes for a win-win situation for both the baby turtles and the next generation of children in our state.

Yucatan Expat Featured in WorldOnABike
We all love our own Yucatan by Bicycle bloggers but, this week, we found another cycling site and one of our very own Canadian expats is the subject of its latest feature story. The site is called WorldOnABike and the owner is in the process of featuring 1,000 cyclers. The expat’s name is Lee Christie and her retreat is called the Genesis Retreat. It is located in the Mayan village of Ek Balam and is totally eco-friendly. She conducts tours of the village, the ruins, and the surrounding area. She also hosts artists and writers’ working retreats, a Courtney Milne photo workshop, retreats that explore Maya spirituality and religion, singles retreats, as well as personal retreats just to relax away from the cares of the world. If you are a bike traveler, or would like to be, take a look at WorldOnABike. If you are looking for an eco-friendly retreat, then Genesis Retreat is just the place for you.

Yucatan’s Bald Pig Making a Comeback
Every time we turn around, there is something in Yucatan that is discovered anew. Such was the case with the bee-keepers, and now, in less than half a dozen years, we have become one of the world’s premier honey producers. The same is true of our habanero peppers. Now, Yucatan’s little Creole pig is ready for market. It seems as if this little bald pig is immune to disease, but was almost lost, as a species. Several decades ago, someone realized its future in the organic meat market and now it will be sold, worldwide, to be “roasted suckling pig” trade. These little pigs are truly “the other white meat” and one more product of Yucatan that will ensure financial success for our farmers. The best take-away from this story is that these pigs are small enough to be raised in the yard of even the poorest Mayan farmers and villagers, so they will be of benefit to parts of the agricultural population that have never before enjoyed such success.

Dengue on the Rise
Please be careful to double-check your property for any possible mosquito breeding spot or place to hide. Dengue fever is on the rise in some of the southern areas of Merida, which automatically makes this a municipality-wide concern. Dengue is a miserable, flu-like disease that – like the flu - has the potential to kill, so please do your part to protect yourself and your neighbors.

In the U.S.? Want Something to Do? Ask Goby!
Goby is the neatest little search engine we have seen in a long time. Its “fill in the blanks” for what you would like to do, as well as when and where you would like to do it. It even has drop-down menus of suggestions, and you can choose a range of dates! Try Goby Here.  Now – if someone would just make a Goby for Mexico….