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Jaltemba Sol...the
heartbeat of the Riviera Nayarit
July 8th, 2009
JONATHAN GETS GLASSES!!!
Jonathan can see
Jonathan Israel Rivera Paredes, a student at "Jardin de Ninos
GPE Manautau" in La Penita, Nayarit, Mexico, was presented with
new glasses this week.
The need for the glasses came as a result of observations
by Kate Baron, the English teacher at the school, when she
noticed his trouble doing simple tasks such as running, kicking
a ball and coloring. Discussions were then held with Jamie
Lazenby, an employee at Sears Optical and here on vacation, to
try to find a solution to the problem. Jamie consulted with her
company and donated money for Jonathan's eye examination. When
the exam was completed the prescription was Emailed to Jamie in
the U.S. and the glasses were made and sent as a donation.
It is with their hearts that the parents, teachers and
community thank Jamie, Sears Optical and all who were involved
with this project.
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Headline News
Mexico's major election: Congress, state and local governments
A voodoo-like doll left on a candidate’s doorstep. Political contenders
jailed for shoplifting at Wal-Mart or receiving kickbacks for a garbage
dump contract. A century-old cartoon character reborn as a write-in
candidate. Flying accusations of narco-corruption…Click
Here to Read More
Al Gamez forges marketing alliance with Real Resorts, Palace Resorts,
RIUResorts, Funjet Vacatiions
Al Gamez, CEO of MVP Media and a pioneer in the Mexico tourism industry
has signed contracts with Mexico's top resorts brands to bring the NFL
Legends to Mexico…Click
Here to Read More
“Miss Spain” Moves to Mexico
Times are tough for beauty pageants. With every year that passes they
become more irrelevant and more of a joke than a competition to most.
Perhaps that’s why Spain’s “Miss España” pageant is suffering so much
that they need to take the show on the road: to Mexico…Click
Here to Read More
China apologizes to Mexico for tough swine flu stand
China's Health Minister Chen Zhu Friday apologized to his Mexican
counterpart for failing to warn him about the tough measures Beijing
imposed on Mexicans to combat swine flu.
…Click Here to Read More
Archaeologists dive deep into the lost world of the Maya
Machete chops echo and leaves rustle underfoot when the vines clear,
revealing cobalt-blue water in a cliff-sided pool.
…Click Here to Read More
New Riviera Maya Theme Park in Mexico
Xplor, the Xcaret group’s adventure park, opens today on the Maya
Riviera, right next to Xcaret itself.
…Click Here to Read More
Joslyn Art Museum Presents Exhibition of Mexican Folk Art from Private
Local Collection
Mexican Folk Art from the Collection of Pat and Judd Wagner is a
celebration of the rich folk art traditions that reach more than 2,000
years into Mexico’s past…Click
Here to Read More
AeroMexico's new service to New Orleans may boost medical travel
When Sue Sorey needed hip replacement surgery, her husband, the Rev.
Galen Sorey, called hospitals in the couple's hometown of Baton Rouge to
get estimates of the cost.
…Click Here to Read More
Grupo Mexico Offers Asarco Creditors $1.46 Billion
Grupo Mexico SAB agreed to pay $1.46 billion in cash plus a $280 million
note to regain control of its bankrupt U.S. copper miner Asarco LLC, the
company said in court papers.
…Click Here to Read More
Tropical Storm Blanca forecast to lose steam
Tropical Storm Blanca off Mexico's Pacific coast was losing steam as it
moved toward colder waters Tuesday, which should sap its energy.
…Click Here to Read More
Mexico begins marketing efforts to restore $13B tourism industry
It
will be a nice change to see some positive Mexico headlines in the
coming weeks and months.
……Click Here To Read More
'Rudo y Cursi:' The Mexican movie phenomenon
Eight years ago, Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna became global pin-ups
for the resurgence in Mexican filmmaking after their memorable
breakthrough in coming-of-age road movie "Y tu Mama Tambien."
……Click Here To Read More
Mexico Will Benefit From Flu Conference In Cancun
The
Global Flu Summit in Mexico, from July 1-3, 2009, will be of great
benefit to the country and its tourism industry, said Cancun real estate
agents, RE/MAX Investment Properties, today……Click
Here To Read More
Airline Aeromexico To Get MXN500M Infusion From Investors
Mexican airline Aeromexico's investors have committed to inject 500
million pesos ($37.9 million) into the company to help it cover
financial shortcomings resulting from the local outbreak of A/H1N1
influenza, a top official said Thursday.
……Click Here To Read More
Stockholders in Mexico's ICA approve share sale
ICA
(ICA.MX)(ICA.N), Mexico's top building company, said on Thursday its
stockholders h
ave
approved a plan to sell up to $350 million in shares to finance
infrastructure projects.
……Click Here To Read More
2 Million flew from Mexico as Swine Flu Began
In a
startling measure of just how widely a new disease can spread,
researchers found that more than 2.3 million people flew from Mexico to
more than 1,000 cities worldwide in March and April as the swine flu
epidemic was unfolding.
……Click Here To Read More
Mexico deploys 1,500 extra soldiers to border city
Mexico has deployed 1,500 more troops to Ciudad Juarez following a surge
in homicides in the border city related to the drug trade.
……Click Here To Read More
Fields of hope: How Portales won the battle for Eastern New Mexico
University
In
1912, the New Mexico Constitution called for “a normal school, which
shall be established by the Legislature and located in one of the
counties of Union, Quay, Curry, Roosevelt, Chaves or Eddy.”
……Click Here To Read More
Conference to bring together U.S./Mexico ‘sister cities’
The
Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the
governor’s office and the city of Austin to host the 2009 U.S./Mexico
Sister Cities International Conference from Aug. 5 through Aug. 9, an
event that will bring about 300 attendees from more than 160 U.S. cities
and their sister city counterparts in Mexico.
……Click Here To Read More
Schwarzenegger Visits Victims of Mexico Fire
Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has toured a Sacramento hospital that is treating
children burned earlier this month in a blaze at a day care center in
northern Mexico.
……Click Here To Read More
A Magical Mexican Beach Town
 
Los Ayala is a dreamy little Mexican town nestled along a one
kilometre bay at the very foot of the Sierra de Vallejo Mountain
range. An undiscovered gem, Los Ayala is an authentic Mexican beach
town and a true Mexican fishing village that is just now beginning
to
be discovered as a tropical beach destination by the foreign
tourist. 
The setting for the town is reminiscent of the “Garden of Eden”.
The
surrounding vegetation is dense and thick, including a thousand
shades
of green, hundreds of dancing palm trees; giant lime trees, mahogany
trees, and an abundance of papaya, mango, banana trees.
 Los Ayala is also a bird watchers paradise and common to the area are
flocks of green parakeets soaring above the many variety of palms,
amiable pelicans, frigate birds, prancing egrets, inca doves and
white doves, tropical king birds and even the occasional lone eagle.
 
The one kilometre long beach of Los Ayala is a palm fringed cove,
and
perfect for swimming with soft, silky gold specked sand, a gradually
sloping shoreline and crystal clear waters. Most days the waves lap
gently on the shore, and with the right weather and tide conditions
the blue pacific water takes on a Caribbean green hue, and the calm
water resembles a lake, offering perfect snorkelling conditions.
Locals say with pride that Los Ayala offers one of the most
beautiful
swimming beaches on Pacific Mexico’s coast.
At the south end of Los Ayala beach, the shoreline is rocky and
dotted
with caves tempting one to explore a little. Los Ayala is said to be
named after a group of bandits who sought refuge here many years ago
(Los Ayalas), and the locals speak of a “Golden Door”, hidden within
a
cave entrance behind which lies a lost world, and a magnificent
treasure, still to be discovered.  Los Ayala used to be called “Beach
of the Mermaids” which seems a more fitting appellation for this
tropical oasis, far removed from bandits.
A ten minute swim around the south end of the beach takes swimmers
through some passable snorkelling, ending at the secluded and
beautiful beach called Playa del Beso (Beach of the Kiss). If one
continues swimming and heads around the next bend, they end up at
Playa del Toro (Beach of the Bull), an even more secluded beach,
where
your only companions are birds, fish and the odd fisherman.
Snorkelers
frequently find themselves snorkelling through schools fish. If
swimming is not your forte, it is an easy ten minute hike to Playa
del
Beso, and just another twenty minutes to Playa del Toro. The hike to
Playa del Toro takes one through the beautiful Nayarit rainforest.
 The beach of Los Ayala is generally quiet and tranquil, but it has
been a favourite with Mexican families for decades and still bustles
with activity on weekends, holidays, and especially Semana Santa.
Semana Santa in Los Ayala is not for everyone, as the beach is
packed,
and competing bands play music through the day and night, but it is
definitely is off the beaten path and worlds away from the more
heavily touristed beaches. The beach is lined with Palapa
restaurants
serving delicious blackened fish and prawns cooked in a hundred
fashions. It is very inexpensive to dine here and a pleasure to
dine
bare foot on the sand at any of the restaurants. Beach vendors
selling
pineapples stuffed with fresh fruit, and the locals carry large
trays
of muffins and sometimes even more tempting donuts on large trays on
their head displaying perfect posture and balance.
 The beach bustles with fishermen selling fish to the locals early in
the morning, while the tourists delight in watching the amiable
pelicans vie for the scraps. The small town of Los Ayala even boasts
an internet café, Coffee shop serving great cappuccino and espresso,
and a disco called “Green Please” which features female
impersonators
just opened.
Los Ayala, a Magical Mexican Beach Town! Come, stay a while!
Submitted by Christina Stobbs
They’re
Baack!
Tropical Land Crabs
By Tara Spears
With the summer rains come the hoards of blue land crabs along the
Riviera Nayarit coast. Since their main habitat is inland jungle forests
within five miles of the ocean, most of the year these low-slung
critters are not that visible to those living
or visiting the coastal
communities. But, since the life cycle of the land crab (terrestrial
crabs of the family Ocypodidae) is controlled by the sea, it is the
ocean that regenerates the species. Land crabs migrate from the jungle
to the ocean to wash their eggs during the Mexican summer rainy season,
then migrate back to their land territory. That’s why you are seeing so
many of them recently. These
alien-like terrestrial crustaceans have ecological importance as
decomposers of dead organisms besides being a human food source.
Land
Crab Life Cycle: Adult female blue crab heading to sea; giving birth
in the ocean; baby (larvae stage) in the ocean; juvenile returning
to land.
 
Blue land crabs reach sexual maturity in approximately four years. Their
peak reproductive activity occurs during full moons in the summer. After
mating, an adult female lays her eggs but carries the egg mass beneath
her body for approximately 2 weeks prior to migrating to the ocean and
releasing the eggs into shallow inshore waters. A female may produce
300,000 - 700,000 eggs per spawn, but very few larvae survive to become
small crabs. The larvae are eaten by fish and other aquatic animals. The
spawning season (female migration to ocean) lasts from June to December,
peaking in October and November. Once the eggs hatch, the tiny larvae
are carried out to sea. The development stage (from larvae to small
crab) takes about a month out in the ocean; during that time the
currents can carry a concentration of larvae quite far before depositing
young crabs on another shore. This phenomenon sometimes seems as if an
invasion of young land crabs has occurred in an area.
 The
adult male Blue crab (left) displays the asymmetric claws that indicate
sexual maturity. In the juvenile phase, the
male and female crabs look alike. Land crabs
grow by moulting, a process of shedding their hard exoskeleton; the crab
absorbs water internally to crack the old shell.
![geograp1[1].gif](july%208th_files/image009.gif)
Crabs are usually aggressive towards each
other, and males often fight over females. Social and mating behaviors
are complex. Many make species - specific sounds by banging on the
ground with their pincers or stamping with their feet, or make elaborate
pincer movements. Mating occurs only when the female has just molted and
her new shell is not yet hard; the males, however, are in their
hard-shelled form. Thus males may protect a female just before she
molts, so he can have first access when she is able to mate, and may
continue to protect her till shell hardens. Some males even carry the
female around. Usually the eggs are laid shortly after mating, but
females can also store sperm for many months. The eggs are fertilized as
they pass through the chamber holding the sperm. In most, the females
carry their eggs cemented to their underside and protected by the tail,
which is folded under the body to form a brood pouch.
This animal can measure up to 6
inches (15cm) across its carapace. In its juvenile form, the crab is a
dark brown, purple, or orange in color. As an adult, it is a bluish-gray
color. The adult female sometimes appears light gray or white. The
reproducing, mature land crab has one claw that is larger than the
other, and the walking legs are sparsely hairy.
As adults, Blue crabs are terrestrial (land-dwelling) and are found as
far as 5 miles from the shoreline, returning  to
the sea only to drink or breed. They live in burrows several feet deep
or at least to a level that will allow water to seep in for moisture.
The blue land crab is primarily vegetarian, preferring tender leaves,
fruits, berries, flowers and some vegetables. Occasionally they will eat
beetles or other large insects.
Land crabs have sensitive eyes. During the day they use light and at
night they identify the brightest part of the horizon. They also use
vibrations, landmarks and prevailing winds to guide them to the sea. It
does not depend on its eyes alone, for it senses motion and sound. They
can rapidly move in any direction. Their hard pinchers, used for
tearing food and protection, will regenerate if torn from its body.
 The
exotic tropical Blue land crab is another treasure that makes living or
visiting the Riviera Nayarit so enjoyable.
Contact Tara:
tara.sprs@hotmail.com
Letters
Just keep me on your mailing list. Love to hear the news from
Jaltemba Bay area and elsewhere in Mexico.
Hope you're enjoying your trip around Mexico. We miss it.
Ray & Eva Lash
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