Filling the pool and shocking information!

At last the day has arrived when we fill the pool.

We are planning to use the cenote style well water (free), the other options are to use city water or to bring in a tanker load of fresh water. My builder tells me many choose the tanker option as they hope to end up with a clean pool straight away. This is not the case – even the freshest of water sources will take on a cloudy or tainted look at first until it has been “shocked”.

Shocking is the name given to the process of cleaning and clarifying new or tainted water and is only done when the pool is first opened or when there is a severe problem. A well-kept pool should not need regular shocking.

The shocking process involves treating the pool to a large dose of a chemical mix. There are many types of chemicals available to shock and treat various pool cleanups on the market, we will be using chloro (chlorine) and clarificador (clarifyer) for our maintenance. Simply put, the chlorine keeps the pool fresh and kills the nasties and the clarificador makes fine particles of debris clump so they are easily removed by vacuum or the sand filter. We will also use acid or alkali to keep the ph level correct.


The chemical treatment of a pool is a fine art. One needs to become familiar with ones own individual pool to look after it properly. For example, many people assume a strong chlorine smell is an indication of too much chlorine in the pool (myself for a start) but this is not the case. It is an indication of not enough "free" chlorine. Its quite an interesting topic if one cares to read up on it all.
Fortunately I can take a miss here as I intend to have my builder maintain my pool. He carries quite a reputation around Cozumel for being an expert pool maintainace guy.

Once again I sit in my favourite area on the wall just above the pool to watch the event. I make a mental note that this seating location is really too good to loose to a regular wood balcony and I will have to work on a method to keep it for seating.

We start around mid-day and by nightfall the bottom section of the pool is filled. The next morning we continue the task. Once the water level reaches a good height the pump is primed and the well pump sends the water through our plumbing system.

For the first time the pool jets spring into action, it is a great sight to see. We also add a second hose to fill faster from our submersible pump in the well. Both pumps run all day and thoroughly test the limits of our now sparkling clean well… will it run dry? By noon the pool is still filling and by 7 it is totally full without even a pause for the well to refill.


My builder declares it a super well!

Once we get the water to a fairly deep level, we start the processes of testing the cortina de agua. The filters spring into action, there are a few gurgles and splutters while the main tube fills then a stream of water emerges from the fountain. At first it is only a trickle but then we turn the pump volume up a notch and the cortina is there.

My builder takes little time to sit back. He tests the water and adds the required dosage of chemicals for the shock, he then mixes it by swirling buckets of water around the pool.

His wife who often calls round at the end of the day is there and I persuade them to have a photo taken by the fountain. They happily oblige but within a short time he is back to work, observing swirling water and checking all is well.

At the end of the day I reminisce. When we first came upon this house we wanted a pool. We looked at the large concrete area with its huge royal palm in the centre and never imagined it would ever be possible to have this pool there.

The concrete circle looked impenetrable and the grand old plam was larger than the ones at the neighbouring Corpus Christi Church …way too big for the area. But all this can be dealt with easily in Mexico, they have been doing it for years. The royal palm was eventually removed mid hurricanes Emily and Wilma by the marvelous bomberos and the concrete patio was removed almost as easily by my builders hard working team.

While we take time to ponder it all, I remind my builder of when we first met. Our evening spent discussing and measuring the details and chalking out the plan on our concrete path … now that it has all come together, I find it quite an emotional moment.

Eventually with the nostalgia done, we part for the day. The pool is still muggy but my builder says it will be clear tomorrow. I shut off the pump and the pool rests still and quiet in the darkness …I put the pool light on and gaze at it.

I still can’t take it in that it is finally all real!

First Washday and the Cozumel Glow

...not a new washing powder.

Since my washing machine is now in its nice new housing and working I have told the guys am looking for ward to my first washday with this trusty machine. It’s a fairly new machine but has a long history and has “seen plenty of action” in its short lifespan.

The machine was new when we bought the house and had been rarely used. The previous owner offered to sell me it, but thinking I didn’t want to be hassled with domestic chores on a holiday paradise island, I refused. Shelater sold it to my (excellent) realtor. I changed my mind when I found the realtor wasn’t actually using it and my esposo decided he would like to have one available to wash his dive suit. So my realtor and I traded it back.

My builder at that time transported it from my realtors house, a mile or two away, to my place in his trusty tricyclo.


A tricycle is an adult three wheeled bike, they are very common here and very similar to the little three wheeler Raleigh bikes my friends and I would race around on as kids in UK in the 50’. They easily carry more weight than my rented ford fiesta ever could and are used to transport people, building materials, furnishings… mother-in-laws ... in fact there is very little they don’t transport on these vintage looking marvels.

But back to the washing machine.
We put it in a corner where it was well protected and it made it through Emily in one piece. We then decided we wanted the space for our dive equipment drying area and so tried to sell it.

One day while in Chedraui, I saw a local lady eyeing a new machine and so approached her and mentioned I was selling a similar, almost new machine for half the price. She was overjoyed and came straight round to my house and offered to buy it there and then. She would go back home and return with the money at the weekend. That weekend she still didn’t have the cash but offered to pay at the end of the month. In her exuberance she also invited me to their Sunday lunch. I declined as my Spanish was very lacking at that time (still is for that matter unless you’re talking building talk). Am not sure whether my refusal offended her though, as she never did return.

So machine stayed put, and went through the unexpected, three day, heavy duty, hurricane Wilma, during which time it spend a good few days of its short life up to its knees in water.

After Wilma we pretty much gave it up for dead, the engine buzzed but did little else. The gas dryer still worked well though as it was high above the Wilma water level so I gave it one last chance and sent it to the repair shop. Three men almost killed themselves trying to move it to the truck to take it for repair … like mattresses here, this thing is damned heavy. They gave me an estimate of $100 for total repair and clean … it seemed a fair price so we went ahead. When it returned it was cleaned and worked a treat … it just lacked the proper plumbing.

Anyhoo, to return to the washday.
I have all my clothes in and am about to start the wash when the power goes off. One might think that this is a common occurrence on Cozumel but surprisingly, its not. Hurricanes aside, we actually have more power outages/cuts in Virginia than we do on here Cozumel. An hour or so later the power returns and I go out to make a second start on my wash.

As I am checking all the parts prior to the wash I notice the hot water intake is still open. My builder mentioned this would be a problem but I am expert and not dissuaded by this. I find a plastic cap in my mini bodega closet and it fits over the hot intake perfectly. (You never throw anything away on Cozumel.) It would probably be better improved by some cinta de plomero (plumbers tape) but its ok for now.

Soon my first wash is happily humming around in the robust machine. The charming little girl I usually deal with “down the laundrette” has sadly lost a customer, but I am feeling triumphant. What would be a normal washday event at home its feels like a major achievement here.

The Cozumel Glow
So often simple things back home are great accomplishments here. like finding the right tiles for my path and pool, finding cranberry juice in Chedraui, finding a cheap hard drive (yeh …try that ... or anything computer orientated here!), getting paint of a certain color, the right lights for my new palapa. All this would be so simple back home in the land of infinite choices, but here it feels like a climb to the top of Everest (Ok …maybe a bit over-the-top here!). The Cozumel Glow is the feeling of satisfaction one gets when these things are achieved and is rarely experienced back home for such small endeavors.

While the washing is churning around, I keep my window open so as to hear any changes in tone and run out to check on each occasion it changes pitch. It is a bit noisy on the spin so I will maybe try to get a piece of insulation carpet to quieten it, otherwise, for all its past history, it seems to be in fine working order.

Unfortunately the last spin cycle seems to go on indefinitely. After what seems like an eternity of noisy disruption to this otherwise calm and peaceful Sunday, I eventually give up waiting and shut the thing off manually. It’s still been a successful venture. I do have nice clean laundry, spun to almost dry but I suspect I may also have a mechanical problem to be investigated later.

I have a second load but the stillness and quiet of this particular Sunday is almost magical. It’s a bright sunny day so I hang the previous load out on the line. Still glowing from my first washday success I retreat to the sun deck to enjoy the peace, the breezes and an ice-cold beer.

Washday blues … not likely!

Ding dong bell ...someone's down the well

After almost two weeks with many intermittent “rain stops play” type holdups, the pool tiling is finally complete. My builders “second in command” and I have worked out inventive ways to use all but six single individual luminescent tiles! I plan to set these in a wood frame and take them back home as a memento and reminder on challenging days that a cool pool awaits us in our Cozumel home.

Once the tiling is complete the pool must remain dry for a week before water is added to allow the tiles to fully adhere to the inner surfaces. Quite a challenge since we are presently in the rain season! We now find ourselves in the odd situation of striving to keep water out of the pool.

The guys now rig the sun canopy to try to catch the rain, but it still seeps in and they have to bail it out by hand with sponge and bucket on a regular basis. We cannot use the floor drain as the system has no water circulation. Running a pump “dry” is a sure way to kill it. Fortunately we can use the sump pump when the rainwater reaches higher levels.

During this week of waiting the guys focus is on finishing other smaller projects. We plaster and paint the back wall and arch. Since we still have two or three boxes of the more plain, azul tiles to use up my builder suggests we add some around the wall base to protect the paintwork from splashing from the pool. I also add some around the poolside for decoration. We can then maybe use the remainder for the dive rinse tank. I suspected they would come in handy at some point!

This is also the ideal time for the builder’s son, the electrician and plumber of the family team, to tackle the all important cortina de agua fountain. Until now the fountain device has been hidden behind the vista maya rock. Now it is about to make its debut.

My builder has confidence he can cut the rock to reveal it again without hitch. I have been impressed by his expertise but will hold my breath for this, there are no markings to show the exact point to cut.

Cutting the rock one again produces a great deal of dust and is tough work. The rock must be cut but the plastic pipe within the wall must stay intact. As he cuts the pipe finally emerges. Once the pipe is out in the open he measures and then cuts the pipe to reveal the water container for the fountain. A tile is then mounted to the wall at a slight incline to the pipe. All goes without a hitch.

The last item to be tackled is the cleaning of the well which will supply our pool with fresh “cenote style” water. Earlier I asked how you would clean out this claustrophobic little hole in the ground. Well(?) …you just plop someone down there with a bucket for the debris and some cloro (bleach)!

The first time we did this I was horrified. The Victorian practice of using small boys to clean chimneys sprang to mind. It is usually a younger lad that gets sent down there. Firstly, because it’s a shitty job and the younger ones are usually at the bottom of the pecking order. Secondly, they are the only ones who will fit down there!

On this occasion, the muchacho (lad) chosen is a very amenable lad who is always up for a joke and a bit of fun while working ... as are so many of the workers here. Since I am constantly in the habit of suggesting alterations in the mornings when the guys arrive, he regularly teases me with "cambios ...cambios?" (changes changes?) when they arrive. To play along I often respond with some outrageous alteration suggestion.

Due to the alteration for the pool steps, the well is now even more claustrophobic. Once down there however, the lad obviously finds the acoustics very much to his liking and sings quite heartily throughout the whole process while my builder observes and shouts instructions down the hole to make sure he does a good job.

I watch the proceedings from the edge of the pool and obviously miss a joke or two since there is much laughter from some of his comments from the deep. Eventually he re-emerges and the well is clean again. To show gratitude … and also to somewhat appease my conscience … I usually give any muchacho chosen for this undesirable duty a good tip for his trouble.

The week flies by, and at last the pool is ready to fill!

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Urban myths and nursery rhymes

The well known nursery rhyme "Ding dong bell" is said to have emerged sometime in the 16th century, the phrase is even quoted by Shakespeare in a couple of his plays. It is suspected it is a simple lesson in morality for the very young. On first draft however, no one actually rescues the unfortunate cat down the well ... only in the later versions does a rescuer come along in the shape of little Tommy Stout. I guess cats were ten-a-penny in those days!

Another well-known rhyme "Ring a ring o'roses" is now being subject to some urban myth scrutiny. The more interesting version is that the rhyme dates back to the days of the "Black Death", the bubonic plague that preceded the Great Fire of London in 1665. Now some are saying this theory does not hold water and that the little ditty did not emerge till the late 1800's.

I much prefer the latter theory ...and do not believe those who say that it could not have remained undocumented for so many years. Stranger things have happened at sea ...but judge for yourself.

Ring a ring o'roses - the marks of the plague were a ring of raised spots

A pocket full of posies - early opinion suggested fragrances could overcome illness

Atish-you atish-you - sneezing was an early sign of plague (ashes ashes is the US version)

We all fall down - nuf said!

Not Cinco de Mayo ...

It is a commonly believed myth, especially in the US, that the biggest fiesta day for Mexicans is Cinco De Mayo. There are also implications that it is their Independence Day. It is not.

I was one of those who fell for this greeting card hype when I arrived in the US and fully expected my workers to disappear on that day for fun and fiesta. As it turns out, Cinco de Mayo is just another of those “Hallmark” days promoted mostly by the US consumer mammoth.

When I asked my guys last year if they would be taking the day off they just mumbled, hmmmm…Cinco de Mayo …” and continued on with what they were doing, courteously not putting me right with a lecture on our cultural differences. I was baffled and being such a screen sucker, went off and read up on the whole thing.

Cinco de Mayo is the commemoration of the battle of Peuebla, 5th May 1862. This was a famous victory for a small, ill equipped Mexican force against the greater manpower and expertise of the French army under Napoleon III. It is a recognized date south of the border, obviously more so in the Peuebla area, but the greater celebrations are reserved for Independence Day.

The evening of the 15th and the 16th September are the actual day/s of the Mexican Independence celebrations. On the evening of the 15th at 11pm prompt, the President delivers the Grito de Dolores. The translation of this phrase has double entendre, it can be translated as either the Cry of Dolores (the city of Dolores) - or the cry of pain and is seen as a decisive moment in the Mexican struggle for their independence. The following day is the day of the fiesta.

The original Grito was delivered 15th September 1810 by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a father figure of the struggle and a priest of the town Dolores. To stir the populous into earlier than planned action he rang the church bell and delivered words now referred to as “El Grio” (the cry). "Long live religion! Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe! Long live the Americas and death to the corrupt government!”

The “soup of the day” corrupt government of this era being Spain. After a long struggle Mexico finally won its independence from Spain in 1821 but still remained in debt to other countries who tried to lay claim to territory in leu of payment, hence the the battle of Peuebla.


The Grito is now delivered by city officials from balconies around the country as a sign for the start of festivities. The present day Grito is a less chastising version of the original …listing the heroes of the struggle and cumulating in the stirring cry of “Mexicanos, Viva México” - Mexican’s …long live [our free] Mexico.

Everyone gathers at the zocalos (town meeting place) of cities, towns, and villages for the 11pm delivery of the Grito by their city official. This is followed up by much fireworks fiesta and dancing late into the next day ... assuming it doesnt rain too much. Unfortunately this year it did rain ... but not till after the impressive firework display. My builder later tells me it has rained every night of the 15th Sept for the past 22 years!

To digress for a momentito. Grito is very similar to the auld Scots word “to greet” (to cry) which is still used regularly in Scotland to this day. Din'e greet hen … don’t cry dear. It’s demonstrated well in “Tam o’Shanter”, a well know poem by the Scottish Bard, Robert Burns.

Ah! gentle dames, it gars me greet,
To think how monie counsels sweet,
How monie lengthene'd, sage advices
The husband frae the wife despises.

The translation for the Scottish language challenged reader goes as follows:
Ah! Good ladies, it makes me cry,
To think how much helpful guidance
How many detailed wise pieces of advice
Are offered by wives but not appreciated by husbands.

It should be mentioned the guy was also a well-known womaniser … one can see from this snippet why he was so successful!

But to continue,

In Cozumel the decorations have been up for some time and the vendors of various trappings of the fiesta have been touring the streets.

Homes and businesses are decorated with flags and red, white and green banners, andt he fair is in town, complete with stalls, kiddie rides, a hair raising, 360 degree spinning, adult ride and animales con deformacions gemeticas (genomically deformed animals).

And in answer to what you’re thinking … no … I left that thrill for another day!





It’s interesting that both situations (and other well known conflicts) arose from the same old same o’. Any parent of a teenager will be familiar with the scenario … young country gets pissed off with older parent county. Then wants to go off and manage their own affairs, rather than be told what to do and fork out well earned dosh without having a say in the matter. Taxation without representation ring any bells?

More wordy references to the whole to-do can be found here.
Wiki - Miguel Hidalgo
The Significance of "Cinco de Mayo"
Wiki - War of Independence
History of Mexican Independence
The Grito
Mexican independence

You can see why the US greeting card industry chose not to focus too much attention on, “Quince y Dieciséis de Septiembre” (kin say ee de ace sigh eez day sep tee em bray… phew!). It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue nor have quite the ring of the nicely rhyming “Cinco de Mayo” (sin-co day ma-yo). And o-one likes to see two dates strewn across a card … (or a sentence start with an “and” for that matter) …very messy.

And speaking of independence fwiw …one Brit at least has reclaimed a piece of Virgina (Ha!) and is now working on same in Mexico …
You just can’t keep a good country down!

Viva México! Go Mexico!

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How to avoid screen sucking and manage your life better try this for an interesting read.

Laying your own path ... literally

Time is catching up on me and I need to work out what needs to be done now and what is merely cosmetic can safely be left for later. The sad state of my path is my present concern. An upgrade was not in the original plan for this trip.

But first a translation issue …
I come from a place where the walkway outside your house is referred to as a path (the “a” pronounced as one would when the doctor says “say ah”) or pavement.

Many from other lands may claim that since it is walk-way be-side your house it should be referred to as a side-walk. That’s not going to happen here – deal with it!

Not wanting to spoil our piedra de río (river-stone) garden path (which the previous owner had specially ordered) nor our gardens and walled front area, we have used the outside pavement for running the electrical cables to our main junction box.

My builder advises me this is a perfectly acceptable choice on Cozumel and has now cut a trough along the full length of my decayed path to accommodate the cables. It makes sense, since it is our responsibility to maintain our front path – “to the maintainer goes the access” I guess.

During this process my builder also had to remove the electric meter for a brief time. I returned from visiting a friend to find it casually lying on the grass unconnected to its power source. Seeing ones electric meter disconnected and casually sunning itself in the garden does cause your average gringa a pause for thought.

I asked why it needed to be removed. Apparently the hammering on the wall might have damaged it – and the current is off – so I guess since we have its best interests at heart – and are not using power anyway – that makes it ok.

I quickly dismiss any further thoughts on the matter!

Anyhoo... our sorry little crumbled path needed repair and elevation to keep our garden well out of reach of any street water “high tides”.


We are not in a flooding area but many are - those who buy property here do well to research this as it is a problem for many on Cozumel.

Hurricane Wilma gave us the highest water level for many a year. Those with single story properties were wading in water, with little opportunity for escape while the hurricane still raged outside, a most daunting experience.

A repair without elevation is pointless, we need as much protection as possible from flooding so I decide to go the whole hog and build a whole new path.

My builder suggests an elevation height and “common garden” concrete block path. Since one is hardly ever given the opportunity to personalise one’s own path, well legally anyway, I want something much more decorative.

I show him my illustration with decorative rajueleados (ra-hoo-lay-dos ...concrete chips) inserted in divides between the slabs of concrete and the occasional tile for decoration that I have admired on other paths around town.

My builder smiles the smile of one who realises he should have known better than to think I would take the simple route!

The guys start work and within a few days my old cumpled path is now a gleaming (if concrete ever gleams) new path to be proud of with an elevation level to challenge the best of hurricanes.



Unfortunately a surprise awaits... now our new path is higher ...our privacy wall has become "lower". So arises another problem to be tackled, we definately want privacy for our new pool.

Changes to the overall plan will inevitably crop up as one goes along. These may arise on a daily basis until your project becomes more advanced. Sometimes a new possibility will arise, sometimes a problem needs to be overcome.

You can hire an architect to plan, oversee and take care of these events and pay a portion of the costs for this service, or you can stick around and make the changes yourself.

I like to be very “hands on”, and much prefer the latter. I make a point of always checking how a new builder/electrician/etc reacts to my desire for changes. Some will point blank say a thing cannot be done and refuse to budge … or might make an excuse if they don’t want the hassle of a change. They don’t stay here long. Others will agree with requests but then carry on as before and act like they never hear you. They get short shift too! The “I didn’t understand you” can get played from both sides when convenient.

If someone makes multiple mistakes, you probably shouldn’t invite them back, even if only to repair their errors. You will probably end up with more problems. I tried this once, they guy came back only to build further on the first mistake.

On another occasion I found myself on New Years Eve without water for the upstair toilet! While my usual plumber was visiting family, I had hired a new plumber to keep the project moving. He rerouted the water supply but forgot to reconnect it. It wasn’t apparent until we tried to reinstall the toilet on completion of the work.

On his return my house plumber had to tear up brand new tiles to install a new supply. So much for saving time!. In my experience it's better to just take a deep breath, pay again for a reliable worker, and move on. Chalk it up to experience. It’s also cheaper in the long run believe me!

Fortunately, my pool building team are good realiable workers. They listen, make a point of following my wishes and rarely say no unless it is with good foundation. My house plumber/electrician does likewise.

I in turn respect their expertise and try to learn as much as I can about the building process here before I barge forth with my gringa ideas. Things cannot be done here as they are back home. A good tradesman will advise you.

If you trust them … you should listen…and if you don’t trust them, they probably shouldn’t be working for you in the first place!

Building “walls” …what ocean and when does it end - Time management on Cozumel (?!)

The pool tiling continues throughout this week. Getting the sheets of tiles to line up is painstaking work. It’s now well into the rainy season and heavy rain showers interrupt the work, we can only tile when the surfaces are dry. When it rains the workers retreat to work on the new washer dryer area.

The stone masons continue work on, with little regard to the weather, to finish the vista maya wall and we are also making good progress with wiring of the palapa deck area.

I am pleased to see the washing machine closet is coming along nicely. We should probably have checked the washer dryer actually worked before we started the project, we didn’t – and there is no point in doing that now!

My builder suggests I may never get a car in the carport again with this closet in place, but I am not worried. We still have an area of garden I can extend into should the need arise.

Invariably, while building here, you hit the two “walls of progress”. The first is when you reach the stage when you forget you are actually on an idyllic holiday island … this is referred to here as “what ocean?”. The second “wall” is more disheartening. It’s the day when you start to feel the work will never end.

I hit the first stage some weeks back. It’s easy to spot. You become embroiled in building plans and trips to suppliers, then one day you find yourself near the front streets and are caught off guard when you see the sea … the sight of it actually comes as a shock!

I have now hit the second stage, This stage tends to creep up on you and gradually. I am finding it hard to imagine that my garden will ever be the same again. Since I have confronted this “wall” many times on past building trips, it discourages me less than it did at first but its still a bummer and saps your creativity and energy. (Thanks MS Word for clarifying that little blur of a sentence for me!) My builder has been very reliable too, which helps immeasurably.

When I hit the second “wall” I am always reminded of the 60’s TV series “The Prisoner” . Those who have memories of the show will know exactly what I mean.

For those who are unaware of this little cult classic, the premise is that the star, Patrick McGoohan, is a top secret agent and “type A” personality, who decides to resign from this lifestyle. On doing so he is kidnapped, and mysteriously wakes up on a strange little island, cut off from civilisation as he knew it.

The place is attractive, the people friendly and his accommodation is comfortable, but while in this unique and eccentric little place he has little control over his life and it appears he cannot escape.

In order to find a way back to his former life he attempts to adjust to the lifestyle and passes his days trying to understand what makes the place tick. He is invariably met with frustration and confusion … and often looses his "James Bond" coolness factor.

The intro on You Tube tells the story above in one very retro 60’s gulp . Relive the memory here.

For what its worth, the series was filmed in the bizarre little village of Portmeirion in Wales… a country many people have successfully escaped from. (and before I am attacked by hoards of Welsh spammers … as a Brit of a minority country myself, I do only jest).

Time management ...
is a contradiction of terms in Mexico. Determining how long a project will take (or eventually cost if you tinker) is next to impossible.

I have already extended my stay by one month. Abandoning my previous deadline was no surprise. My builder has performed admirably but due to a variety of reasons we are behind on our original schedule. I have been adding here and there, the weather has played some part, but generally the expectation of time needed to complete work is always on the wishful side on Cozumel.

Doubling the originally given time estimate is a good idea if you want to retain your sanity and keep hair on your head. If, like me, you like to tinker and modify along the way, tripling the time should keep you on track.

Then maybe add another week or two … just to be on the safe side!

The Cozumel Effect and the Chicken Step

As mentioned in the previous post, it is quite surprising how often things unexpectedly fall into place here on Cozumel. At first I thought it was just happenstance, fluke, luck, but things have worked out for the best so often that I now almost rely on it. It is definately a different experience to back home ... I call it the "Cozumel Effect".

Of course I don’t just sit back and wait for this Cozumel Effect to happen. I do keep plugging away, but problems don’t concern me quite so much now. I have learned to accept the more fluid life …that things happen when they do rather than when you want them to. When you give up the desire for things to proceed as planned, life becomes much less stressful and things bizarrely fall into place … eventually. You do need to be without a time limit though.

“When will the carpenter show up?”, my dear diver esposo asks. “Sometime” I say, knowing that the carpenter will strangely show up at a more optimal time if I don’t force things.

For example, had I been back home, I would have had my two boxes of tiles straight away and would have lost surprise option to add the extra glitter pizzazz to my pool steps.



Another example would be my husband just happening to arrive on the day we were putting the final touches to the pool seating before the tiling started. Yes we do have pool seating! In the deep section we have decided to add a little loveseat, a romantic little nook …or a step to get out of the pool if you insist on being absolutely and totally unromantic!

It was my husband’s suggestion (altogether …ahhhh …) and on arriving he noticed right at the last moment that the seat design needed to be altered.

Now had the guys started to tile the pool and this would have been difficult and costly to alter, but due to a fluke of circumstances, we now have a much nicer little loveseat … or as I mentioned before for the unromantic … a much larger exit step!

Were it not so hot and the brain in gear, I could probably list a handful of more events that happened this way … they are not uncommon!

Julia Talyor notes a similar story on her very informative Home Sweet Home Mexico site

To quote her:
“I have an anecdote that shows perfectly how things always work out very well in Mexico. My husband was riding his bike at about 30 miles per hour down a hill (wearing a helmet, by the way) when a taxi driver pulled out in front of him and he hit the taxi.
He launched into the air and hit the ground with a painful scream. This is the bad part. The good part is that right at that moment a man happened to be crossing the street. The man was a paramedic. My husband received stellar, professional help right in the moment he needed it.
This may sound like a lucky break. It’s not. Take it from me, lucky breaks are to be expected in Mexico.”
From http://www.home-sweet-mexico.com/safety.html

I would be very interested to know of others’ experiences of this luck effect…as Fox Maulder might say… the truth is out there!

Introducing the Chicken Step ... all must for all pools!

Talking of exit steps … oh yes we were!

My dear esposo also pointed out a place halfway along the pool wall where it would be optimal to add a small step to allow one to exit the pool without having to wade over to the main steps (...and what a drag that would be!). The esposo is a Californian and therefore knows a thing or two about pools.

It is once again the Cozumel effect is at hand. The change comes at a most opportune moment and is an alteration that I, with my very non Californian, cold climate background, would have never considered.

I explain this new addition to my builder who then refers to it as a punta de apoyo. My only experience so far with a word sounding like poyo is pollo meaning chicken (ll is pronounced y in Spanish). Always wanting to understand more, I asked why my step in the pool is being referred to as a punta de pollo …a point of a …chicken?

I am met with much laughter from the workers who understand “chicken” and find it all very humorous. I am happy to provide the days entertainment but am still left in the dark regarding my “chicken step”.

I later look it up and all becomes clear. Punta de apoyo means point of support … but from now on ... the workers and I refer to this new step in my pool as the escalera de pollo “the chicken step”.

A little bit of Mayan ...

On Wednesday, with no further sign of the tiles my builder heads off to Cancun. He expects to be back mid afternoon but it is late evening before he finally returns. He travels to Cancun first by ferry from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen then by bus from Playa to Cancun. He returns via cab with the heavy boxes of tiles to the Cancun bus station, then by bus to Playa, then catches the return ferry to Cozumel.

His trip is long but fruitful – he gets the full order, two whole boxes of glistening Paradise luminescent tiles! I pay for his trip but know it is a great deal of effort on his part ... others would probably leave the getting of the tiles to the property owner, but when I ask how the trip was he just smiles graciously and says it all went fine.

A brief translation pause …
Playa del Carmen, which is only a 40 minute ferry trip from Cozumel, is also more commonly referred to here as just “Playa” (playa also meaning beach). When I say voy a playa (boy-a ply-a – I’m off to the beach) ...I do go occasionally when the esposo is around, they always tend to think I am off to catch the ferry to Playa del Carmen. I have still haven’t found out how one differentiates between the two, but when I do I’ll let you know!

Cancun is a ferry trip to Playa and then about an hour in the bus from here. It’s a very nice bus though by all accounts with movies, drinks and …uhmmm …facilities! (you know …loo’s).

Cancun is also spring break central for US college kids on the loose, (apparently they are trying to go upscale … Cancun that is, not the college kids). Anyhoo … Cancun is a Mayan word which some say translates to golden snake. The majority however says it is Mayan for a “nest or den of snakes”. I suspect it depends on your individual experience of Cancun but it seems to me that one translation is more appropriate these days than t’other … I’ll leave you to go figure for yourself.

Cozumel itself comes from the Mayan Cuzam (swallow) and Lumil (land of), which form the word Cuzamil (land of swallows). The Mayan word changed over time to the more Spanish name of Cozumel. (Hence all the little swallow shapes in the pavements downtown)

Other places on or around the island that have names derived from Mayan are
Chankanaab: little sea
Tulum: wall
Holbox: pronounced Holbosh - black hole (?) Nice place – shame about the name.
La Choza: the hut – a great little Cozumel restaurant
zonot: (we now use the Spanish derivative cenote) a natural hole in the ground or well, often a sacred place
Boxito: pronounced Boshito - the hardware and fittings store where I spend so much of my time – little black one - a cross between the Mayan box black and Spanish ito ending for little.

These is by no means all ... do feel free to add further to this list

But back to the building …
The stonemasons have also now arrived and make a start and our cortina de agua (curtain or water) fountain wall. The large chunks of vista maya rock are cut then shaped and fitted together like a heavy-duty jigsaw (see below). (vista maya - a hard stone/beige coloured rock with embedded fragments of small shells that has a rustic Mayan appearance).

The cutting process produces strong burning smell, a great deal of noise and a cloud of "smoke like" dust around the whole garden.

We also make a start on the new housing for my washing machine, which is now to be situated below the deck.

Since I have decided I do not want any view at all of my washing machine spoiling my nice new sun deck I have come up with a plan to house the machine opposite the entry to the pool equipment area. The plumbing we installed on the deck above will probably not go to waste though ... I have confidence it will come in useful at some point.

On Thursday we finally start the pool tiling.

We now have three boxes of luminescent tiles instead of the two originally ordered. I take full advantage of this and decide to have luminescent steps, cinefa and lower edging of the pool. As so often happens here, things have worked out well in the end. Of course, I do now have two extra boxes of non-refundable, Acapulco (plain light blue) pool tiles … but take it from me … something will crop up and I know these will become useful too.

All in all it’s been a very productive week!