Hello friends; geez after almost 2 years of not posting a blog, Im now up to two. Ive gone crazy altogether.
Time is passing by in a nice quiet way here with me working on the business with new ideas, & Ive been touring the condos to see what updates have been done. Lots of changes in 18 months. I met up with our managers to get an understanding of what challenges theyre facing these days & how we can improve some things. We LOVE the staff here. They greeted us so warmly & us back.
We havent done any touring around yet due to work & weather. I work from a secure software so I cant be riding the waves somewhere without my laptop.
So this blog is just a little update on our time here. A few people (Deb, Marilyn, Martha, Pierrette, Manon, Linda, Mom etc.) wanted me to send another blog, so here you go. Attached are a few photos as well. Thank you to Marilyn & Deb who think I should write a book. Are you two drinking? If so visit
Unfortunately for Al, due to some crappy weather he has only gotten one dive in. September here is one of the more unpredictable months in an area that enjoys about 340 days of sunshine a year. It is hot and humid; about 32C & 39C with the humidex. At the beginning we had a few really nice days, then about 4 or 5 days with it overcast & threatening rain. Then itll pass & well have a few nice days again.
The photographer Im hiring to photo our condos keeps emailing me about when he can do the photos of our properties. Ive told him that if Im paying for photos to be done, we want the ocean to be the turquoise color that draws guests, & further that there is no sargassum (algae) on the beach. See sargassum info below. (Not sarcasm; theres already enough of that to go around. Wink wink.)
In the meantime, today is SO nice that I grabbed Al & his equipment (& by equipment I mean his photography equipment but you can interpret it any way
you want!) to get some photos till Ivan can do the razzle dazzle photos. Its quite a process to coordinate the photos as a) no guests can be in the condos b) the condos are cleaned c) theres no sargassum (algae on the beach) and d) that its sunny & the sea is calm. So in case, I was hoping Al could take some pics of the condo were in. The sea was so beautiful; but unfortunately Al thought he was off the hook to do photos so he left his flash & tripod at home. (So he cant flash me or anything else right now. 😉
When the Caribbean Sea works its magic, the colors are unbelievable & totally bewitching. Ever wonder why it has those varying colors of blue? The main reason for the color is due to the absorption & scattering of light. The blue wavelengths of light are scattered, similar to the scattering of blue light in the sky but absorption is a much larger factor than scattering for the clear ocean water. Its also because the waters in this area have phytoplankton & other organisms that whale sharks and other fish live on,
so the water takes on a slightly turquoise blue color. The Caribbean Sea is a relatively shallow body of water, and especially around the coast of the peninsula which is another contributing factor.
So back to the sargassum which is a form of brown algae that rolls in, in huge platelets. Its considered a phenomenon that started in various parts of the Caribbean, Mexican Caribbean & the US (Texas & Miami etc.) around 2015 & it hit hard that year. It piled up so quickly on the beaches & if not removed, it leaves such a foul sulfur smell that it drives you inside your condo. The city tries to remove it daily by with tines, & then loaders, to pile it up to be trucked away. Then there is always staff raking the beach. Its a delicate operation due to the concern that the heavy equipment can wreck the beaches, so its a difficult situation. But today it was lovely, & it was nice to see people floating in the ocean & enjoying the beaches.
