7 Color Lagoon

Not to ignore the possible effects of even a small tropical storm here is the wind predictive 5 day cone from NOAA.  It appears that Cozumel, Cancun and Merida will bear the brunt but these storms are fickle and still able to fool the predictors.

Dolly's Probable Wind Cone

I successfully upgraded WordPress (the blogware) to the latest version (2.6) and the image has appeared unlike the last post.

This is only a tropical storm but the “only” proved to be a dangerous concept with the last storm.  Only a tropical storm can still damage and kill and cannot be taken lightly.  I will go out now to fill the generator, close storm shutters and make sure there are no potential missiles lying around.  I wish I had more candles and batteries and may rue my inattention later.

The last tropical storm that hit us in Chetumal (it came up from Belize in late May) I belittled — and prepared.  I was wrong to belittle any storm.  It only brought us in the immediate area a lot of rain with flooding limited to remote areas, I thought.  I was wrong that time since a number of people died in Belize and parts of Campeche and Tabasco states in Mexico did suffer from the torrential rains.
As the active storm season begins the US is threatened with Bertha, there is a storm forming in the Pacific, a depression in the Atlantic that might or might not intensify and Dolly is making tracks for the Yucatan Peninsula (check out the graphic from NOAA.  It appears that Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the Mayan Riviera can expect some wind and water and Merida appears in its path.  With luck we will be spared on the southern frontier since I have not prepared well this time — although in this part of the world it is best to always be basically ready for a good storm.

Click on the NOAA link to see a range of storm track maps and predictions.  I could not get the image to load into the WordPress blog.  Maybe the new version of WordPress will work better.  If you get an “under construction” message it will be the change-over to the newer incarnation of the blogware.

I have been away from posting again as the potential sale of the house has taken a lot of time.  It is not yet in contract but there is some hope.  Stay tuned.

I am a little late on this but some folks may not yet be aware of the civilized side of China — its’ food (the jury is out on other facets of modern China).  Last week the Chinese government made Kung Pao chicken the official food of the summer 2008 olympics.

Kung Pao chicken was one of my early favorites in New York’s Chinatown.  I seem to recall a good version at a  restaurant on Doyer or Pell, in the tourist center of things. It was perhaps the early ’70s when we gallery-hopped SOHO, headed for Chinatown for dinner, partied heavily and finished off the night at Ferrara’s or the Cafe Roma and trundled sleepily back up the Hudson Valley in the wee hours.  That was youth.

Kung Pao is a diced, fried chicken with peanuts and chiles.  It is foreigner-friendly (albeit not familiar to all sports fans) and has a comforting name.  It will make a lot of visitors happy with its comfort-food tastes.  One story of its traditional name is that it was named after an imperial official on an inspection tour.  Reuters also pointed out the “linquistic makeover” of a number of dishes.  One is a favorite of mine for many years now that my wife and I tried all over America — from NY Chinatown to LA, Houston, Miami and even a fine, Chinese restaurant we found by accident next to a Food Lion in Abington, VA.  Ma Po Tofu is the stuff of dreams (if you have ever dreame of tofu and not called it a nightmare).

The Chinese are instructing restaurants to call it Ma Po rather than the more literal translation: ” bean curd made by a pock-marked woman”.  They have put much time and many meetings into these friendly translations and, in this case, I think the comfortable version is a great improvement.

About.com has a recipe for Kung Pao on their site as well as a recipe for a “lite” version.  I noticed a Chinese site touting tours of China labeled the dish “Chicken fried with chiles and peanuts” which really doesn’t have the equivalent romance.

New Post on my little blog, Lizard Stew, about disinfecting foods — especially those eaten raw.  Tomatoes are in the news for that reason.  Last year it was “pre-washed” spinach.  It is a simple process that is not only for the developing nations.  Moctezuma can visit the US, too, for his revenge.

The other alternative is to eat cooked foods.  These tomatoes are safely cooked in a sauce with onions, capers, olives, and (for me) chiles.

Whole fish in a Veracruz style sauce at the Restaurant Cenote Azul.  Photo © Howard Dratch.

HOUSE FOR SALE ON THE SHORE OF LAGUNA BACALAR.  PRICE REDUCED TO $369,000US.

CASA EN LA ORILLA DE LA LAGUNA BACALAR SE VENDE.  PRECIO REDUCIDO A 3.8MILLION DE PESOS M.N.  La casa tiene 4 recamaras, 3.5 baños, alberça, grande muelle, jardin, casita de 2 cuartos, 2 bañitos, 1100 metros cuadrado embardado, titulado.  Fotos: clic AQUI

La casa esta cerca del Hotel Laguna y Cenote Azul.  El dueño puede recibir correo electronico hfdratch@yahoo.com o (983) 834.26.18.

Visit the gallery — Bacalar House For Sale — by clicking on this link or on the blogroll in the left column.

As I begin to think about a move to Mèrida or, at the least, some trips to visit again; I am interested in the phenomena of “medical tourism” that has moved beyond fringe activity into mainstream alternatives.

It is understandable in the world - such as America - where insurance policies cost $5000 a year and more for one person, unbelievably large amounts for couples and families.  My policy that finally needed to be dropped was over $5000 with a $10,000 deductible.  It is a fine company, Equitable, that always paid as much as they were supposed to or more and paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years of by-passes, emergency surgeries and pacing devices.  But that is the problem that is destroying lives in the States where government has resisted more civilized health care for its citizens.  The costs of care have been driven up to astronomical and inhuman levels.

Medical care no longer costs a lot by normal standards.  It is now obviously based on play money since people do not, cannot have the astronomical sums that are used in the medical world.  That is only counting mainstream medicine.  Cosmetic surgeries, dentistry, alternative (non-reimbursable) techniques are seldom covered.  Dentistry comes to mind first since it is necessary but unaffordable in the US.  A visitor recently told me of the implants and dentures he needed in the States and the $48,000 estimate for the cost.  That would buy the Mexican dentist a pleasant house in many places.

Mèrida, for one, is gearing itself toward the medical tourism boom that is expected.  The economic downturn in the US, recession and the fear of the financial future will help as people flee the US for more affordable havens.

In my case I am looking for a place that has First World standards and Third World prices.  One of the alternatives for dentistry and other procedures is Mexico.

Living here I already have a dentist — actually a periodontist who does everything for me except the recent root canal when he sent me to another specialist.  He was quite painless, clean and professional with a charge of around $US120 for the root canal.  I seem to remember 10 years ago in upstate NY the same job was around $800.

There is finally a website guide to medical tourism called Pangea Medicine that acts as an online medical travel directory to help people find quality care outside the US.  Most of their Mexican referrals are similarly to dentists, often in the areas easily accessible to the West Coast but, by now, all the world is accessible by plane.  One dentist mentioned in Baja California is an American with a bi-lingual staff and photos of an amazingly modern and clean facility. Just to remind me how backward Chetumal is medically.  There are drawbacks to living on the edge of the jungle in a border area.

Another dental destination is Costa Rica which is highlighted on the Pangea Medicine site with a clinic in a town 15 minutes from San Josè which is described as:
Our specialized dental clinic includes dentist, doctors of dental surgery (DDS), orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, endodontics, periodontics, and aesthetic surgery all in one place. Along with these specialized dentistry services we also staff professional dental hygienists which help patients with Dental Clinic Prevention Programs. Our dentist and staff come from well known national / international universities and have been hand picked to provide patients with the best dentistry in this country. Dentist appointments are scheduled within travel packages for a nice and relaxing recovery. Get a dental solution, transportation, day tours and visit amazing places all at the same time. Take advantage of high quality dental services for much less than the United States cost. Make the most of your money and time off by touring amazing beaches and rainforests with Costa Rica dental tourism plans.

If you don’t already live here, it sounds great to me.  Costa Rica is said to be beautiful, democratic and peaceful.  The visiting American I mentioned had described a friend who had great luck with dentistry in Costa Rica.

Because health care costs have become so absurdly high in the US and,  the HMO alternative so unusable; the idea of combining tours to interesting and beautiful places while saving the cost of the trip is, indeed, a viable alternative for those who like to travel.

“A dentist with silver forceps and a necklace of large teeth, extracting the tooth of a seated man.”  Medieval print courtesy of commons.wikipedia.com.

EDIT: It is now Monday, June 2.  The storm passed and seemed to have been small.  Then the backside hit with some winds and torrential rains.  Those 10-15 inches warned of may well have fallen.  Somehow the power has stayed on.  I have not ventured out to see if there was damage in Bacalar beyond the normal flooding of the streets that have no drainage (all of them).  Chetumal suffers the same flooding problems with any rain — streets have no drainage or it is blocked by garbage.  Still, next to Hurricane Dean last August, this was a puny wake-up call for the coming of the hurricane season.

Today the NOAA and National Hurricane Service warned of the approach of Arthur into Belize and up to the Yucatan:
BULLETIN
TROPICAL STORM ARTHUR SPECIAL ADVISORY NUMBER  1
NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL  AL012008
100 PM EDT SAT MAY 31 2008

…TROPICAL STORM ARTHUR…FIRST STORM OF THE 2008 ATLANTIC
SEASON…QUICKLY FORMS NEAR THE COAST OF BELIZE…ALREADY MOVING
INLAND…

AT 1 PM EDT…1700 UTC…THE GOVERNMENT OF BELIZE HAS ISSUED A
TROPICAL STORM WARNING FOR THE COAST OF BELIZE….AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO HAS ISSUED A TROPICAL STORM WARNING FROM CABO
CATOCHE SOUTHWARD TO THE BORDER WITH BELIZE.  A TROPICAL STORM
WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN
THE WARNING AREA..IN THIS CASE…WITHIN THE NEXT 6 TO 12 HOURS.

FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA…INCLUDING POSSIBLE
INLAND WATCHES AND WARNINGS…PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED
BY YOUR LOCAL WEATHER OFFICE.

AT 100 PM EDT…1700Z…THE CENTER OF NEWLY FORMED TROPICAL STORM
ARTHUR WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 18.1 NORTH…LONGITUDE 88.5 WEST
OR ABOUT 45 MILES… 75 KM…NORTH-NORTHWEST OF BELIZE CITY AND
ABOUT 195 MILES …315 KM…SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF COZUMEL MEXICO.

ARTHUR IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 8 MPH…13 KM/HR. ON
THIS TRACK THE CENTER OF CIRCULATION WILL BE MOVING OVER YUCATAN
TODAY AND EARLY SUNDAY. (more…)

Photo © Howard Dratch.

It has been nearly a month since I have posted.  My other blogs are languishing while I try to survive in my own changed environment, changed circumstances and interests.  However, I miss writing even if only a little.

The plan is to continue this blog, 7 Color Lagoon, with changes.  It is less about travel and living as an expatriate as it will be about global economics, photography, economic news and whatever happens to catch my eye and interest.  Links will slowly be checked and redone and the ads and Amazon store re-arranged to reflect the new subject matter.  Please support the advertisers as it helps continue the blog.

Here is a current (5/16) report from Canal Once, the Mexican news and TV network from the Polytechnic Institute in the capital city.  The 5th annual meeting of leaders of the Latin American states is being held in Lima, Peru under guard by 9000 police.  A major issue being discussed is global food supplies in light of diversions to biofuels, poverty and climatic changes.

This is an excerpt from Canal Once in Spanish,

Sumida en la pobreza sobrevive una tercera parte de la población de América Latina, son 220 millones de personas que carecen de lo indispensable. A este sector se dirigieron los trabajos de la Quinta Cumbre de Jefes de Estado de Latinoamérica, el Caribe y la Unión Europea en Lima, Perú, a la que acudieron 45 gobernantes.

Desarrollo sustentable, cambio climático y energía fueron otros de los temas principales. Se llegó a un acuerdo para analizar un posible gravamen al consumo de petróleo y gas licuado a fin de conseguir fondos que serían destinados a mejorar el medio ambiente.

The Lima meeting is concentrating on the poverty that continues to affect one-third or the Latin American population — 220 million people.  President Garcia opened remarks with the declaration that hundreds of millions of people are threatened with hunger in the midst of abundance.  The European Union is the primary donor in  humanitarian aid.

Garcia warned of the consequences of eyes closed against the food crisis and proposed increasing by 2% world agricultural production.  The Spanish president, Josè Luis Rodriquez Zapatero, lamented the impact of biofuel production on  rising food prices.  Besides Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan president, trying to turn the meeting to the political crises between his country and Columbia; the major themes were sustainable development, climate change, energy needs and funds to improve the environment.

The food crisis is not just a Market manipulation.  It may well be partly a result of what Robert Heilbroner called a “revolution of rising expectations”.  Like global warming that revolution gathered momentum slowly and is now breaking out in a rapidly ascending line.  People want things they didn’t have before nor even thought to have.  More meat in their diet (healthy or not), regular meals, cell phones, national infrastructure, TV, education, credit and consumer goods, etc.  The revolution has been won in that the world is more and more demanding that its expectations be met.  Providing those expectations may strain resources on an over-crowded planet and change the political face of many parts of the world.

Photo © Howard Dratch, 2008.  Pasta & tofu.

The world may not be waiting for this heart-healthy dish of tofu, nopal cactus, chaya leaf and zucchini but it is tired of waiting for 2 or 3 meals a day.  Now that everyone - almost - watches TV they are aware that the world has plenty of food and toys and they want a piece of the action, a slice of the pie.

Photo © Howard Dratch, 2007.

Fears of Food Shortages Rise

Rice stirs fears as the prices mounted ever higher and poorer populations rioted in anxiety over the coming famine. In the US some hysteria seems to have hit as people began hoarding rice from major groceries. The Bush people said “We have plenty of food in the U.S.” (U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Paulson reported to Reuters). He predicted food prices to rise but that the rise will be less “significant” that the rise in gas prices.

Rice has jumped to $1000 a ton which is said to be 3 times what it cost at the beginning of ‘08. Thoughts of social unrest in Asia are mounting with the cost of their staple. Africa and Haiti have seen riots as well. Here in Mexico where rice is a home-grown commodity (not that I wouldn’t like some Jasmine or Basmati before the cost the same as gas) there appears no shortage and prices remain relatively even.

“In Bangkok, some traders said Thai 100-percent B grade white rice, the world’s benchmark, could hit $1,300 a ton on demand from the number-one importer, Philippines.”

Read the CNBC report from Reuters HERE.

Look down just beneath that big ole state where Mr. President lives.  It is The United States of Mexico and it is emerging, showing signs of growth and, perhaps, even some independence from the domination of the dollar.

Not that pesos will soon become an internationally sought after currency.

Investors are watching CX, Telmex and AMX.

But my favorite tequila for the price is partly made so fine by its great label.  The fresh-faced cactus-fed all-Mexican beauty from the days of courtly Mexico.

Photo © Howard Dratch, 2008