communication |kəˌmyoōnəˈkā sh ən|
noun
1 the imparting or exchanging of information or news
• a letter or message containing such information or news.
• the successful conveying or sharing of ideas and feelings
• social contact
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French comunicacion, from Latin communicatio(n-), from the verb communicare ‘to share’ (see communicate ).
In early 90's communicating to the outside world from the Cancun-Tulum corridor was difficult. ET would have been challenged, you could not easily phone home. Gary and I would go to Playa del Carmen and I would call my parents collect from a pay phone out side the ADO Bus Station. I called home about once a month to let them know I was still alive. People did not have telephones. This is where the concept of "Happy Hour" became ever so important. Happy hour was social, it allowed us to exchange information or news, and with cocktails we shared ideas and feelings. It was not about discounted drink prices.
Hora de Feliz, we would talk about the dives we did that day, the tourists we saw, theories on cave exploration and where new leads could be found. We would report about what gas stations were out of gas, if immigration was coming around looking for gringos working illegally or if Hacienda* was looking for illegal foreign vehicles. Dialogs included rumors of what the weather was going to be, whether or not we thought we had parasites, who was sleeping with who, what new stores were opening in Cancun, tales of horrible car accidents seen on the highway. Chatter of "square groupers" so-and-so found on the beach, mechanic recommendations, or who might have spare parts for anything from cars to scuba regulators, refridgerators to compressors. At happy hour we were all together at the same watering hole sharing libations flapping our lips. You could tell who the divers were from the property owners or retirees. The divers, we all at in the least desirable area of the bar without the view, we were dirty, grubby and at times odiferous. The others sported shorts and a clean t-shirt. Today I sometimes still show up at happy hour looking disheveled and worn, but being a member of the business community now I am accepted regardless of my appearance, if not, tolerated.
There are some common questions that that we do not ask each other, because it is not that important and it does not matter for the most part:
1. We do not ask why someone is living or staying long-term in Mexico.
2. We do not ask how do they make a living or pay for their existence in Mexico.
3. We do not ask for last names. Even today there are many people I know that I have never known their last name.
We were just people who at the moment lived in the same area, under pretty much the same conditions, detached from much of the world.
If you needed to talk to someone, you stopped in where they lived, stopped them in the road, put a note on their door or on their vehicle.
Radio. Taking to the airwaves was the popular way to get word up and down the coast. My parents got us our first marine radio. We attached our big antenna on the roof of Hacienda de la Iguana condos in Akumal. We could radio the dive shops, we radio-ed for dinner reservations at Kailuum which was north of Playa del Carmen, we listened to the fishing tournaments in Puerto Aventuras and the banter between boats, and we could radio up others who had radios.
If you needed to phone home, there were places in Playa del Carmen and Tulum, "casetas" this was a room, with make-shift booths where and you could dial the outside world. You would charged a per-minute-fee depending on where you were calling. Mexicans and gringos alike used the caseta. If you were lucky they had a fax machine. I found my first employee by leaving a message for him at a telephone caseta in Valladolid!
Mail. People who had been living in Akumal prior to our arrival had post office boxes in Cancun. Eventually we had a post office box in Playa del Carmen, later we had a box in Tulum. There is really no reliable mail service still. DHL was the first international shipping company to appear in Cancun. Federal Express does deliver now, but there is no overnight express service. Packages and letters alike all have to be inspected by customs, and the lucky recipient may have to pay duty on the item. When the delivery guy comes all the way from Cancun, and you have to pay duty, there is no argument. You either pay the set amount or forfeit the package, which probably would go home with some worker at the end of the day.
Television. There were two in town. Lol Ha had a pizzeria and satellite TV which only seem to ever have CNN playing. Larry King was on at 8 pm. It was not uncommon for happy- hour-go-ers to migrate over to the pizzeria to watch Larry King. One big family eating a dinner of pizza in front of the TV, mesmerized by Larry no matter who he was interviewing. The other TV I remember was at Bill Guynes' house where I saw Hurricane Roxanne's forecast as I took a break from boarding up my house.
Cell phones. There were two or three in town, the big cumbersome ones that were like a small box. NOT portable and required electric to run. Lol Ha had one, Dick Blanchard from the Akumal Dive Shop had a phone. Cell phones in Akumal slowly became more prevalent since we lacked in infrastructure to support hardline phones. I had one of the first "Amigo" phones, a pre-paid phone. Airtime was very expensive and the device was still too big to put into your pocket. Now cell phones are everywhere, and I would be lost without it.
Hardline phones. Oh the talk of happy hour. When would they be coming, how many lines would be available, how do you get one, how much are they? Is Tulum getting phones before us? What about Puerto Aventuras? Now this was news!
To get a phone line you had to put in a "solicitude" or application. An application did not mean you were getting a phone even though it was applied for. It meant you had some paper that said some day you might get a phone. Then after months of standing in line at TelMex, nagging them, you eventually got another piece of paper with a work order number to put in front of your house. Then you wait, and wait. If word got out that TelMex was in town you would drive around looking for them with your copy of the application in hand, asking when you were going to get your phone line. Of course you were happy to "tip" them for their prompt attention.
It would not be until late 1997 until I got my phone line which I bought second-hand. Keep in mind our internet business Loco Gringo started in 1996 and we did not have a phone. Our first previously-enjoyed phone line cost me $1500 USD to the owner of the line. Phone lines were like gold. Then bribes to TelMex to get the phone line moved around over the years. Coming from cave diving where redundant equipment is required, we have taken the same philosophy with the phone and internet. Today I have three phone lines, one is always not working; three internet connections; two supposed "high-speed" dsl lines, one back back up microwave system.
Internet service is still unreliable 24/7/365.
Note: With the dawn of television then internet introduced full time in our lives, the relationships between people of town became more distant. People went home from work, watched TV and started surfing the web. Fewer locals go to happy hour, but I still enjoy watching Larry King.
