well, we're back from our honeymoon, and to say that it did not turn out as expected would be a bit of an understatement. Of all the times to go to the Mayan Riviera (on the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula), we ended up going just before Hurricane Wilma hit. Nothing dampens a romantic holiday more than Class 4 hurricane winds and rain.
We arrived at the Mayan Palace resort (between Cancun and Playa del Carmen) on Sat Oct 15, and we managed to enjoy 4 really good days of swimming in warm Gulf waters, outrageous fruity drinks, good food, suntanning, spas, and a whole bunch of simply relaxation. Rumours of the hurricane started to spread, which we confirmed and followed at an internet cafe, but the resort staff was wholly unconcerned. As late as Wednesday evening they were selling tickets to a big mexican fiesta Thursday evening, and I booked a lesson with the resort golf pro for Thursday morning.
well, early Thursday morning the resort was shutting down, people were starting to pack up, and many guests were starting to panic. Nobody at the resort took charge of informing guests what was going on, so everyone was getting conflicting advice from various staff members. We were very lucky to find a woman (Mirriam, to whom we are forever in debt) who not only advised us to get out, but found us a few minivans to evacuate us, and booked hotel rooms at our destination. this at a time when the airport was closed, all buses were full, and there were no cars to rent. Others had different advice and were seen walking back to their rooms with groceries as our three vans (30 guests in all, all but my wife and I were US citizens) departed for Chetumal (on the border with Belize) at noon.
Our advice was better: the hurricane made landfall exactly at our resort ! While it was rainy and windy for a couple of days in Chetumal, we were safe. We ate in some good restaurants and passed the time in cafes, internet and coffee. We got a flight out of the local airport Sunday, just before the military took it over as a base of rescue operations. We were home safe and sound Monday, minus our luggage, which remains in our hotel room.
the other guests who stayed had a decidely worse time of it. Power, water, and sewage are STILL not restored. We heard from a friend that people hid in their bathtubs for two days since their roof was leaking. the evacuation centre was very much overcrowded. the place is a total disaster area. We really feel sorry for them, since most of them simply acted on what was bad advice. They really thought the hurricane would be over and done with in 6 hours, but they failed to note that Wilma was moving very slowly and would stick around a long time. There but for the grace of god go I. We hope they are all safe at home now.
So my wife and I are now back at work, telling and retelling our 'escape from Wilma' story, we are still awaiting word on on luggage, and we can't bring ourselves to complaining about the typical rainy Vancouver weather we are experiencing.
Slow-moving class-4 hurricanes have a way of putting things into persective.
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