Xcaret and Weather Questions

[jamaicamenutts]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

Actually, the airport was nearly empty when Dean struck. I flew in Monday and the authorities had done a fantastic job evacuating the tourists...over 25,000 on Saturday and just a bit less on Sunday. Monday was boarding up. Interestingly enough, the plane was about half full of tourist that had no idea of the situation. The deplaned and found out their resorts were closed and were given the option of turning around and flying back out, or moving to their resort's designated shelter.

Rick...we saw a picture from the Cancun Airport, it said it was taken on Aug 20, 2007. So, I dont know....not saying you're wrong...but I think at some point it was backed up.

I didnt take this picture...but found it on Trip Advisor I think is where it was.

[jamaicamenutts]

damage at ASP after Dean

[Babaloo]

Originally Posted by jamaicamenutts

Rick...we saw a picture from the Cancun Airport, it said it was taken on Aug 20, 2007. So, I dont know....not saying you're wrong...but I think at some point it was backed up.

I didnt take this picture...but found it on Trip Advisor I think is where it was.

hehe...that picture could be taken any Sunday afternoon
...or it could have been taken on Saturday when 25,000 people were flown out.

Sorry...that ain't 70,000

....but i was there, at the airport the day before dean hit...it was quiet

[jamaicamenutts]

Originally Posted by Babaloo

hehe...that picture could be taken any Sunday afternoon
...or it could have been taken on Saturday when 25,000 people were flown out.

Sorry...that ain't 70,000

....but i was there, at the airport the day before dean hit...it was quiet

Well its a small picture, IM sure there are 70,000 in that picture. lol. But we did hear news reports while we were at ASP that there were 70,000 evacuating....but I suppose news reports arent always correct.

[Kami]

Originally Posted by Tony&Cheri

Not at all...or certainly no more than the rest of us.

It seems to be normal human emotion to want to take what nature can throw at us and survive it. And it also sometimes feels like it's a rite of passage to go through a natural disaster associated with life in a particular spot. In San Francisco we often heard people say "I'm a true San Franciscan. I want to be here when the next Big One (earthquake) hits". The quake of 1989 cured a lot of people of that attitude. In wasn't a matter of pride or adventure any more...it was just terrifying.

Huricannes have a kind of similar hold on people in the tropics...an "I survived" element. But trust us, life in Mexico will offer many opportunities to feel that you just barely survived getting through the day. Huricannes aren't required or that feeling.

Thanks Toni and Cheri.

[jamaicamenutts]

Originally Posted by redhairgirl1

We are going end of July early August. Right smack dab in the middle of hurricane season. We opted to get the travel insurance just incase one is headed in that direction, at that time. I know of a few people who canceled their trip last year, but it turned out to be more of a tropical storm, rather than a hurricane. Other areas got hit alot worse than Playa. But, it's a risk you gotta take.

If you are talking about Dean...that was a little bit more than a tropical storm. It was a Cat. 5 hurricane before it hit land...if I remember correctly. Granted, Playa didnt get hit as bad as other places, it was more than a tropical storm. I dont think they'd make us go sleep in the convention center at our resort for a tropical storm. But since I dont have much to compare it to, I could be wrong.

[jamaicamenutts]

Okay....this says 14,000 evacuated on Monday. So I doubt the total was 70,000 I think they done lied to me. lol. Im sure it was more than 14,000 since that was on Monday alone...but whatever....here is the article I read.

Texas-sized Hurricane Dean spins toward Yucatan - CNN.com

[Babaloo]

Originally Posted by jamaicamenutts

Well its a small picture, IM sure there are 70,000 in that picture. lol. But we did hear news reports while we were at ASP that there were 70,000 evacuating....but I suppose news reports arent always correct.

yes yes
there probably were 70,000 people evacuating...over a 4-5 day period
...not all at once
And not so much the day before Dean hit.
Interesting that ASP got the damage it got. Probably less than 1 mile up the coast we just got some storm surge but no damage.

[jamaicamenutts]

Yeah the wind was crazy. So were the waves.

We were told on August 20 that we would have an 8pm curfew. We had postings on our door telling us what to do. We were told that only 4 resturants would be open for dinner. We had to be back at our room by 8pm. We had to lock the doors, close the curtains, not use the jaquzzi, etc. We were told that the electricity would go out around midnight most likely. But that never happened. We were out until 8pm and it was raining worse than any storm I'd ever seen here in Michigan. It was lightening and thrundering and the wind was horrible. So we went back to our room, did as we were told and hunkered down because we were expecting something really horrible and we were really afraid. Around 11pm we got a phone call stating that we had 15 mins to get to the convention center, to leave everything in our room except the important things, such as passport, medications, etc. We had already packed our bags earlier that day becuase if there was any type of damage to the resort, we thought it might be easier to find our stuff if it was all in one bag. So we put those in the shower in our bathroom. We grabbed our bags and went to the convention center. It was pitch black outside except for the lights in the hallway. The wind was blowing harder than I had ever felt it blow. The rain was coming down something awful. There were employees telling us which way to go and what not. So we went to the convention center where they had all the hurricane shutters closed...they had set up about 200 beach chairs in rows...we had a pillow, sheet, and blanket. They had all the lights dimmed so people could sleep. They had pop, coffee, water, etc all set up for us. We were allowed to use laptops if we had them, we could use cell phones, etc. They had both bathrooms open for us. There were cars inside. It was scary. They checked us in when we came in too, to be sure that everyone in the resort made it to the convention center. It was really eerie.

Finally we went to sleep...and when we woke up we were told they didnt know how long we'd have to stay in there...but they had a complete breakfast buffet for us for breakfast. Then around 8am we were told we could leave and go back to our rooms. The hallways were flooded...the waves were huge, the wind was still strong. They said we had to stay in our rooms until further notice. So around 1pm we were told that they opened 1 resturant for lunch. We still weren't supposed to go swimming or go near the water or anything. So...thats my hurricane story...not that anyone cares...LOL. Below are some more pics from the hurricane.

Huge Wave After Dean



What chairs we didnt sleep in...they sunk so they wouldnt blow away.



More Damage after Dean



One side of the convention center



The other side of the convention center



Cars in the convention center



After Dean Breakfast

[Kami]

Originally Posted by jamaicamenutts

...but they had a complete breakfast buffet for us for breakfast. Then around 8am we were told we could leave and go back to our rooms. The hallways were flooded...the waves were huge, the wind was still strong. They said we had to stay in our rooms until further notice. So around 1pm we were told that they opened 1 resturant for lunch. We still weren't supposed to go swimming or go near the water or anything. So...thats my hurricane story...not that anyone cares...LOL. Below are some more pics from the hurricane.

It truly amazes me about the dedication from the local people. You know that there had to have been MANY staff members that were there, insuring the safety of the tourist, making them a large breakfast, taking care of them while probably worrying about their own families. The typical Mexican National continues to impress me so much with their warmth, hospitality and overall good nature. I cannot wait to surround myself with them.

[jamaicamenutts]

Kami I agree...I cant believe it either.

I have videos from after Dean and stuff, Im trying to put them on YouTube...but its taking forever. Also, I dont know how to post a youtube video in a forum. Anyone know?

Anyways...a few more pix.

Boarding up the Pres. Suites. Apparently they are the only rooms that dont have hurricane proof glass.







The Lagoons were completely gone. But they have them rebuilt, so I see in other peoples pix.



First View after coming out of the convention center...doesnt look bad here.



Flooded Hallway



Massive Wave.

[redhairgirl1]

Wow! Those photos are devestatinly awesome!! It is so sad to see the area that way

[Nick and Nora Charles]

Originally Posted by redhairgirl1

Wow! Those photos are devestatinly awesome!! It is so sad to see the area that way

But what is so great is that they came back better than ever.

Nora

[Libby]

Originally Posted by jamaicamenutts

I have videos from after Dean and stuff, Im trying to put them on YouTube...but its taking forever. Also, I dont know how to post a youtube video in a forum. Anyone know?

Posting a Youtube video is very easy. All you need to do is copy the url (website address) of the video into your post. The format of the url should look something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnujO3SCGBE

[gingele]

Originally Posted by redhairgirl1

We are going end of July early August. Right smack dab in the middle of hurricane season. We opted to get the travel insurance just incase one is headed in that direction, at that time. I know of a few people who canceled their trip last year, but it turned out to be more of a tropical storm, rather than a hurricane. Other areas got hit alot worse than Playa. But, it's a risk you gotta take.

While it is a risk it is a small one, statistically speaking. Travel Insurance is imperative to either assist in getting you out or in covering your additional costs sholud you have to stay and weather the storm.

I was in Playa last summer as Dean was barrelling down on the peninsula. I tell you - the days leading up to landfall on Monday were tense tense tense. Remember that bitch was heading stright for Playa before she turned south at almost the last minute.

Our flight out of Mexico was originally scheduled for Monday (landfall). I tried to get an earlier flight out - but so were how many other tens or hudreds of thousands of people? Moreover, while I had travel insur