We need you after Wilma

[catbrown]

Puerto Morelos now has full power and the phone lines are gradually being restored. The leaves are growing on the trees and the birds are coming back.At least half of our restaurants are open and everyone else working hard to open ASAP. I will not deny this hurricane was devastating to our town especially so close to high season which we were all really counting on. Enormous effort is being put into fixing her to be ready and we hope you will come and support us here. There are many rental houses here (none on the beach at the moment) and I would be happy to direct you to the managers of them, catbrown@prodigy.net.mx. Nearly all the properties 1-2 blocks back from the beach had minimal damage, mine included and the beach is gorgeous now. some areas have rubble which is being cleared daily. if you have any spanish books, they would be greatly appreciated by the library, which now has nothing. Other than that the euro and the dollar are in high demand as well as your company - we are heartily sick of each other. Joke.
For another 10 days the reef here is actually closed while National Parks clears it of debris and reinstalls the moorings for snorkelling and diving but apparently it looks pretty good. No-one I know has been to the outlying dive sites yet, the sea has been a little rough, forget about me I am a fair weather diver. All the major all inclusive resorts that surround us are closed( and will be for months) but we are not and we have a lot of captains, dive masters, tour guides and restaurant people who will be very happy to see you. Also this town is in a great position to visit all the other attractions that the Riviera Maya has to offer, so let me know if I can help and hope to see you soon..best...cat
PS for those of you who didn't know, I sold the dive shop in August, I am trying to edit SB profile accordingly, the new owners have the DPM website, i am buidling a new one, which will have general PM info, will let you know.

 

[geraldp]

...PS for those of you who didn't know, I sold the dive shop in August, I am trying to edit SB profile accordingly, the new owners have the DPM website, i am buidling a new one, which will have general PM info, will let you know.

Ahah... well I guess that explains why Scott has been answering all my emails to you Thanks for the update about Puerto Morelos... PM is a wonderful town full of wonderful friendly people and I can't wait to get back for a visit.

Jerry

 

[Snowbear]

Enormous effort is being put into fixing her to be ready and we hope you will come and support us here...

Mayan homes still flooded, crops ruined
By Catherine Bremer
Mon Nov 21, 1:42 AM ET

NARANJAL, Mexico (Reuters) - While Mexico sweats to repair storm damage to Cancun's luxury hotels and beaches, Maya Indians nearby have been left to fend for themselves as a lake of floodwater the color of black tea swallows their homes.

A rickety raised path built over the putrid water from old wood and cinder blocks is the only way in and out of the tiny farming hamlet of Naranjal, deep in the tropical forest inland from Cancun, since Hurricane Wilma tore through last month.

A dozen homes are flooded, some to thigh level, and the debris-filled lake -- 300 feet wide and stretching for several miles -- is growing as rainy weather continues and water seeps here from higher ground across the region.

Their drinking wells contaminated and the stagnant water causing fever and rashes, terrified residents are scrabbling to shift their tiny village, house by house, to higher ground.

"We thought the problem was over but it's getting worse. Instead of receding, the water is advancing a little bit every day. Basically, it's swallowing us up," said village councilor Gregorio Tun Cupul in front of his waterlogged home.

"The government says it is going to provide us with strong new houses -- I wish it was true. But we can't wait, we have to move the entire village before this gets worse."

Wilma, which hung over Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula for three days in October packing 145 mph (230 kph) winds, destroyed tens of thousands of homes and tore up some 2 million acres (800,000 hectares) of forest.

While repair efforts focus on Cancun, which is losing millions of dollars a day as hotels stand empty, Naranjal's 125 inhabitants are going hungry after Wilma flattened the maize and bean crops and killed off the honey and charcoal businesses that were the main source of cash.

"Our crops are completely gone. I don't know what we are going to live off," said maize farmer Donato Tun y Balam.
'
WE NEED WATER, SOAP, MEDICINE'

Government officials and aid workers have visited Naranjal and other affected villages with food and drinking water and have promised to bring them cardboard roofing material.

Yet locals are skeptical the help will materialize.

"We need more water, we need soap, detergent, and medicine. They say 'yes' but nothing has arrived," said Tun Cupul.

Naranjal is typical of the isolated and impoverished villages where Maya Indians live today, a far cry from the breathtaking pyramid cities of their pre-Hispanic ancestors.

Proud of a scattering of Mayan ruins on the outskirts of the village, Naranjal has tried to get funding for a tourism project with bicycle tours to nearby sinkholes, but investment tends to focus on more lucrative projects on the coast.

The project is now on hold while the community races to build new homes from the dead wood strewn about by Wilma.

The move is a shock for 76-year-old Eleuterio Tun y Balam who has lived in the wood-and-thatch hut he built when he founded Naranjal half a century ago, after trekking through the forest seeking a patch of land to farm.

Wilma left his house in tatters and washed away everything inside, save an old mangy hammock hanging from the partially collapsed roof.

"Other storms came, but this one was the worst. My house has fallen down and the water will reach it soon," he said.

"Before Wilma hit people came from the town hall and told us to leave, but I would never go. I'm used to the quiet. This is home."