The populations down there are very low. There's probably a lot more people living in poverty in the Cancun area than around Felipe Carrillo Puerto. I dare say the Mexican Army will be busy trucking them to shelters tomorrow.
We´re at Cancun right now and probably stuck here another week even though we´re supposed to leave wednesday. Everything is slow and the streets are empty..except for the people boarding up everything in sight. Our hotel is telling us to expect the airport to be closed for about 5 days and that the lagun and the beach will become one. The gators will go to the beach side and sharks to the lagun. And some of them believe this could be much worse than wilma since its during the middle of the hurricane season. Will try and take pictures and post them.
The 5pm EST new data shows the estimated track even further south, landing somewhere around Majahual. At this rate, we'll get some strong winds and rain but probably not even a storm surge. I see the airport being closed for just Monday night.
Happy thoughts Steve (Man, Little Dani Is growning up fast) Canuck ( So is Max) River Girl(Im in CO), Elzabeth (Love the dog avatar) and all the locals, are thoughts are wish you. Happy thoughts. I'm not really into the praying thing, but happy thoughts, be safe. You know what to do. Jim and Faith
Someone on a message board I frequently visit has gone down to Mexico for some real hurricane chasing... heres his latest post: Sun 19 Aug - 1:20 pm CDT Made it! Reporting live from Playa Del Carmen. I made it. I can't believe it but I made it, but I did. I'm comfortably settled into a nice, modern Holiday Inn Express in Playa Del Carmen-- which is on the mainland, way S of Cancun, just to the NW of Cozumel. Today has been an emotional rollercoaster. I was feeling strung out, depressed, and just full of doubt during the overnight flight to Mexico City-- sat there in the dark conjuring up all kinds of terrible scenarios and just getting depressed. This happens every time I chase-- I always feel like sh*t emotionally at the beginning. It's hard to explain. Anyway, we landed in Mexico City and I had to haul azz through immigration and just barely-- and I mean barely-- made my connection to Cancun. Contrary to what's being reported in the news, flights were going into Cancun today-- although the gate agent questioned me Re: why I was going. I told him the truth-- said I was filming documatary work Re: hurricanes ("ciclones"). He realized I wasn't a tourist and nodded me through. Funny enough, I sat next to two bubbly chicks from L.A.-- second-generation Mexican-Americans who were going to Cancun for a family reunion! They tried to get out of the trip, but the online booking agent wouldn't refund, so they went. They weren't clear on what a hurricane is. One-- Erica-- was like, "It's just a lot of rain-- right?" As we approached the airport, I could see the broad expanse of the Yucatan Peninsula. It's very green and very flat-- reminds me of FL. The Cancun airport-- small, sparkly, and modern-- was flooded with reporters and news crews coming in from all over to sink their teeth into the red-meat story that's developing. I talked to a a crew from Telemundo-- a news chick gave me helpful advice Re: where I was going. The rental car office was chaos. The staff was very friendly and completely disorganized-- different agents wandering in and out of different transactions like it was a cocktail party. It was sunny, hazy, and very humid, and all the men in the waiting area were sweating through their shirts-- me included. I finally got my car-- I don't even remember the brand, but it's powder blue-- and drove S down the 307 for about 40 mi to Playa Del Carmen. The newspaper headlines are all about Dean and folks on the radio are talking about the "tormenta"-- but my Spanish isn't good enough to understand too well. I stopped at a boarded-up 7-Eleven along the way and loaded the car with 24 litres of drinking water and got a coffee. The sky darkened and I could see lightning way in the distance. Highway workers are preemptively dismantling all the street lamps, laying them flat and putting heavy-duty plastic around the bulbs. I finally got to my hotel-- a very nice, super-modern Holiday Inn Express with WiFi in the lobby and a cable connection in the room. I'm as happy as a clam. I begged them to let me stay here through the hurricane. The manager said it was OK, but I have to sign a release that removes the hotel from liability if I'm injured or killed, as they are encouraging people to get the f*ck out. The hotel staff is bringing in the patio furniture and taping the windows. The staff is stripping the rooms, moving all of the furniture to be near the bathrooms and interior walls. One general comment Re: Mexico and the Mexicans-- everyone's really pleasant and friendly, I noticed. Looking at the latest projected track, the cyclone's intense inner core will pass over Tulum, which is another 50 mi S-- so if that trend keeps up, I'll need to hit the highway and get down there tomorrow. Sorry this is so long. I'm writing more for my own benefit here. I'm tired, just want to remember everything. More later.
>"The staff was very friendly and completely disorganized-- different agents wandering in and out of different transactions like it was a cocktail party." Man that's a great sentence! Nailed it! If I was single, I'd be jumping i the truck, picking your buddy up in Playa and heading south for Majahual right now
been watching the weather like a hawk all weekend, I hate for the dean to hit anywhere, but it looks like it might go south of cancun, which if there is anything good about the situation, that is! Still praying for you all, hope all continues to go well. Steve, like the new website blog you all put up, great idea!!! Take care everyone down there, thoughts and prayers to you all!
BrianL, thank you for your post and I hope your friend is well in Playa. My thoughts go out to everyone in the path of Dean.
11pm EDT track estimate puts Cancun outside the error cone. Woohoo! No eyewall for us! Unless it gets weird like that one that did a loop around Merida.
