March, 2006

Kudos to Royal Resorts for their constantly updated photo galleries, which are a real treat. The information they provide is head and shoulders above their Hotel Zone neighbours.

This photo was taken yesterday (March 15th) in front of the Royal Sands, looking south.

• View a larger version

It’s noteworthy, I think, because it’s the first image I’ve seen that clearly shows the vast width of the reclaimed beach.

We learned yesterday that up to 58m of sand is being pumped onto the Cancún’s beaches (not 30m), with the expectation that it will shrink naturally to approx. 25m.

The beach looked like this just five days ago.

With just under 8km of beach already recovered, the remaining 4.7km to Punta Cancún should be completed by the end of April.

Thanks to the …

Chantelle Tucker visited the Xcaret eco-park last weekend.

You can browse her voluminous set of photographs on Flickr, or view them as a slideshow.

Wilma stripped much of the jungle of vegetation, but the park re-opened on December 12th and new growth has brought Xcaret back to life.

Things to see and do include: Jaguar island, the chapel of San Francisco of Assisi, where mass is celebrated overlooking the Caribbean Sea every Sunday at 4:30pm, the birdmen of Papantla, Los Voladores de Papantla, dolphin swim, night performances…

• Xcaret: virtual Flash map

The recent wind swell has abated and the beach transplant operation pushes on towards Punta Cancún.

But everything in its wake has changed, and there’s a bit of a hoo-hah over the suddenness that 10-20 metres of recovered beach washed away, leaving a ‘wall’ several feet high in places.

An article (language: Spanish) in today’s La Jornada features another photo.

Was this anticipated and factored into the models, or has Cancún suffered a setback? Frankly, it’s hard to make a judgment.

I sense some unease however, even from my long-distance vantage point.

The dredgers, bulldozers and tractors kept us all mesmerized for weeks - I said as much last month - as they miraculously restored miles of beach.

Then came the northerly. The landscape is now more confusing.

Yesterday, Quintana Roo Transport Secretary Gabriel Mendicuti Loría (a former mayor of Playa del Carmen) moved to ressure the tourist community.

He was quoted …

First the good news… recycled sand began to be pumped onto what was left of the beach at the Royal Sands complex on Monday. [Photo courtesy Royal Resorts]

But a few kilometres further south, all is not well.

After six weeks of spectacular progress (and unstinting positivity on my part), sections of the reclaimed beach have haemorrhaged sand after a few days of pounding waves.

Compare this photo of the recently ‘nourished’ beach that fronts the Royal Solaris hotel taken by Jim Wehrle on March 3rd, with another photo Jim captured on March 11th. The erosion is glaringly self evident.

Hoteliers must be observing the deterioration with increasing alarm, while bemused beachgoers comb the ‘wall’ for its bounty of sea shells and bits and pieces of broken coral.

La Jornada appeared to be the …

Stiff coastal breezes and roily seas whipped the Mexican Caribbean over the weekend and temporarily suspended the beach recovery operation in Cancún.

The two dredgers, the Filippo Brunelleschi (pictured last week) and Barent Zanan (pictured on Saturday), remain anchored in the Bahía de Isla Mujeres until conditions calm a little.

Authorities in Cozumel, Isla Mujeres and Puerto Juárez all briefly closed their ports to small craft.

Jan de Nul have all but completed their work in front of the Ritz Carlton.

Photo, right, taken this afternoon by Jim Wehrle.

After frenetic progress since February 1st, work on the Cancún beach recovery has visibly slowed after three days of windy conditions and choppy seas.

However, the equipment will shortly be assembled at the Royal Sands, which is next in line for a beach makeover.

The project is now 60 per cent complete and still on course to reach Punta Cancún before the April 30th contract deadline.

• My unofficial beach recovery timeline

The ‘After Wilma’ group pool on Flickr now boasts over 500 photos. Each one paints a picture. Together, they tell a story.

For those of you interested in these things… this blog has generated over 70,000 page views since January 1st. I’m indebted to many people who have contributed in so many ways. Thank you all.

There’s so much more work to be done.

What a difference a few days make.

On Friday (March 3rd), the ‘view’ in front of the Cancún Palace was of waves licking at the hotel boundary wall (photo: Jim Wehrle).

Today, the transformation is nothing short of miraculous (see photo, right).

Bulldozers are today smoothing out the recycled sand in front of hotel Le Meridien (photo), the Golden Crown Paradise and Ritz Carlton (photo).

Special thanks to Mel Zelniker who took these photos earlier this afternoon along the stretch of Cancún’s beach known as Playa Ballenas.

Chantelle Tucker, aka orcagirl, captures the weekend buzz at Playa del Carmen beautifully.

Sunday is traditionally a day to head to the beach - even more so last weekend as local families celebrating Día de la Familia mingled with the tourists.

And look at these guys demonstrating their acrobatic skill on the sand and in the water.

• Check the status of the hotels in Playa del Carmen.

The beach recovery teams are currently working in front of the Grand Melia Cancún (scheduled to re-open at the end of this month) and the CasaMagna Marriott (June 1st).

Jim Wehrle took this photo today from in front of the Palace hotel (no beach whatsoever). Looking south, the JW Marriott (May 1st) can clearly be seen… and in the distance, the earth moving equipment working the beach at the Grand Melia.

This photo shows the bulldozers working in front of the CasaMagna Marriott.

The second dredger - the Barent Zanen - has also now arrived, but I expect progress to slow a little as this stretch of the beach was washed away completely.