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Sheltered by part of the largest continuous reef in the Western Hemisphere, the Costa Maya is situated on the Mexican Caribbean some 350km south of Cancún and just south of the stunning 1.3 million-acre Sian Ka’an reserve.

I’ve refrained from mentioning the Costa Maya on this blog, pretty much because the region avoided Wilma’s punch, instead suffering driving rains and a storm surge; a mere slap on the cheek by comparison with resorts to the north.

But I believe the following warrants some attention.

Ten of the largest cruise ship operators now visit Puerto Costa Maya (aerial photo) built to "resemble an ancient Mayan city". Before leaving their ship, passengers can choose from a range of excursions. OK, not too much wrong with that.

However, two…

On this, the final day of the World Water Forum in Mexico City, a salutary reminder of the need to protect the unique cenotes - or sinkholes - of the Yucatán.

Rob Birce of the Alma Libre Bookshop in Puerto Morelos tipped me off about Steve Gerrard’s new book, Cenotes of the Riviera Maya.

Thanks to Scott Clark for allowing me to publish his photo of a cave dive in Quintana Roo earlier this month.

Spotlight on Water - Planeta.com

Secret service agents will stealthily sneak into Cancún this week in advance of the tri-lateral summit on 30/31st March. They will begin sweeping selected venues for potential hazards and x-raying walls, lamps, and brand-new puffed-up post-Wilma pillows for bugs.

No official word on where the talks will be held, of course… but the Grand Coral Beach, or other Fiesta Americana hotel look the most likely. Any ‘exclusion zone’ should not impact the beach recovery operation on the "wave" side of the Hotel Zone.

Peter Grosser paced out the vast "re-loaded" beach (as Mel described it) at the Royal Sands at the weekend. He confirms that at this point the beach is upwards of 50m wide ("83 paces" to be exact).

I’m grateful to Peter for taking time out of his vacation (or was he avoiding the packing?) for settling this conundrum.

Read Peter’s full report here.

Photo taken at the Royal Sands, March 20th. With thanks to Royal Resorts. View a larger version

Meanwhile, at the southern end of the Hotel Zone, scene of the most alarming shrinkage to the already recovered beach, the "wall" has reduced in height a little. Most of the rocks (and one or two sandbags) uncovered during the stiff ‘northerly’ earlier this…

Ellen Fields has rightly given me a nudge to update you with some Cozumel tidbits. It’s been a while.

Actually, it’s easier to point you to Ellen’s own blog where she posted news of a tour she and Jim took around the island on March 7th, doing some research for an unnamed travel guide. Thanks, Ellen.

While we’re here… Travis Williams took this photo of his rental Bug, while visiting Cozumel on the very same day as the Fields. Similarly, Zu Zu captured another cruise ship anchored offshore, this time after dark on March 11th.

I spotted a comprehensive piece on child-friendly cruising in The Telegraph’s travel supplement on Saturday, which may interest some of you.

Last but not least, Mexico’s largest inhabited island now has its…

After a double helping of rumination over that "sand wall" (or ’shelf’) on Tuesday and Wednesday, I thought I’d post this snippet from a recent email received from Mel Zelniker in Cancún.

"The ’shelf’ you speak of is a not uncommon happening here. Last week we went to Playa Delfines, one of the first re-loaded beaches.

"On our first day there the shelf was an impressive 2 to 3 foot affair with lots of shells and bits to be excavated from the water side.

"When we returned the very next day, the shelf was gone.

"I don’t know if this was the result of sculpting by Fonatur [the Mexican tourism development agency] or tidal action, but I’m betting on the tide as this happened…

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…

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,…

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…

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