The El Cozumeleño resort only re-opened at the end of January, but Patricia commented on how the hotel had done "a remarkable job of rebuilding".

On the windward side (eastside) of Cozumel, the Chen Río beach is a peaceful place to stop and eat, and popular with locals (always a good sign). Take a taxi, or rent a car across the island.

Many visitors swear by the huge mixed platters of grilled seafood and simpler cerviches under the palapas at the Chen Río restaurant.

1. View of hotel pool from room 1901
2. Room with a blue-green view
3. El Cozumeleño from the pier
main photo: Chen Río restaurant

The destructive force of Wilma was still evident to those who looked for it.

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 first hostel.

‘Hostelito’ opened its doors on February 15th and offers bunks, lockers,
cable TV, etc. for US$12 dollars a night. Centrally located in San Miguel. Tel. (987) 869-81-57; Deyner Jimenez, who runs the hostel, told me that a website is on the way.

You can download the podcast from their website.

Suzanne was in the region in Sept/Oct last year, researching for the guide’s 10th edition. The author is asked about her experiences "living through Wilma" (actually she fled to Campeche) and covers the region’s "miraculous recovery" since then.

No big scoop, but a good general intro / listen… with one caveat: Suzanne, the Sheraton hotel did not "collapse". The Resort building has been demolished to make way for the Westin Lagunamar, which will rise in its place.

Meanwhile, after a week of celebrations in Cozumel (and elsewhere), Michael Gerber has posted this set of carnival photos on Flickr.

Novedades reports that an all-Mexican team of 60 engineers had worked to free the vessel from where it wedged in the sands near Puerto Juárez.

The 2000-tonne vessel seems likely to resume ferrying passengers between Cancún and Cozumel at some point in the future.

I’ve been following progress since my January 12th post. I guess this should be viewed as another symbolic step in Cancun’s rehabilitation.

Ortega commented to journalists that the Punta Langosta pier in San Miguel de Cozumel would welcome the world’s largest cruise ship, the Freedom of the Seas, in June.

The 160,000-ton, 3,634-passenger vessel (pictured, right, at the Aker Yard in Finland) will be the largest cruise ship in the world when it debuts in May 2006.

Currently, cruise ships are mooring offshore and ferrying in passengers by tender.

Repair work to the three piers – a lifeline for Cozumel’s economy – began quickly, but Victor Vivas González, a representative from Cozumel’s Port Authority, has revealed ambitious and potentially controversial plans to increase the pre-Wilma docking capacity for cruise ships.

According to Vivas, the International Pier is expected to be the first to fully re-open, but not until September.

In the meantime, passengers are being shuttled ashore by large tender. 

Last month, they stayed at the Scuba Club Cozumel instead, an all inclusive resort with its own diving charter.

They hired scooters and followed the badly churned up road down the island’s leeward western shore to inspect the damage to their old favourite.

"There were around three hundred construction workers on site the day we stopped by," David writes. "[The hotel] expects to remain closed until February."

Many of the construction workers are migrants, mostly from the impoverished southern state of Chiapas. They work long hours and at the end of the day, drop their tools and sling up a hammock, either on the spot or in outdoor camps.

During David and Lynn’s week-long stay (December 12th to 19th), they explored most of the island and report that every part of it had sustained damage, some of it extensive. 

"The two main cruise ship piers were completely destroyed. A really astonishing display of Mother Nature’s force.

"The small Mexican Navy base on the island was also wrecked, but electricity was restored to the island in three days.

"The resiliency of the people of Cozumel is truly astounding," David says.