Meanwhile, Maria de las Mercedes took the photo on the right… and some others of the books, beads and batiks at  "Cosmic Cosas".

The used bookstore and internet café established by Molly Fisher and Genevieve Pritchard is a popular Avenida Matamoros hang-out on Isla Mujeres.

• Check the status of hotels on Isla Mujeres

Eduardo García lives in Cancún and took a day trip to Isla Mujeres on Saturday.

He took the car ferry from Punta Sam for the 45-minute crossing to the island. You get a good view of Playa Norte on the approach to the jetty downtown.

• Check the status of the hotels on Isla Mujeres

Before he left Mexico today, I quickly asked him for his impressions of what he saw.  Here are a few snippets…

"Land transport is not restricted in any way…but the boat shuttle service from Cancún no longer exists as the dock was destroyed by Wilma.

"I knew Wilma had dallied over Cancún, but I was still shocked by the amount of damage. Palapa roofs have been ripped off, palm trees have been shredded, but they’ll recover.

"The amount of damage to hotels and shopping malls is incredible – as if a small bomb had gone off in the area. Glass windows shattered, signage destroyed, tiles ripped from rooves.

"There’s no doubt there is a supreme effort to get as many hotels and services up and running by the official December 15th deadline [the start of the high season], but it’s difficult to see that really happening.

"Some hotels are open, operating and are almost untouched. Others have closed rather than inconvenience the luxury experience that is Cancún."

Peter is researching for the next edition of the Footprint Guide to Mexico & Central America. With thanks to Ron Mader for setting up this dialogue.