While the hotel is being re-developed, an "Ecological Restoration Area" has been planted at the back of the beach. A ‘beautification’ project really.

• View a larger version of  Mel’s photo of the beach.

Mel adds that it appears the beach cleaning is restricted to hotels that are open; the area in front of Le Meridien (the green-roofed building in the background) is pristine, while the area next door in front of the Ritz Carlton is laden with seaweed and junk.

Another photo of the ecological restoration area, and another.

Chantelle Tucker captured the turquoise-blue Caribbean Sea at Playa del Carmen on March 26th.

• View the complete photo set on Flickr.

Reminded me of the crystal clear breaking wave captured by Alejandro Mejía Greene in Cancún last month. 

These guys sure work fast.

This stretch of the beach was wiped out by Hurricane Wilma. You can see what little remained in this photo taken just last week by Nancy McElroy, who is, alas, now back home in Michigan.

• View a slideshow of Jim Wehrle’s before and after photos from April 4th and 5th.

Chantelle Tucker (a regular in my posts here) shares out all the wholesome goodness in this set of photos.

Just south of Playa is Ikal del Mar, with thirty beautiful, thatched villas, scattered throughout its lush grounds (the hotel prides itself on the fact that no trees were cut down during its construction).

Brighton-based Andy Budd was a guest earlier this month. Andy’s photo gallery on Flickr includes some sumptuous shots of Ikal del Mar… and many others of serene-looking Valladolid, Tulum and Chichén Itzá.

Kor Hotel Group, the Los Angeles-based operator of such luxury properties as the Tides on Miami’s South Beach, is acquiring Ikal del Mar. The group will also have a property on the Mayakoba development.

Photo: Playa del Carmen, March 22nd; ©Andy Budd

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.

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 staff at Royal Resorts

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Note that no timetable for the work has been made public, so these dates remain my best guesstimate.

Cancún’s beach reclamation project looks well on schedule to finish before April 30th, the ‘delivery’ date in Jan de Nul’s contract.

Lee Taylor took this photo (right) a few days ago during a brief sojourn at the Royal Islander.

I have to admit, I’ve become a beach recovery photo junkie. I’m no marine engineer [laughs], but I’ve found the whole spectacle… well, a spectacle.

• Another photo

I do not think I’m the only one finding myself ‘lusting’ over "trailing suction" dredgers and earth-moving equipment [?]. Maybe it has something to do with the fact cancunenses have waited seventeen years – since Hurricane Gilbert – to witness such theatre.

Or maybe I’ve been writing this stuff for too long!

Whatever. For those of you, like me, who may be interested in learning a little more, and / or wish to dazzle your friends with the how’s and wherefores of beach "nourishment", you could do worse than consult  this comprehensive guide to managing coastal erosion in beach/dune systems published by Scottish Natural Heritage.

Phew! Now I’ve got that out of my system…

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

Kudos to Royal Resorts as one of the very few to regularly post news updates online. Their website even features a short video of the beach recovery teams at work earlier this month.

Another photo.