http://www.afterwilma.info The Story of how Cancún & the Riviera Maya got back on its feet. Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:14:26 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en My energies are focused elsewhere at the moment. Thanks for visiting. http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/09/27/turn-off/ I really do think that this could mean the death knell for travel guidebooks as we currently know them!TripAdvisor Inside™ is a travel wiki. We can all now read, write and edit online travel guides on thousands of destinations around the world. There are no doubt other examples, but ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/09/15/tripadvisor-wiki/ John Bordsen of the Charlotte Observer interviews Abelardo Juarez, the manager of Señor Frog's in Cancún on post-Wilma recovery. http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/08/22/senor-frogs/ Thirty days since our last visit to the beach and what a difference. Fonatur and Mother Nature have been at work: The beach is clean. The beach is wide. The 'shelves' have gone. The water is beautiful. The Cancún Palace is a mess; still looming over the beach, imposing an ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/08/14/viva-cancun/ Kitty Bean Yancey writing in USA TODAY says that tourism officials are throwing what's billed as "world's largest beach party" from August 11th -13th, including sand-sculpture and surfing contests, food, music and booze. The article also includes some hotel updates... the 515-room Westin Resort & Spa reopened ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/07/31/cancun-beach-party/ In a recent survey of more than 3,000 people conducted by TripAdvisor, 89 percent of respondents said their vacation plans have not been affected by the early predictions of another active hurricane season. Fifty-eight percent said they plan to visit a hurricane-susceptible destination such as Cancún. Still, last year's rash ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/07/26/not-put-off/ James Palmer writes beautifully about diving a cenote (sinkhole) in The Independent.I wrote about cenotes back in March. You can read the post here. http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/07/13/the-cavern-club/ I've previously posted some thoughts on the subject of 'hurricane preparedness'. Then, earlier this week, I got a call from USA TODAY reporter Laura Bly. We talked at some length about the post-Wilma recovery in Cancún: the positive, the less positive, and some areas still to see some action.Laura ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/06/30/dont-mention-the-h-word/ This report concerns the beach front between Park Royal and the Cancún Palace. This morning, whether from neglect or design, the beaches were positively filthy. It was as though Fonatur [the Mexican tourism development agency] has given up on cleaning the beaches, which were clogged with huge bundles of seaweed and ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/06/29/cancun-beach-recovery-29/ This recent photo clearly shows Punta Cancún (foreground) and the restored beach heading south. View a (dazzling) larger version. Photo courtesy of Cancún Visitors Bureau (Oficina de Visitantes y Convenciones de Cancún), with additional thanks to Manuel Cuevas and Sandra Ibarra of William H. Coleman Inc. http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/06/28/cancun-beach-recovery-28/ After walking the beach and getting well crisped by the sun, Mel Zelniker took this photo of the beach in front of the Cancún Palace on June 4th. While the hotel is being re-developed, an "Ecological Restoration Area" has been planted at the back of the beach. A 'beautification' project ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/06/13/cancun-beach-recovery-27/ Today is a good day. The sun is out. That's three days in a row.It just got even better. As part of the global celebration of World Environment Day, Planeta.com ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/06/05/colibri/ After five solid months of trabajando hasta las horas de la noche, burning the midnight oil, scouring the wires, trying to write coherently and accurately about the post-Wilma recovery, I needed to take a break; re-charge the batteries. That's all it is tough, a time out. Again, a big thank ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/05/05/time-out/ Two weeks ahead of schedule, and a just a few days short of six months after Hurricane Wilma left her ugly footprint on Cancún, the resort now boasts miles of golden sand. "Jan de Nul is getting ready to pack its bags" Gabriela Rodríguez Gálvez, Secretary of Tourism for Quintana ... http://www.afterwilma.info/2006/04/13/cancun-beach-recovery-26/