Costa Maya and Hurricane Dean discussion (merged)

[DBXX]

WOW I feel for everyone over there. We went through the same thing during Katrina in New Orleans. What happens to the port now if they dont make it a point of call for a while, what other port would you go to in its place?

 

Danielle

[newfietraveldiva]

This is such sad news. We were in Costa Maya just a few weeks ago and had such an amazing day hanging out at the Cat's Meow. It was so beautiful and the people there were wonderful. We had planned on revisiting the area next year. All day I've been hoping that at least the pier survived so cruisers like ourselves could visit and contribute to their economy and regrowth.

 

A tragedy like this takes on new meaning when you have visited the place and met the people. My thoughts and prayers are with them all - a pier can be rebuilt but a life can never be replaced.

[DBXX]

How long does it take for them to rebuild when this happens to them? I know this isnt there first hurricane, does anyone remember there last one? How long till they were back up and running as best as they could?

 

Best wishes.

 

Danielle

[jetskier]

Per the AP, half of the pier is gone.

 

Hundreds of homes were collapsed in Majahual when Dean's eye passed almost directly overhead, crumpling steel girders, splintering wooden structures and washing away about half of the immense concrete dock that transformed the sleepy fishing village into Mexico's second-busiest cruise ship destination. The storm surge covered almost the entire town in waist-deep sea water.

 

Dave

[Leadft]

If one were to plan a relief trip, like to go down and help them clear debris and rebuild, how would you even get there? There are no roads, and now, no pier, right? How would you get supplies in? I was thinking of trying to arrange some sort of relief mission through church, but it seems like a logistical nightmare trying to figure out how it would even be possible.

[jasmith52]

Per the AP, half of the pier is gone.

 

Hundreds of homes were collapsed in Majahual when Dean's eye passed almost directly overhead, crumpling steel girders, splintering wooden structures and washing away about half of the immense concrete dock that transformed the sleepy fishing village into Mexico's second-busiest cruise ship destination. The storm surge covered almost the entire town in waist-deep sea water.

 

Dave

 

Is it clear to anybody what they are referring to ?

 

Are they referring to the cruise ship docking pier at Costa Maya ? Or are they refering to a lesser pier at Majahual for fishing boats ?

 

That cruise ship pier is pretty substantial and could take a pretty good beating. However I understand what a Cat 5 hurricane is and I did see the remants of the Cozumel pier on the ocean bottome due to hurricane Wilma.

 

I guess we will just have to wait a day or two for some more info.

[CruiseCATnMACK]

If one were to plan a relief trip, like to go down and help them clear debris and rebuild, how would you even get there? There are no roads, and now, no pier, right? How would you get supplies in? I was thinking of trying to arrange some sort of relief mission through church, but it seems like a logistical nightmare trying to figure out how it would even be possible.

 

Please let me know if you put something together. I called the American Red Cross and was told that I would have to go thru years of training to be deployed internationally. I have no desire to be in the way but I could help. I am doing some checking but have yet to find the right place/person to offer my help.

 

I am not far from you and could be at LAX in a matter of hours. Just let me know and I'm there.

 

You can email me privately at: cruisecat at verizon dot net.

[mr jimmy]

We just got back from our second trip there last month and are surprised that even some of the pier is still intact after going through Camille and Katrina that wiped out the Hwy 90 bridge both times and the I-10 Lake Pontchatrain bridge this last time with Kat. It makes us sick to think about what is left after seeing the Miss. gulf coast looking like a landfill after the two storms mentioned above.

Last trip on the visit to the Chacchoben ruins, our guide ponted out damage to one of the structures from hurricane Gilbert in 1998 - amazing.

Beyond Carnival and the other cruise lines, I would like to see Mr. Slim open up his checkbook to help the recovery.

[Leadft]

"...washing away about half of the immense concrete dock that transformed the sleepy fishing village into Mexico's second-busiest cruise ship destination."

 

That would definitely be referring to the large concrete cruise ship pier. But I agree - that thing seemed pretty sturdy, and was brand new.

[jetskier]

Current AP news reports are now saying half the pier in Costa Maya is gone.

Dave

[neatokimmo]

We spent a wonderful day at the Cat's Meow back in May and I'm just worried about Barbara and her staff.

 

I am looking at all the pictures to see if I recognize anything from her place. Has anyone seen or heard anything concerning the Cat's Meow? I just don't see how it could of survived this kind of storm.

[Mrsg324]

After seeing what happened to Cozumel's piers from Wilma, the twin span bridges from Katrina, I am suprised that only half of the pier would have been washed away.

 

I feel so helpless right now. I guess the main thing is that they are reporting no lives were lost.

 

not sure if they will show any but cnn is showing photos of all the areas Dean hit

[flamingos]

How long does it take for them to rebuild when this happens to them? I know this isnt there first hurricane, does anyone remember there last one? How long till they were back up and running as best as they could?

 

Best wishes.

 

Danielle

 

 

This is where we find out whose hearts are with the people, and whose are with Big Business. Infrastructure - repairing the roads, electric, telephone, water & sewer (such as they are) has to come first. I realize that the cruise port is the big business and it is needed to help with the economic recovery of the town......but the order in which things are repaired, and the amount of money and assistance made available to both town and port - that's going to be the telling part.

 

As for a timetable - those are pretty simple houses. If they wish to rebuild in the same fashion, it won't take long. The port itself stood up a lot better than I expected; it could be back in business in a month or so if the infrastructure is repaired.

[Sea Island Lady]

You are doing a wonderful thing! Just hope the money got to him.

 

Did you take the photo? I is beautiful. I have never ventured beyond the man-made village. Could someone point out the area that has the hole. I would like to try it the next time we visit. :D

[hptschupp]

We were in Costa Maya with Royal Caribbean in Dezember 2004 and had a very nice time.

 

Watch our HD movie about the cruise:

 

http://www.audiovisualconcepts.org/movies/cruise720p30.wmv

 

This movie file is about 900 MB and is in High Definition 1280x720 pixels. So it might need some substantial buffering time. If it doesnt play, you can

download the file by right clicking it. It needs about 30 minutes to download it with a good cable connection.

[Agutaya]

Here is a picture of Catherine, owner of Cat's Meow, after the hurricane.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/sc/091905hurricanes/im:/070821/481/c4cbda313cbb41b68a512c12a4898f4d;_ylt=AmUXF71mfdX8_uVT.PWqh_blWMcF

 

There are other pictures of Majahual ofter Dean.

 

The Costa Maya port was our favorite port because of the town of Majahual. We were looking forward to returning there. It may take a little longer now.

[jetskier]

Here is a picture of Catherine, owner of Cat's Meow, after the hurricane.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/sc/091905hurricanes/im:/070821/481/c4cbda313cbb41b68a512c12a4898f4d;_ylt=AmUXF71mfdX8_uVT.PWqh_blWMcF

 

There are other pictures of Majahual ofter Dean.

 

The Costa Maya port was our favorite port because of the town of Majahual. We were looking forward to returning there. It may take a little longer now.

 

Barbara is the owner of the Cat's Meow not Catherine though both are Canadian citizens.

Dave

[alys]

When we visited Costa Maya we went over to Majahual and had a wonderful day on the beach! We enjoyed local foods and beverages away from the ship in a relaxing setting. We wish everyone there our very best and hope the village will be OK.

[prc]

Here is a picture of Catherine, owner of Cat's Meow, after the hurricane.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/sc/091905hurricanes/im:/070821/481/c4cbda313cbb41b68a512c12a4898f4d;_ylt=AmUXF71mfdX8_uVT.PWqh_blWMcF

 

There are other pictures of Majahual ofter Dean.

 

The Costa Maya port was our favorite port because of the town of Majahual. We were looking forward to returning there. It may take a little longer now.

 

 

While the lady in this picture is Canadian, she is not the owner of the Cat's Meow (maybe a relative?). The owners are a couple much older than this, her name is Barbara, and I don't recall his. They are from Vancouver. My wife & I spoke with them for quite a while just last month. It's sad...they had such a nice place. I hope they as well as all the residents are able to pull themselves up from this.

[jetskier]

Is it clear to anybody what they are referring to ?

 

Are they referring to the cruise ship docking pier at Costa Maya ? Or are they refering to a lesser pier at Majahual for fishing boats ?

 

That cruise ship pier is pretty substantial and could take a pretty good beating. However I understand what a Cat 5 hurricane is and I did see the remants of the Cozumel pier on the ocean bottome due to hurricane Wilma.

 

I guess we will just have to wait a day or two for some more info.

 

They are referring to the pier at Costa Maya for the cruise ships, the statement below seemed clear to me. There were no immense concrete dock in Mahahual.

Dave

 

"washing away about half of the immense concrete dock that transformed the sleepy fishing village into Mexico's second-busiest cruise ship destination"

[Agutaya]

Thanks, Dave. As I was posting it I wondered if it was correct but it was too late. Boy, I hate to pass wrong information. I'm glad you corrected it so soon. Also I forgot to put the website for the other Majahual photos. Here it is.

 

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?ei=UTF-8&p=majahual&c=&fr=&c=images

[flvol77]

 

As for a timetable - those are pretty simple houses. If they wish to rebuild in the same fashion, it won't take long. The port itself stood up a lot better than I expected; it could be back in business in a month or so if the infrastructure is repaired.

 

Did you read this from the above article?

Hundreds of homes were collapsed in Majahual when Dean's eye passed almost directly overhead, crumpling steel girders, splintering wooden structures and washing away about half of the immense concrete dock that transformed the sleepy fishing village into Mexico's second-busiest cruise ship destination. The storm surge covered almost the entire town in waist-deep sea water.

 

A month or so? The pier is half gone and the pictures look like a bomb went off.

 

Cozumel still doesn't have all their piers back up from Wilma two years ago and they have a lot more money from tourism dollars than Costa Maya did. It will be a while before another cruise ship visits Costa Maya.

[CruiseCATnMACK]

I am in a position that I could be on a plane tomorrow and volunteer in the cleanup efforts but have been unable to find an organization doing this. I've contacted the American Red Cross and have been told that I would have to attend several years of classes before I could be deployed internationally.

 

Does anyone know who I can contact to volunteer in the Costa Maya area.

[flvol77]

It will be interesting to see what that pier looks like - also something to consider is even if a cruise ship could dock at the pier the depth at the pier will not be the same - I remember after Jeane and Frances here in Vero we were out on the Indian River (like the inland coastal waterway) and the bottom changed - The Channel use to be 12ft deep and now there is places that are 22 ft and other places that are 8ft deep.

 

So I am sure that will be a major undertaking to dredge the bottom and fix the pier.

[jetskier]

Looking at lot of the photos, there is not much sand left on the beach in Mahahual. Hopefully the Mexican govt will step up and help restore some of the coastline.

Dave