The Cozumel Drift
Hurricane WILMA Update
 
Your E-Newsletter from Scuba Shack, Blue Bubble Divers,
Dive ECO-cozumel & the Village Tan Kah
Cozumel, Mexico 
October 2005
 
Hello everyone.  As things are moving along, I wanted to give you an update as to how things
are coming, because the E-mails are pouring in.  And this time, since we are answering each
and everyone, please understand if it takes us a couple of days to get to you and that they
may short, direct, and to the point. 
 
It was brought to my attention that in my last newsletter, I was downplaying the severity
of a hurricane.  My apologies to anyone that thinks that was the point of the letter.  By no
means is a hurricane easy to live through.  But the hurricane itself is not the worst part.  It
is the afterwards, specifically the days following.  And depending on the severity of the
damage, that determines the number of days that are bad.  With Hurricane Emily, the
newsletter was released 2 days afterwards, and we were already diving that day.  On the
contrary, with hurriance Wilma, we were unable to get anything out to you until 1 week
afterwards.  And by then, everyone knows of how bad it was, the damage, the pictures are
out there, the negativity is reported.....  So the point of view of the last newsletter was not
how bad the hurricane was.  You knew that already.  The object of it was on how we are
going to continue on in the future.  Please note, half of our staff is still without electricity,
including Robert and myself.  That is now 15 days.  But again, living in Mexico,
the tropics, on an island, you become resourceful and adaptable.  I personally find it funny
that the vacationers who lost their vacation is the only point of view that the foreign news
agencies take.  What about everyone who lives here ?  Maybe that is why we can or have
to be more upbeat about things because there is no where else to go but up !  Anyway,
my apologies, and on to bigger and better things.  Because if anyone things that this island is not going to be back right on track by the end of next week, you are sadly mistaken !!!!!! 
 
IN THIS EDITION: 
Our heartfelt THANKS... How can we ever thank you enough !!! 
Cozumel Capers... Unbelievable  !!!
The Scuba Shack Skinny... How we are cleaning ourselves up  !!!
Others on the island...  The list continues  !!!
Reef Update... What we have all been waiting for !!!
 
        OUr heartfelt thanks !!
When we came up with the "special" offer for our Wilma survival and rebuilding, we
never anticipated just how many of you would come to us in our time and need.  We
know and love all of you, and you are more like our family than our customers, but
still..... we never expected this much generosity from all of you.  It is with tears
in my eyes right now, that I am writing to thank each and everyone of you who is
sending us money now. We don't even know the words that express the gratitude
that we feel.  We now know exactly where the heart of Scuba Shack and Blue Bubble
divers lies, and we THANK you from the bottom of our hearts.  Every single
person who works here at Scuba Shack, Blue Bubble Divers and the Village Tan Kah 
thanks you !
 
In addition, we need to express thanks for all of the people here on the island who
have been helping us immensely.  The next time that you guys come to Cozumel,
please make sure to pass by to either Kelley's Bar and Grill, and thank Gene
for letting me charge the computer every day.  And Scott the Chirprocter for
letting me use his phone lines while mine were out.  And of course, Tony Rome,
at his restaurant, for power and then the high speed internet.  Without those 3
people, you guys would just be hearing the first of me now !
 
 
Cozumel Capers
There is a process that the island goes through, and I imagine all areas (cities, towns,
rural areas, etc) go through after a disaster.  And it is a natural process where the
general good comes out in everyone.  So, after a hurricane, the first day, the small
wheels of each household are turning.  Everyone is cleaning up their little living area,
and helping with the street, downed lines, trees, etc.  With a hurricane that inflicted the
amount of damage as Wilma, then the next step kicks in.  And that was all last week,
where the wheels were also created at each company.  The workers come, help clean up,
clean up the street, collect the destroyed items (leaves as well as stuff) in collectable
areas so that it will be easier for the general clean up.  And last week we saw that.  We
were VERY impressed with the swiftness of the electric company's arrival and the amount
of forces that they brought.  The federal government stepped in and brought a huge ferry
that was able to manuver the downed car ferry pier until it was rebuilt (4 days) and the
regular ferry arrived.  In the mean time, ships arrived and food was being helicoptered in,
and really, there was no time at all when anyone was without food or drinking water.  OK,
long lines at the grocery store or having to go to many different places to find specific
items, but that just reminded us of what Cozumel used to be 12 years ago!!  We were not
without.  All of the differnt wheels were turning.
 
Now, what we have never seen before, is what is happening this week.  Starting with this
past Monday, this huge wheel is now turning and the entire island is getting caught up in it. 
And this is the rebuilding of Cozumel by the end of next week.  And if any of you are
disbelievers, I tell you, I wouldn't have believed it either if I was not seeing it with my
own eyes. 
 
* Electricity - After Gilbert, people were without electricity for months.  After Roxanne,
which was a nothing, baby hurricane, Cat 1, it was almost 3 weeks before the entire island
had electricity.  This time, wow, they are working so hard.  And it is really nice to see the
pride that the workers who come in from other parts of the Mexican nation bring with them. 
On the back of their trucks, they have painted where they come from - Monterray, Reynosa -
those places are located along the Texas/Mexico border.  Imagine how far they had to drive
just to get here !  And they are working long hours.  Yes, we don't all have electricity, but
that should be changed soon.  Actually, Blue Bubble office has, and they told me yesterday
that Scuba Shack will be today. 
 
* Street Damage - There were 4 parts of the street that runs from town to the south hotel
zone where the barrier wall/walk was destroyed and half of the raod washed away - at the
place where the boats come in and out of the water, at Papa Hogg's, before the south hotel
zone and at Casa del Mar..  Some of those places the black water drain broken as well.  As
of end of day Thursday, the first one was completely filled in, and they were packing it down
so that the street can be laid.  The sidewalks were ready and they had the molds built so that
the cement can be poured today.  At Papa Hogg's, be drain is fixed and they even built a
special wall around it so that if this should happen again, it will not break the drain, and it
was almost completely filled in.  The 3rd location, before the hotel zone, was graded, and
they were starting to fill it in.  And Casa del Mar is being filled up with all of the broken
down buildings down by us.  By mid next week, this will all be done.
 
* Temporary Clean-up crews. The government offered for 1 month jobs for 1000 people
to go and clean up all of the streets of Cozumel.  And they are doing a wonderful job. 
That is why downtown was able to clean up so quickly and the rest of the town now is well
on the way.  This is much faster than what we saw after Emily, and I was impressed by
that effort !
 
* Downtown waterfront - Everything is all cleaned up.  There is not more debris on the
streets.  All of the dead palms have been dug out, and holes left there.  Seems to me like
they are planning on replanting something else !  All of the water front stores are cleaning, rebuilding, drying out, it is absolutely amazing.  The crews are now out there, repainting
the sea wall.  Everything around the square is primping up.  And the surrounding areas are
all open.  If you were low and not on the water front, almost no damage was sustained.
 
* Telephones - this week we have seen in influx of the telephone fleets.  They are working
on every corner, all over this place.  Soon, our phone lines should be up and running.
 
There are a number of factors that are influencing this.  Of course, everyone wants to
have the cruise ship business back.  That puts people on the island for the businesses.  But
the cruise ships won't come if 1 - the place does not look nice, and 2 - if there is not a c
ertain % of shops open.  Last weekend the reps from the various cruise lines were brought
in, and for obvious reasons, they did not leave with a positive attitude.  They are returning
this coming Wed and Thu, and final decisions will be made.  I cannot see how downtown is
not going to meet their standards.  Also, we are getting a HUGE influx of goverment help. 
I mean huge.  It helps that the Governor comes from Cozumel, so he is working closely with
the Mayor to bring in all of the necessary resources to get this job rolling.  And it helps
alot the President Vicente Fox has been here, is a businessman, and knows the importance
of this entire region.  Just a note - Mexico's 2 leading industries are Oil and Tourism. 
Quintana Roo, the state of Cozumel, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and the Riviera Maya,
brings in 40% of the annual tourism revenues.  So, this area is important to the
government.  As are the cruise lines.
 
Scuba Shack Skinny
Well, we are cleaned up.  The pool is drained,cleaned and being refilled.  The dive shop
is temporarily set up in the Shark room, while we remodel the library area to handle
this job !!  This means then by Thanksgiving, we will be able to have all the rooms
available for anyone who is looking for rooms.  The palm trees are shooting out baby
coconuts.  Good sign - reproduction !  The new palm leaves are out, and eveyrthing is now
starting to turn green.  The palapa on the Treehouse will be fixed next week, and then
the hotel is A-OK. 
 
As for the dive shop, we are getting is all set up.  We are waiting for a couple of estimates
on how to build it up again.  And insurance adjustors to show up !  We will see.  The boats are getting ready.  2 are ready, convertible style while we are waiting for the tops to
be made.  And the others are getting all gussied up with fiberglass.......  
 
Tanks though, we are still on the look out.  We have recoved only 40 of 120 tanks.  So,
there are more out there and we are trying to figure out which trip they took and what
the final destination was !!!!!!!  
 
A big round of applause to Gladys and Clinton Neeley - they are going to be our very
1st customers after the hurricane.  And they arrive here on Monday !
 
Others on the island   
Now, most of youhave been wondering how the rest of the island is doing, for restaurants,
places to go at night, etc.  Well, things are really getting back on normal. 
 
Restaurants
There is more than enough food on the island, so the restaurants are all open.  I had
wanted to give you a list of good news - who is open.  But it is going to be really long. 
But I will try quick - our most favorites - Prima, La Cocay, The Veranda, Pepe's Grill,
Nino's Pizza, La Choza, Kelley's Bar and Grill, Domino's Pizza, Garden of Eatin', Plaza
Leza, Casa Dennis, Especias, Los Seras Tacos, La Mission Tacos, La paroquia, La Mission...
the list really does go on.  So, here is the list of who is out of commission and how long
they will take:
aRock 'N Java - Looked alot worse that it really was.  They are cleaning out, and I
think they will be open by Thanksgiving.  Mostly flood damage.
aMesa 17 - Well, I am not sure if it was in the makings before hand or if the hurricane
was the reason but they are closed for good.  They have sold all of the tables, chairs, etc.
to Rock 'N Java and they have returned to home.
aFrench Quarter - Well, the palapa fell down, and the palapa guys are working on it.  T
hey say 2 weeks, Mexican time.  But they did show up today - they were supposed to s
tart on Monday.  Close enough.  And, Mike is taking the chance to redo the bar downstairs. 
So, Thanksgiving is not looking realistic for opening, and Mike is taking his time.  Christmas
for sure, maybe before in December.
aErnesto's Fajitas - they are going to be out of commission for a while.  Expect a Dec opening.
aPalapa Restaurant at Casa del Mar - closed until Dec 15.  The entire Palapy came down.
aMexico en los Siglos - He is pretty much cleaned up, just waiting to open when there
will be more customers.  Now, that the flights will be starting, we will just have to see.
 
Other than that, there is nothing that is closed.  Basically, it is everything on the ocean,
with the exception of the French Quarter and Mesa 17 that is a permanent close.
 
Night Life
Right now, the curfew has been extended and is now from midnight to 5 am.  That should
be changing again this weekend, as more electricity is restored.  There are very few
areas without.  But, there is still no sell of alcohol - to the locals.  All foreigners can
drink.  I guess they don't think that any of the Americans/Canadians/Europeans that
live on the island are drunks....... ha ha.  So, needless to say, there is really no need for
any of the bars to be open right now.  But, we understand that at the latest, the dry law
will be lifted on Nov 14, when the first cruise ships arrive.  Surprisingly, Viva Mexico
did not have all that much damage.  And Carlos 'N Charlies are feverishly getting ready
for their first big day, Nov 14.  All restaurants are serving to the foreigners.
 
Hotels
There are so few hotels open right now, that this is really our limiting factor, both for
where you guys to stay as well as for the airlines to determine how many flights to
bring in.  Right now, most of the hotels in town are open - Flores, MaryCarmen, not
sure about the Meson San Miguel, Hotel Aguilar is open, etc.  Bahia and Colonial are
closed because they just got electricity yesterday and they will begin cleaning.  Casa
Mexicana is OPEN.  You will see on Funjet, and all of the charter operators the date
listed for opening as Dec some time.  All of their rooms are 100% ready and the airco
is now working.  The problem with them is that their escalators are not, and they left
the lobby for last to clean.  They are housing right now all of the architects and big wigs
who are coming in from outside of the island, and the only other people they will take
are divers.  That means, you cannot make a reservation for them, but I can.  And I have
toured the hotel.  Except for the escalators, everything is fine.  Oooh, one thing I better
check on is the elevators....  I will find that out and let you know in the next update. 
Hotel Cozumel is scheduled to open on November 15.  Since this hotel has only 3 floors,
they did not sustain much room damage.  One thing that is completely gone on the island
are the piers.  There are no more piers on the island.  Everyone is rebuilding.  The only
piers that still stand are 2 of the 3 cruise ship piers, the ferry pier, and pieces of the
pier we used in town.  All hotels, dive shops, everyone lost their pier.  So this means that
for diving, everyone is going to the marinas to get on their boats.  We will be doing alot
of gear storage and tagging and making sure that everything gets on the right boats.  As
for the openings of the other hotels, well, looks like some of the hotels will be open by
Christmas, Casa Mexicana, and Casa del Mar, parts of the Reef Club, Playa Azul..... 
Everything else is realistcally looking towards the end of Jan.  But that changes daily. 
Apple Vacations and Funjet Vacations are by far the 2 biggest charter companies that
work with the island.  And their listed dates do not cooincide.  Basically, anyone who has reservations for Thanksgiving and Christmas and want to insure that they get to spend it
here, you  should get to their travel agent or contact the hotel or tour operator, and
make althernate arrangements now.  There are going to be alot of unavailable rooms,
and if you want to insure yourself in one of the available rooms, then make your plans
now !!!!!!!!  Of course, you can always check with us to see if we still have space :)
 
Flights and Charter Operations
It seems like alot of the airlines (both scheduled air and charter lines) are abandoning us
in our time of need.  But if the hotel rooms are not available, then they do not feel the
need to have to service us.  What they do not take into consideration is the smaller
hotels, like the Village Tan Kah.  What can a place with 8 rooms do?  But if there are
10 small hotels with 8 rooms, now there are 80 rooms available, that they really do not
see.  As well as all of the private houses and condos that you can rent.  So, you might have
to get creative or come through Cancun in order to visit us.  Believe me, it will be well
worth the extra time.  It is quite easy actually.
 
As for scheduled air flights, as of this Sat, Continental will resume flights to Cozumel -
only 3 days a week until Nov 20, and then they will resume to the 1 a day schedule.  
YEAH!!  Just in time for Thanksgiving !!!!!!!  Mexicana has been flying in daily from
Mexico City.  The flight departs out of there at 10:30 am, so it really is an easy
connection to make.  US Airways has resumed flight schedule for this weekend from
BOTH Detroit and Charlotte.  Only certain days of the week, so if anyone knows which
days, please let me know.  American Airlines, Northwest and United have bailed on us. 
They have cancelled their daily flight until Dec 15.  After that, American will opperate
3 days a week - Fri, Sat, Sun.  NW codeshares with Continental so it appears that they
are just going to funnel everyone through Houston.  United I am showing starting Dec 15
from both Chicago and Denver(?).  Denver is news to me.  Also, Frontier will begin to
operate directly from Denver to Cozumel as of Dec 17.  Also, I noticed a news update,
DELTA is beginning in March (I hope this is still on) for Los Angeles as well as Salt
Lake City DIRECT to Cozumel.  So, all of you guys coming in from Washington, Idaho
area, this should make things easier for you ! 
 
Now, for the charter flights, everyone has cancelled here to Cozumel through
Thanksgiving at least, if not through Christmas.  I am not able to find flight schedules
for any of them.  They may be just funneling people through Cancun for a while.  I do
not know.  But will try to find out by next week for you.
 
So, this is all the info I have, which is what I am getting off of the websites.  If anyone
has more up to date info, please let me know !!!!!!!
 
Reef Update   
This is the part that you have all been waiting for.  Yesterday, we had a meeting with
the Marine National Park and they released their evaluation of the reefs.  Obviously,
with a hurricane of this magnitude and for the duration that it was on top of us, the
shallower reefs sustained some damage, but the deeper reefs, surprisingly not as much. 
One of the biggest things that you will notice is how much sand was washed away.  In
some parts, up to 12 feet of sand is gone.  Meaning, that when you look at the reef, you
see alot more damage that is really there, because you see all of the base white coral/rock
from centuries ago.  And that perception is what we are trying to battle now, because
it really is not dead, that is just what has been growning for centuries, actually millenums,
if you really think about it.  It also means that there are alot more swim throughs and
tunnels to explore. But this is not intended to downplay that alot of the gargonians and
the barrell sponges have been damaged.  The fragile corals as well, finger and lettuce
leaf, have broken, yet those are the fastest to grow.  All of this information is based
on what the Marine Park has told us.  WE HAVE NOT BEEN OUT ON THE REEFS T
O SEE THIS WITH OUR OWN EYES.  More good news, it does not appear that much
of the fish life is gone.  As a matter of fact, they reported seeing more turtles, sharks
and spotted eagle rays than usual. 
 
What is being done for the reefs right now you might ask??  Daily boats go out to help
clean the reefs.  There are alot of palapa bits, palm trees, deck chairs that were washed
on and round the reefs, so we are cleaning that up in conjunction with the Marine
National Park.  
 
What can you do??  Besides get here to dive, while you are diving, you will need to be
EXTREMELY careful with your neutral buoyancy and maintain a farther distance from
the reef than usual, so that we are not even accidentally damaging any of the new growths. 
Be more than extra careful if you are bringing a camera or video equipment.  Also, we
are really going to work on NOT OVERWEIGHTING divers.  So many customers say they
need that much weight to dive, when there may be some other techniques that might help
you dive better.  Please respect and listen to the divemasters if they have a suggestion
for you.  Who know, besides the weight going down, your air consumption rate might
decrease as well and you will be able to have even more time under the water !!!!!!!!
 
All in all..............
To be very honest with you, things are really coming together.  For any of you who were
having your doubts about heading this way, really, it is all available to you.  For people
who do have upcoming reservations, again, I would suggest not waiting till you hear
something, especially if you want to be here for Christmas and New Years.  If this is
where you want to be, make your plans now. 
 
Everyone here at Scuba Shack, Dive ECO-cozumel, Blue Bubble Divers and Village Tan Kah would not be here right now if it was not for YOU - our customer.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, really, we do.  And we are looking forward to seeing you again soon here !!!!!!!!
 
Thanks !
 
Robert and Roberta and All of the staff of Scuba Shack, Blue Bubble Divers and Dive
ECO-cozumel and All of the staff from the Village Tan Kah hotel !
 
================================================================================
 
SCUBA SHACK  (011-52-987) 872-4240
 
On the beach between Casa del Mar & Park Royal Hotels
 
ROBERTA'S DIVE ECO-COZUMEL  (011-52-987) 872-4187
www.RobertasDIVEECOcozumel.com
roberta@RobertasDIVEECOcozumel.com
Calle 3 between the waterfront and 5 Ave.
 
BLUE BUBBLE DIVERS (011-52-987) 872-1865
www.bluebubble.com 
info@bluebubble.com
Calle 3 between the waterfront and 5 Ave.
 
VILLAGE TAN KAH   (011-52-987) 872-6142 -
info@VillageTanKah.com
In the south hotel zone, directly across the street from Scuba Shack 
 
TECHNICAL STUFF:
This newsletter is produced by Roberta Cwiertnia, sponsored by Blue Bubble Divers, Roberta's Dive Eco-Cozumel, Scuba Shack & Village Tan Kah. We welcome all contributors, although we reserve the right to cut and paste.  To be removed from this mailing list, simply send an e-mail with "Remove From Mailing List" on the subject line to: roberta@robertasdiveecocozumel.com