From the International Women’s Club of Cancun. Web Site: www.iwccancun.com

Friends – Apologies for this long email, but this is important! All of us here in Cancun are breathing a sigh of relief that Hurricane Dean did no property damage nearby. But many places were not so fortunate. Many people in Dean’s path lost their homes, all their worldly possessions, their livestock and the crops in their fields. In many cases the crops which were lost represent a family’s main income source, so these people have lost everything, including their ability to support themselves.

There are a number of organizations working to help those affected by Hurricane Dean. Two of the best-positioned to help here in Mexico are the Red Cross and Caritas.

The International Red Cross site accepts credit card donations and you can specify that your donation go to aid Hurricane Dean victims. To donate online to the Red Cross go here: http://donate.ifrc.org/ My donation to them took me under 5 minutes to complete. If you are not in Mexico you might find it easiest to donate to the Red Cross.

If you are in Mexico, Caritas is very much in need of cash donations along with donations of goods. Caritas is actively helping people rebuild their lives and homes and to replant their fields. They are sending truckloads of goods into affected areas on a daily basis.

Caritas has several drop-off locations in Cancun including their location at the City of Joy (CIUDAD DE LA ALEGRIA) on Lopez Portillo and at the Catedral de Cancun on Ave. Ixcun in SM33. Caritas’ drop off locations in Quintana Roo are listed here: http://www.caritasqr.org/centros_acopio.htm

You may make monetary donations to Caritas at their drop-off locations or by money transfer to: Fundación Ciudad de la Alegría, A. C. en BBVA Bancomer No. 0108579334 Suc. 5764 en Cancún, (CLABE) 012691001058793343, y marcar “donativo huracán Dean”.
Caritas needs everything from foodstuffs, to bedding to cooking utensils to medical supplies to construction material to toilet paper to soap.

For those who speak Spanish here’s a list taken from a current press release:

Alimentos: fríjol, arroz, maíz en grano o harina de maíz y
lenteja; sardina, atún, frijoles y chiles; leche, sopas de pasta, sopas instantáneas, azúcar, café
soluble, aceite, sal y cereales.

Utensilios: Platos, cucharas, vasos, sartenes, ollas, cubiertos, cucharones, cuchillos, abrelatas, etc.

Equipos: Molinos de mano para maíz, picos, palas, lámparas de mano, machetes, brocas, taladros,
serruchos, sierras, barretas, mangueras, carretillas, cava hoyos, lámparas de bombillo (de
combustible), lonas, tiendas de campaña, carpas, postes telescópicos para lona, cuerdas, plantas
generadoras de luz, bombas de agua eléctricas y de gasolina, tinacos, contenedores para agua.

Insumos para el manejo de donativos en centros de acopio: Patines hidráulicos, tarimas de
madera, montacargas, diablitos, cajas de cartón nuevas, costales (si son usados no mandar aquellos
que hayan contenido fertilizantes o químicos) hilo de rafia, agujas capoteras, navajas “Cutter” o
similares, bolsas de súper vacías, guantes quirúrgicos desechables, cubre bocas, marcadores
permanentes, cinta canela, despachadores de cinta y fleje manual.

Medicamentos: Únicamente nuevos, vigentes y sin usar
Material de curación: Gasa, alcohol, agua oxigenada, merthiolate, algodón, vendas, cinta adhesiva
para uso médico, tijeras, guantes desechables, cubre bocas, etc.

Material de construcción: Martillos, clavos de 2.5 a 5 pulgadas, láminas de cartón y zinc, polines,
hojas de madera de triplay, tablones completos, lonas, cuerdas, alambre recocido, alambrón,
barrotes de madera completos, etc.

Otros artículos: Papel sanitario, toallas sanitarias, colchonetas, cobijas, pañales desechables,
mamilas, jabón de pasta, jabón para baño, jabón para lavar ropa, cloro, bolsas grandes para basura y
juguetes (únicamente nuevos o completos y en buen estado).

Dinero para adquirir:
• 10 kg de maíz semilla y 150 kg de fertilizante 18-46-0 por familia
• Maíz en grano y cal para hacer tortillas y pozol o harina de maíz
• Pequeños paquetes familiares de diferentes semillas de hortalizas, propias para cultivos de
traspatio

Asimismo, se requieren voluntarios para trabajar directamente en las comunidades o en las
diferentes centros de acopio alrededor

The Caritas web site has more information, it is here:
www.caritasqr.org.

You can get in touch with Caritas through the Ciudad de la Alegria at 998-898-6223 or 6225.

Due to a family emergency, the International American School of Cancun
has an unexpected opening for a qualified high school teacher to teach
Social Studies and English. Anyone interested should contact the
school at inquiries@iasces.com.

One can only hope that this is the end. Often times, the last impression stays with people. One can only wonder what potential travelers to the area think now. Will the last impression cause people to decide not to travel to the area the rest of this summer and fall? Will people avoid the area during future hurrican seasons? My hope is that they will not. The Mexican Government did an excellent job closing things down and getting travelers out of the area or to a safe area. And there was no loss of life where it did hit!! Thankfully, while damage varied along the Riviera Maya, most establishments will be up and running within a few days if they are not already open. It was reported that Cancun had sustained winds of 29mph with gusts of 54mph. The beach was the most seriously effected. Hopefully Mother Nature will be kind and will rebuild the beaches quickly.

One can only hope reporters now have a better understanding of the geography of the region. In a sense, Cancun is to popular for it’s own good. Even though it became clear that the storm would hit far south, some reporters continued to include Cancun in its path. I’ve seen some headlines that stated tourists were bolting and fleeing the area. That suggests disorder, which was not the case.

My heart goes out to the people of the area where it did hit. If you would like to help the Red Cross, Playa del Carmen Office, help those effected in the Majahual area, here is a Link.

Pics and stories, or links to pics and stories, are available at the Vacationing Here Message Boards at CancunMX.com and CancunAndRivieraMaya.com.

I slept all night, didn’t lose power or internet service, and the sun is shining. Did a tropical storm really pass through Cancun last night? I woke this morning to find only a few leaves on my terrace. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in my neighborhood…not even broken tree limbs in the park across the street. I am happy I went to the trouble to be prepared for hurricane Dean, but I am glad it is over. Let’s hope that is all of the hurricane/tropical storm action we see for the rest of the season.

I have had this report from mi Amiga Michelle at the Solymar. The Solymar is on the southern 3rd of Cancun’s Hotel Zone.

HELLO everybody…it was 7am when we went outside, and it just started to pour rain again.
There are three windows broken…one Succar restaurant…one a penthouse above Gabes and one on the top corner building B…we don’t know who…
The turtle eggs that were a religious experience for my NYC guests to see are all washed away…its quite destressing to me…the beach will recover…ours always does!
We slept well, there wasn’t much noise at all…but if this thing had been closer…we really would be a mess here. This is bad enough.
Hope this answers questions!!!

Your neighbors and friends…
Michelle/Peter

It’s funny, strange, how the media can get things screwed up. I’ve seen lots of report that tourists ‘fled’ and ‘bolted’ from the area. The reality is that a couple of days ago the Governor of Quintana Roo said they had to leave. There were even extra planes brought in to help get people out.

I’ve posted some pictures from this morning on the vacationing Here Message Boards of CancunMX.com and CancunAndRivieraMaya.com I will add more as I can.

For those with travel plans to Cancun, I suggest it is okay to continue with those plans.