Playa Sonrisa
        "Smile Beach"

Category 5
Hurricane Dean
Visited on Aug. 21, 2007
 But No Serious Damage !  
 Playa Sonrisa  reopened for
     Casual as Usual on Sat. Sept 22, 2007
Before
After
We hunkered down for the
storm in our Chevy Motel at
the Mayan Ruins at Kohunlich,
listening to 40' ~ 50' trees
crash around us all night.
Bronco was scared.

When the storm passed the
next day we found ourselves
alive!  - but trapped by   
fallen trees for ~3 kilometers.
My "gringo-sized" machete,
and the arrival later of
"Moto-Maya" (and his axe) had
us out in about 4 hours!
Only to face our next dillema:   Out of Gas !
So night 2 was also spent in our Chevy Motel in Chetumal, which had no power, lines
down everywhere. The sound of crashing trees was replaced by heavily armed
Federal Police doing a very good job of dissuading looters.

< Driving around a Pemex is a great way to pick up a sheet metal screw in a tire. :-(
Wed, Day 3
WELCOME HOME !

3 Palm trees fell out front -
one blocked the entrance &
2 hit the engine bodega.

The sign posts to the left
sheared off at ground level.

Our precious shade trees
didn't anymore.
(they have now recovered)
<-----
A Beachfront Bungalow
lost part of it's roof


----->
This way to your
Garden Cabin,
señor
Waterfront Dining!
High water mark was a
little above the front of the
restaurant but didn't reach
the floor inside.

----->
Houston, we have a
problem!
No phone, no fax,
no e-mail.
But all things considered we are counting our Blessings!!!!
4 walls, a roof, no broken windows, no water damage, and still smiling!
And even the Flip-Flop fence survived!
We were south of
the eye of the storm,
so the major force of
the wind came from
the west, so the
backyard looks like
a jungle.

The beach just looks
like a hurricane hit.
Oh Shit !
Another day we didn't have to go to the gym!
Tough day in the
neighborhood.

<-----
In addition to the
"woodpecker condo"
that collapsed we
found 10 bird nests
destroyed.


<-----
No rest until the tree
gets out of the
hammock.
(Gravity zone)
----->
But all those
World Donations
keep rolling in.
Sadly this is a
common problem
but the storm made it
worse than usual.
Postcards
of
Happier
times