Thursday - October 20...Waiting for Wilma
We woke up to reports that the storm had been downgraded to a Cat 4 but was
still coming right for us. The winds were higher than the day before and it
was very cloudy, but it was not raining. Several people from another group who had expected to fly
out this morning were back at the resort. The airport had been closed. No
flights were going out today. Everyone who was on the island now would be
staying on the island for the storm.
For one of the guests from the Midwest, the situation was particularly tragic. His mother was in Hospice care and had taken a turn for the worst. She was not expected to live long and he wanted to be home. He and his wife had been booked to fly home today. Now they had no idea how soon they would be able to leave.
Outside, the staff continued to strip the resort of everything that could possibly act as a projectile...including the coconuts on the palm trees. They removed light fixtures and put plastic bags over lamp posts.
We had excellent meals for breakfast and lunch, but, truthfully, the food stuck in my throat. After lunch, we were given our "hurricane meals" in zip lock bags: cold chicken, potato salad and vegetables for Thursday evening and a tuna sandwich for Friday morning. We were also given some fruit, crackers and cookies, two candles, and a gallon of bottled water.
We spent the day waiting, wondering, and watching the seas rise. For me, the anticipation was terrible. We had internet access until lunch time and I was able to send e-mails to Dorothy and to the boys. I told them that I would call them on Friday afternoon, after the storm passed.
About 1 PM, as the winds became stronger, we lost our internet link. No more e-mails; no more calls home on Skype. Our only source of information was the TV in the restaurant which was only giving us the Weather Channel at that time. The reports became more and more dire. The forecasters were talking about "20-30 foot waves," "catastrophic damage," and "massive flooding" in both Cozumel and Cancun. The storm was expected to make a direct hit on Cozumel and it was moving very slowly...about 5 mph. That was a particularly bad thing for us because it meant that Wilma could linger over the island for more than 24 hours.
Al and I decided to take a walk to Cheddraui before the 3PM curfew. This time we bought some fresh loaves of bread, a pitcher (which became very handy later on in flushing the toilet) and several DVD’s to help us pass the time. (Al’s laptop was really becoming a survival tool!).
Back at our hotel, people were wandering around the courtyard, talking in groups, playing cards, basically killing time. Wave watching was a popular activity. The waves were getting higher and higher as the afternoon progressed. People would cheer when the particularly high ones would break over the dock. By mid afternoon, the water was coming up over the area where the hammocks had been.
Most of the staff left about 3 PM to get to their homes before curfew. Edgar remained with us, as did the night watchman, and one other person. At about 6 PM or so, they locked the gates to the resort (not so much locking us in as locking others out). We joked about being "in jail," but, I think most of us felt more like we were in a fortress and we hoped it would keep us safe from the onslaught of the enemy expected later that night! We took a lot of pictures of all of us at the gate with the chains in place. Looking out into the streets, Coz seemed pretty deserted.
Rachel, Jason, Meg and Sue started a game of dominos. Others were milling about, talking in groups, continuing to watch the weather channel.
Some rain started about 7 PM and Al and I decided to call it a night and head up to our room for our gourmet cold chicken dinner. We had purchased some wine at Cheddraui, so it actually was a nice meal. Larry and Darlene stopped by our room to chat for a while. We still had electricity at that time. We ate ½ the chicken dinner (we were in a food preservation mode), read a little, and then turned off the light and went to bed about 9 or 10 PM.
Others apparently stayed out in the courtyard longer. We heard after the storm from Sue that the authorities came by about 10 PM and told anyone left in the courtyard that they should be in their rooms. It must have been raining pretty hard by that time.