I remember waking up on Sunday morning, October 23, and, even without opening my eyes, thinking: #1: "There seems to be more light in the room;" and #2: "It isn't as noisy outside." I did hear voices out on the balcony. Al was calling to me, saying that our friend Jeff had just talked to his wife. Apparently a public phone was working out on the street, across from the resort.
PHONE CALL HOME! I couldn't believe my ears. Was normalcy starting to return to our lives? I couldn't wait to hear the voices of our family at home!
I bounded out of bed and raced outside. It was still cloudy and windy, but no longer raining. We had to climb sideways over the huge pile of rubble at the foot of our staircase. This was my first time out of our room in three days. It was like coming out of a cocoon! Various staff members were wandering around the courtyard, surveying the extensive damage. They looked dazed...sobered...unbelieving. For most of them, the resort is the source of their livelihood. To see it in such a state of disrepair must have been a heart-wrenching experience.
We raced across the courtyard, through the iron doors (which were now unlocked) and stepped out to the street. It was my first look at the outside world, post-Wilma. It was like a war zone. Trees were uprooted; utility poles were downed and cracked open; walls were crumbled; roofs torn from buildings; rubble everywhere. The street was flooded, but we were able to make our way across to the other side where the phone was located.
There was a line, but it was short. We waited our
turn. People were trying to be quick. Those who were able to connect
with their loved ones were positively joyous! Others, not so lucky, were
obviously frustrated and disappointed. We were among the disappointed, at
least initially. We could only make collect calls, so I couldn't call the
boys who only have cell phones. We tried Dorothy several times, but the
phone just rang. We tried Jaime's home phone and got the answering machine.
The kind operator allowed Al to leave a message (usually not possible with a
collect call). We relinquished the phone to the next in line and
went to the back of the line to try again. It started raining. When it was
our turn again, we tried Jeff's dorm number, but the University system didn't
accept collect calls. Tried Dorothy again...still just ringing. By this
time we were pretty wet, so we walked back across the street to the hotel,
figuring we would try again later.
Inside the courtyard, a major clean up operation was well underway! The storm was barely over, but the staff was already mobilized to work. Later we were to learn that many of them suffered great personal loss and damage in their own homes, but they came to work anyway, on a Sunday morning, with the rain still falling and the winds still blowing. They were all there…dive staff, cooks, waiters, chambermaids…all focused on one thing…restoring order to the courtyard. Men and women alike, in their shorts and sandals, using machetes, sledgehammers and other simple tools, they set about hacking up tree trunks, breaking up huge pieces of concrete, hauling away debris in wheel barrows.
We were later to find out that this kind of scene was happening all over the island. Hurricane Wilma dealt a terrible blow to the people of Cozumel, but they wasted no time indulging in self-pity. We heard no complaining; no railing against the government; no demands for assistance. What we witnessed was a people who saw what had to be done and didn’t wait for somebody else to do it for them. My experience with Hurricane Wilma left me with a profound sense of respect and admiration for these people of Cozumel. They are among the most hard working, generous, and resilient people I have ever encountered.
As we stood around and watched the staff work, many of us began to feel uncomfortable (as well as useless). Somebody in our group asked "Can we help?" and pretty soon all of the guests were working side by side with the staff. Al wielded a machete; Larry, "T" and Bill loaded huge chunks of concrete onto wheel barrows; Anaka, Meg and I were working on clearing out tree branches. It felt so good to be doing something and so good to be helping!
With everyone working, the courtyard was pretty much cleared of major debris by noontime! The kitchen staff brought in propane tanks and prepared a hot lunch for everyone...our first hot meal since Thursday afternoon: quesadillas, chili rellenos, fruit, etc. It was delicious! We ate quickly and in shifts. Only the upper level of the restaurant was available. Wilma had demolished the lower level where the bar had been.
Helicopters had been flying overhead since the morning. We assumed they were rescue or surveillance planes. Al was out taking pictures when the first one landed in an open field not far from the hotel near Chedraui. Crowds of people rushed toward the choppers and Al said he had been afraid there would be a riot. What actually happened was yet another testament to the character of the local people. They formed a human chain and passed the relief packages from one person to the next until the supplies reached a central distribution point. It was an orderly and peaceful process.
Mexican President Vicente Fox was in one of the helicopters, Al was told, as well as the governor of the state of Quintana Roo, which encompasses Cozumel and Cancun, top tourist destinations in Mexico and very important to the economy. We heard that, as bad as it was on Cozumel, it was worse on Cancun, which we heard was "wiped out." (Of course, not true). Rumors were rampant before, during and after the storm. Cut off from all forms of communication, it was difficult to know what to believe.
Al, Shirley and I took a walk later into town. The sun was out and streams of local people were out in the streets, walking, riding on scooters, or packed into the open backs of trucks. It reminded me of a newsreel of a country in the immediate aftermath of a war. We had to be careful where we walked because wires were all over, as well as broken glass and pieces of metal. The streets leading directly into San Miguel were blocked by the Marines. We heard that most of the waterfront establishments were either gutted or gone and that looting had occurred during the eye of the storm.
On our way back to the hotel, we met three Americans from Texas who had been staying at one of the high rise condominiums near to the Palace Hotel. They were hungry, having only eaten rations from the Red Cross in the morning and were out looking to buy food. (No stores were open at this point). They said they had lost their food when the window in their unit broke during the storm and the water rushed in. The manager of the condominium where they were staying had left before the storm, making no special arrangements for the guests. Over the next few days we would hear many stories of Americans who weathered the storm with few provisions from the hotels in which they were staying. We felt very lucky to be well cared for at Scuba Club Cozumel.
The resort turned the back-up power on late Sunday afternoon and we had a delicious, hot dinner. Sofia had come back to the resort in the afternoon and had opened the front desk. Phone calls could now be made at the desk and I was finally able to get through to my sister. She told me how frantic everyone had been at home; how they thought we had been moved to a shelter and then heard that the shelter had to be evacuated during the storm. She said that throughout the storm, she, Jay, Jeff and Jaime had been keeping in contact by e-mail or phone. It was difficult getting news about Cozumel, she said. All of the reports were about Cancun or Florida, where Wilma was heading next.
The sunset that night was spectacular. We watched it from one of the resort’s washed out, gutted rooms facing the ocean. The resort had lost its piers, its sand, all of its beachside structures, the walls facing the sea, and the front of the restaurant. We went to bed when it got dark. The resort turned off the auxiliary power at night to conserve diesel fuel. It was the end of an incredible day. We felt that the worst was over. Sleep came quickly and completely.
