We woke up before dawn on Thursday morning to the sound of voices and the clamor of suitcases rolling across the courtyard. The other group was on their way to the airport and they weren't particularly quiet about it!
It was another drop-dead-gorgeous day! We had breakfast and everyone was feeling relaxed and mellow. John was showing us how to juggle. Larry, Pat and Phil took off on motor scooters. Rachel, Jason, Meg and Joanna went walking into town.
About 10 AM there was commotion in the courtyard. Two stranger had arrived and were talking excitedly to Sofia about something. Several of us came closer and we learned that they were form the tourist bureau. They were telling Sofia that we had to get right away to the airport. Three Continental Airlines evacuation flights would be going out today and they would be the last flights out of Cozumel for a month. We had to get on them!
Pandemonium erupted. Everybody raced to their rooms, throwing clothes into suitcases. We were frantic about our group members who were in town or out on scooters, but, thankfully, they returned shortly. In less than an hour, our entire group of 23 people were loaded into vans and whisked to the airport. There were armed guards at the entrance. We were unloaded, given numbers and had to walk with our suitcases about a quarter mile. We waited in line, probably for an hour, while Continental agents hand wrote our tickets. By 3 PM, we were in the air (everyone applauded) and headed toward Houston, where we had to spend the night.
On Friday morning, we arrived back at BWI…almost two weeks to the day that our adventure began. I wanted to kiss the ground…but I just hugged my sister, who greeted us with balloons, and gathered our family together that evening. I was so happy to be home.
I learned a lot during our encounter with Hurricane Wilma...about people helping people; about survival and self-reliance; about making do with minimal resources; about the courage and generosity and resilience of the Cozumel people. I wouldn't want to go through it again, but I will say that I am changed because of it...I think...I hope...for the better!
A streaming video slideshow of photos and video clips of the trip is available here.