Holbox Damage

[ami]

I'm having a hard time finding reports on how Holbox is, probably partly due to accessability issues after the storm. I'm hoping JAH will post a report and include some of the photos she mentioned in another thread.

If anyone knows how Villas Flamingos fared please post it here; apparently Xalac, which is nearby did OK, the first good news I've heard from this area. Unfortunately there is not alot of other good news in this report, but hopefully more news from other sources will start coming in so early reports are either confirmed or disproven.

This is what I've been able to find thus far, from stormcarib.com; hopefully all the links will work.


This is the only photo I've seen showing damage to the restaurant area at Villas Chimay on the beach. http://stormcarib.com/reports/2005/pnguosg3mKSfN.jpg


Some new updates from Isla Holbox. Forwarded to me by Albert Bates of the
Ecovillage Training Center. -Gert http://stormcarib.com/reports/2005/mexico.shtml


From Por Esto, the newspaper of Quintana Roo, for Monday (translation by
Babelfish):


In the island of Holbox, Quintana Roo, "Wilma" caused severe damages in
hotels, restaurants, dwellings and almost all the electric infrastructure
and of phone system. There we found the corpse of a Cuban youth that
travelled in a small boat. POR ESTO! Was the only one present in the
place of the tragedy.

It destroyed and ghostly left "Wilma" to the heavenly island of Holbox
after striking it brutally and to cover it with waves of more than three
meters of height, what caused severe damages in hotels, restaurants,
dwellings and almost all the electric infrastructure and of phone
system. The worst onslaught of the tempest happened the early morning on
Sunday, when the enormous waves and hurricane-force gusts they launched
out of the grounds the beds, the television sets and even the
refrigerators.

All Saturday and all Sunday saturated in the beach the corpse of a Cuban
woman of some 20 years that travelled in a small housekeeper services
boat, in which is supposed there were three people more. With the
absence of settlers, the body of the Caribbean woman began to be broken
down and was until today Monday when the first people that managed to
arrive at the island put it in a rowboat of trash that filled later with
sand to avoid the fetid smell that already said good-bye.

POR ESTO! was the only media that yesterday arrived on its own to Holbox
and among the people that yesterday could enter to the island were
exactly two of their reporters. The rowboat where was placed the corpse
of the Cuban is located front of the building of the municipal
delegation, while her raft the journalists to a distance of three blocks
they located it, in one of the streets that to barely last week lit up
its tourist splendor.

The island of Holbox, that is 37 kilometers long and two kilometers in
its wider part, is found totally remote, desolate and destroyed. The
glass-cased tubing down in the bottom of the sea that supplied drinking
water from Chiquilá, broke in hundreds of parts and some of them floated
in the sea. As reporters traveled through there could be seen in each
street refrigerators, television sets, stoves, computers, toys, musical
instruments and all the unimaginable things.

In the street Jerónimo Aguilar a solitary hungry hog examined the trash
in search of food, while to a side had of mute witnesses a Christ in the
Cross and the image of the Sacred Heart, firm in the altar of the church
to which flew him itself the ceiling and broke him itself what a strong
door of wood seemed. The scenes seemed removed of landscapes surrealists
and as an example, in which was the park was a childlike cart of plastic,
a refrigerator thrown, a bandolón in a case of frayed fabric and out
front, the intact bust of Benito Juárez.

For all the streets they were posts thrown started since their bases,
tubings of the drainage by above the stools, taking a walk tourist Golf
Carts and even plasma panel TVs. The part that looks toward the sea was
the most damaged one, although the south part was not saved from the
brutal force of "Wilma", and the track was in a taking a walk tourist
embarkation of some 50 feet that rose itself in an area of concrete.

In the it traveled through fetid smells in some houses were perceived,
that could be of pets or decomposed food. The worse thing could be that
was a matter of some dead person. The businessman Guillermo Torfer, one
of the dozen of people that yesterday they managed to enter to Holbox,
did a call to the authorities through POR ESTO! so that they respond
immediately to his place, they evaluate the damages and they support in
the recovery of the Island. "We have to continue working all the ones
that live here, we we are arranged to do it immediately and therefore I
believe that the authorities should not delay, because otherwise the
consequences would be very lamentable and damaging for all", he
asserted.

Authorities considered that the immediate thing would be to re-establish
the service of drinking water, electric power and phone system, as well
as the shipment of provisions for the families that will begin to
return. Owner of a cyber-cafe and associate of the hotel "Villas
Delfines", which they suffered serious damages, the mister Torfer
considered that of the 15 hotels established some five suffered total
damages, so much more partial and the other better damages.
The island has an approximate population of two thousand people, of the
ones that more than the half is dedicated to the fishing and the others
to tourist activities. The evacuation began since last Wednesday and 14
people flat refused to leave their houses, for which they had to sign
before the authorities were assured that was of their own will. Saturday
afternoon was evacuated a group of Italian tourists. The communities of
Solferino and San Angel, to 15 and 30 kilometers of Chiquilá, are the
places that were supplied like temporary refuge Other five or six people
protected themselves in some of the houses already abandoned by the
eviction, for also avoid to leave the Island. The personnel of the Navy
remained in the place so that their elements watched and they conserved
the order in the community. Barely yesterday Monday they began to arrive
some islanders to verify the damages caused to its grounds, therefore was
impossible to do it the own Sunday due to the unstable wave that
prevailed. Besides, it turns out to be very difficult to be able to be
transferred of Chiquilá to Holbox (is distant 15 kilometers on the
average), since of the 300 boats used for fishing and of tourism, only
some five they were not destroyed by the hurricane, among them that of
the young fisherman Ernesto Xulio Alvarez, who rented their launch so
that the reporters POR ESTO! could arrive at the now phantasmagoric
island of Holbox. (Rafael My Cobá)

--------------------------------

This in from Elaine Tomasi, Tuesday night:

Dear Albert
I got a phone call last night and Dunja reported what the 20 men (Gabriel
was with them) which went to Holbox yesterday found over there.

It seems that in town a lot of the houses are still up - ours as well but
1.5 meter (5 feet) in the water.
Villas Chimay is almost completely destroyed, the restaurant torn in
pieces, the front bungalows without front wall, nothing left in the
bungalows nor in the bodegas - generator at Punta Ziricote and so on. The
sea just washed over it. Dunja and Gabriel will go over today again and
take pictures - I will send them to you as soon as I get them.

They say: The white house of Kim and Ana is o.k. - La Palapa (Linos),
Villas Delfines, Capriccio are destroyed. At Mapache (Lili) the front
bungalows are damaged. Xaloc resort is o.k. -- just the front bungalow
has one wall missing.

Gabriel went back to Tizimin yesterday to inform the women which were all
waiting. The rest of the men stayed in Holbox and started to rescue.

You will find some pictures on www.poresto.net

I'm sorry not to have any news of your house I wish you good luck!!!
Eli

[ami]

Villas Chimay damage

[Tom F]

I'm also looking for info on Holbox and Villas Flamingos. The Por Esto website doesn't open for me so if you can get the pictures there onto someother site, please do and let me know. StormCarib just posted some new phots and a few of them are recognizable.

Tom F

[JAH]

We are friends with the owners of Villa Flamingos. They are currently cleaning, recovering, and assessing the damage, which was significant. They will rebuild, but it is not possible at this point to give a specific reopening date.

[Tom F]

Originally Posted by JAH

We are friends with the owners of Villa Flamingos. They are currently cleaning, recovering, and assessing the damage, which was significant. They will rebuild, but it is not possible at this point to give a specific reopening date.

Any photos of Villas Flamingoes? Did everyone get out of harms way in time?

[ErikNL]

This was one of the superior units.

[KAcquisto]

Please contact us as soon as you can because we just can't seem to find enough info on Holbox lately.
Are your friends truly not open at all until April?
We are going 3/23 for 11 days til April 2.
We usually go to Mujeres and really were looking forward to Holbox.
Where is a comparable place to stay?
Xaloc or Delfines? I think Paraiso is too $$$.
What are the pros and cons of each?
I would just love detail.(even about the island)
Are the mosquitos bad all year (like in April?)
We are 2 adults with 2 kids ages 14 and 10.
Really appreciate your time!
scoopfromkoop@comcast.net
Thanks! Koop

Originally Posted by JAH

We are friends with the owners of Villa Flamingos. They are currently cleaning, recovering, and assessing the damage, which was significant. They will rebuild, but it is not possible at this point to give a specific reopening date.