Only last December we gave serious consideration to buying some beachside property in Playa del Carmen, which we have used several times as an arrival point before proceeding on down to Antigua.
Hurricane vulnerability was one of the key reasons we decided against in the end. So many of the properties sported palapa roofing that it was clear how susceptible to decapitation the main tourist and residential area would be.
In the end Wilma hung around above the town for 36 hours. Today water levels are said to have reached the third floor of some of the main hotels along the beach.
Playa has been the fastest growing town in all Mexico for nearly a decade now. With reports claiming that the Mayan Riviera is likely to be out of business as a tourist destination for at least four months, one can only imagine the personal devastation to the thousands whose subsistence economy is based on the presence of foreigners.
Let's hope that Tulum wasn't badly damaged. However, if ever there was a place that deserved to be trashed by Mother Nature it's Cancún.
