We only had a day or two warning that a Category 4 hurricane was barreling our way in Playa del Carmen, Mexico this week. Monday it was the most rapidly intensifying storm in Atlantic Basin history, as it went from a tropical depression to a category 4 in just over 36 hours. So Tuesday morning at 7:00 am I ran to DAC vegetable and fruit market and Jim went to Mega department store for supplies. A very kind young man helped me to the car with two heavy bags of veggies.
I came home and cooked a huge pot of Minestrone Soup and shared it with friends. The storm was forecast to hit us at 9:00 pm so the city promised to cut off the electricity to avoid fires along with terminating the internet connection, taxi service and buses. The last I was able to read showed it had sustained winds of 145 mph. Time passed with no sign of the storm. We played cards by candlelight and I read downloaded stories on my iPad. Finally we went to bed unsure what was happening.
Dining room and very dark living room beyond.
We had closed our hurricane shutters on the east side of our home facing the sea which lies three blocks away and felt as secure as we could. At 5:30 am it began. The electric went off at 5:15 am. The wind howled, rain beat against our windows, tree branches banged against our roof and we stayed inside and watched. By 9:00 am it was done. Turns out the trajectory changed a bit and the storm hit as a Category 2 in Puerto Morelos which is about 25 miles north of us. But even the edge of the hurricane was sufficient to damage the city.
Street on the side of the park with fallen branches and water.
We walked out this morning around town in the sunshine. Lots of plywood being removed from stores and home windows. I think Home Depot made a mint on plywood! Walls around construction sites were collapsed.
Electricity did not come back on until 11:00 pm Wednesday as there were so many downed poles and wires. We are safe and the town will recover quickly.
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