We are going back!

Hurricane Emily made a direct hit on the resort my wife and I have visited for the last 3 years. She did a fair amount of damage - blew off most of the thatch from the palapas (the shade poles at the beach and pool), blew the roof off the lobbies and the theater. The storm surge also filled the main pool with filthy water, blew out some windows, and worst of all damaged the jungle that made this place special.

Hotel management has been posting repair updates to a chat group I belong to called PalladiumAddict at MSN.com. Group members have been posting pictures of the damage, lots of palm trees destroyed also. Management has ordered 2000 palm trees and already has most of the mess cleaned up. They are working on the palapas and I am sure by the time we go in October they will all be repaired or replaced.

I don't know if it was salt water spray or what, but the jungle that was all around the resort looks like it is mostly dead or dying. There are boardwalks through the jungle from the buildings that house the guest rooms to the restaurant and bar and pool areas. The first few days at the resort most people get lost alot on the jungle paths, but by the end of their stay they are experts on how to get wherever they want. The jungle removes all the noise you would expect in a place with a lot of people around. You can be in a crowd if you want, or you can be almost totally alone. It is really a unique environment.

I hope to put a link to an interactive map of the resort here. And mostly I hope the jungle can recover its former beauty in 2 months. I know it will recover, I just hope the tropical environment helps it happen in a hurry.

I will post a few pictures of the damage and repairs here also. Thanks to everyone that posted these pictures in the PalladiumAddict group at MSN. The link to the interactive map works - just click on the title for this post to go there. I found this link through the PalladiumAddict group also.

By the way, if you are interested the Palladium Grand Resort is a few miles south of Playa Del Carmen (Playacar) on the Eucatan peninsula, Mexico. Applevacations will get you there from the US. You'll be surprised at the resonable prices, from here in Illinois about $850 per week per person including airfare, the hotel, all food and drink and transfers.