by Alma Boada

Monday morning was a very beautiful sunny day. I couldn’t believe that that day a hurricane was coming. Akumal Bay was awesome: no boats, no people, no waves. About 3 in the afternoon, the sea level started growing, the wind speed was fast but the day still was great. Around 7 PM, the waves were about 6 meters high and I was lit up by a graceful sunset. Then nightfall came and there was nothing to do, just wait. It was very hard to get radio signal, or cell phone calls. Hours passed so slowly; fortunately we still had electricity, so A/C was working! So it wasn’t so bad.

Wind speed was increasing, and waves were already breaking 20 mts from where I was, but I was still able to go out and have a look. Around midnight, I realized that a palm tree had fallen down and that the waves were coming inland. Dean was expected to touch land at 2 AM. At that moment, I decided to drive to the Pueblo and stay in an apartment and wait. Lights went off, there were a few candles and loud wind noise. I couldn’t sleep. Tuesday morning, at 6:30 AM I came to Akumal Bay. I didn’t have words to describe the scene; we had been hard hit by the sea, more than by the wind.

CEA had a lot of responsibilities to get ready before Dean’s arrival. We were working on our Bay Management Program, we were doing great in our Turtle Nesting Season, we were building our new Eco Bathrooms, we were starting a new turtle campaign with Flora Fauna y Cultura, and we had a project to redesign our Information Center. We were working hard and doing our best to continue protecting this beautiful bay. So when we knew about Dean, we had to double our efforts and be prepared. We made teams to protect the office, our equipment, buoys, dorms and turtle nests. Unfortunately of all the nests over 48 days old that we wanted to save, we were just able to save four green turtle nests. The rest of the sticks had been moved by people and we couldn’t find them as quickly as we needed. As a group, we did a very good job and after the tragedy we are working again. We are glad that turtles started nesting two days after Dean. The reef was damaged but apparently not as much as it could have been. We still need to evaluate it, as well as the water quality. As soon as we have the results we will inform you.

Dean was the first hurricane experience I had ever had. And as a CEA staff member, more than ever I realize the importance of working hard to keep educating people and to raise awareness among all human beings about respecting Mother Nature. We can’t continue trying to beat her; we can’t continue dreaming of living almost on the sea.

If we don’t want to continue suffering these kinds of natural disasters we have to respect oceans, nature, and animals’ habitats. We can’t be mad or complaining about it; it’s our own fault since we all have an impact on the environment. And now, probably it seems that there’s nothing we can do to prevent this kind of phenomenon, but I strongly believe that we can work together to reduce the probabilities. Saving energy is the first step we can take to avoid global warming. Also, we can stop building on the dunes and work to keep beaches and the sea clean. Separate, Recycle, Reuse. Dean was the first hurricane that hit Quintana Roo this year, but may not be the last one. We can work to reduce negative impacts. Join us in protecting the Earth.

Click here to read the report in Spanish and English regarding the Turtle Nests.

Click here to see pictures taken before, during and after Hurricane Dean.

If you would like to contribute to the Hurricane Dean Relief fund Click here.