Hurricane Dean Update Video
“This is a price one pays for living in a privileged place — the Caribbean,” he said, as he looked at the downed trees in the town square. “Nature collects a toll from us.”
-Alvaro Sosa Marvil, veteranarian from Chetumal City as quoted in the New York Times
This video is for those who have family, friends, homes or businesses in and around Merida or on the northern Gulf Coast of the Yucatan Peninsula but were not here during Hurricane Dean. No te preocupes. You'll see that the effects of Hurricane Dean on this area during the peak storm hours on Tuesday, August 21st, were not much worse than a blustery autumn day in the States. While we know that there are many in the southeast of the Peninsula who did not escape the worst of the storm, this video shows that those in the northwest are unharmed.
Comments
luciano chi 16 years ago
wow again i so my beautieful beach progreso that i haven; t seen for a decate thanku and for the news
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anne 17 years ago
Does anyone know for sure that a money exchange business in Plaza de Montejo cashes American checks? Are certified or cashiers more acceptable? Thank you for any help that anyone can provide. I read "Banking in Mexico" and it was a great article (as all of the Working Gringo articles are), it was a great motivator to find some simpler way of transferring living expenses to the Yucatan. Thank you, Working Gringos, for the wonderful information you provide to us. Someday, I hope to meet you. Anne
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Working Gringos 17 years ago
Dear Anne,
We've written two articles on banking that answer your questions. One was published just a couple days ago and is called Writing Checks in Mexico. The other is called Banking in Yucatan. Be sure to read the comments at the bottom of the articles. One comment at the bottom of the second article discusses MONEX, which is probably the least expensive and most efficient money transfer service in Mexico.
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anne 17 years ago
Dear Working Gringos; Much thanks to you for all of the invaluable information that you provide. We will be moving to Chuburna at the end of the September. Your help in preparing people who wish to move to the Yucatan has made it so much easier to plan. We have one concern, maybe you can help. We will be leaving our bank accounts open in the U.S., we would like to know of an efficient system to transfer funds without incurring costly bank fees at both ends. We are aware of SAFESEND with Bank of America but prefer not to change over to that bank. Do the banks in Merida cash US checks if you open an account with them? Is there a fee to cash checks? Are the dollar bank accounts available in Merida? If you or any of your readers could help us with this, we would be greatly appreciative. Once again, thank you for the great service you provide.
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Jana 17 years ago
Thank you so much for your amazing footage of Merida. After having lived and worked in Merida for part of this year, I was relieved to see that my 2nd family and friends were fine, aside from some minor wind. I couldn't have asked for better information and I couldn't have found it anywhere but here. Muchas gracias...
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Margo 17 years ago
Thanks for this video. My mother (who is now deceased) is from Merida. It is comforting to know her house and city were not damaged. We were in the Riviera Maya at the time, so if you don't speak Spanish you have no idea what's going on in the world around you.
So close and yet so far.
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Kathie p 17 years ago
Hi Dear Gringos,
Thanks for all that you do for all of us. As everyone has said the video quality and reportage were so professional. Sending big hugs your way, see you in Dec. hopefully.
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Bob and Carol 17 years ago
Thank you so much for this video. We stayed in Progreso and Chicxulub last winter and will be there again this year. The news we had seen, so far, had not told us much. You eased our fears. Thank you! Great video; covered a variety of areas; and the vocals were perfect.
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CasiYucateco 17 years ago
Here's a story that tells what it is really like in the south area of the peninsula. While lots of people are happy that the hurricane did not hit the biggest tourist resorts, nor the most populated areas of the peninsula (the north), it was devastating for those it did hit. Sounds like it wouldn't take much to help these folks a whole lot:
Hurricane robs Maya...
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Kim G. 17 years ago
Thanks Gringos! Fabulous reportage as always. I just spoke to a friend in "El DF," and he says they've gotten 14 straight hours of heavy rain, which has snarled traffic and led to flooding in low-lying areas. Looks like Mérida got off very lucky indeed!
Thanks again for your wonderful website,
Regards,
Kim G
Boston, MA
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ron and john 17 years ago
Thanks Ellen - What a relief to know that Merida, our future home and the friends we've made there were spared the worst from Dean. The video was fantastic - those guys at The Weather Chanel could really take a lesson from you!
Hope to see you soon!
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