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Cancun Comeback :: One Year Later, Looking Good

On October 21, 2005, Hurricane Wilma ripped Cancun a new one. After two days of lashing winds, most hotels were trashed. The beach was eroded, streets were flooded, and the palm trees were sheared down to sad stumps.

Almost a year later, while New Orleans still languishes, Cancun is for the most part better than it was before. OK, so about 10% of the hotels are still under construction and won't be done until 2007. Not bad though, considering the monumental rebuilding task they faced. And how 'bout that beach? The AP article shows us these guys don't mess around:

Two ships sucked up sand 20 miles off the Mexican coast, carried it to the shore and used colossal pipes to lay down half a mile of beach a week.

The new beach is an average of 140 feet wide, compared with an average of 70 feet before Wilma, officials say.

According to the article, the top resort in the area used the year of down time to improve what was there before. "The Ritz Carlton invested $15 million to expand the size of its rooms, add tennis courts and build a culinary center before opening in September."

Ritz-Carlton's reopening press release touts an expanded fitness center and spa, 32-inch LCD TVs and rain showers in the new rooms, and "a seaside restaurant featuring 16 private cabanas."

Looks like Mexico's government and tourism industry showed the folks en el norte how to make reconstruction a priority.

Image via Associated Press

Related Stories:
· Cancun bounces back to business a year after Hurricane Wilma [USA Today]