Articles with the theme beach recovery

Cancun Beach Recovery Project | Guests Reviews

The beach recovery project is almost finished in Cancun.  Ninety-three percent of the restoration has been achieved with an expected completion date by the end of this week.  Using almost five million cubic meters of sand, the last stage of the project is about to begin, including the location of the “closing structure” to prevent future sand erosion.

Last weekend, we visited the beach at the Royal Sunset Hotel where the beach recovery program began less than three months ago. Numerous guests where enjoying the wide beach with soft white sand, a sight that we had not seen since 2005 when Hurricane Wilma eroded the beaches of Cancun.  Here are some comments about the new beach from travelers.

 

Cancun: The Most Popular Travel Destination in 2009

The end of the year is just around the corner, and results for the most popular tourist places from major Internet search engines are being revealed.  It’s no surprise that for a long time, Cancun has been one of the most popular destinations for all types of travelers and budgets, from backpackers to honeymooners.

The Cancun Tourism Promotion Board announced that Cancun was the most searched travel destination on Google by Mexicans this year, ahead of Cuba, Europe, and Canada.  On the other hand, Yahoo ranked Cancun as third place, since it was categorized internationally for its recreational activities just behind Las Vegas and Miami.

Recommend Magazine, on their 13th Annual Readers’ Choice Awards, gave Cancun first place as Mexico’s Best Selling Destination for the third year in a row.  Through an online poll, Recommend Magazine readers and a thousand travel agents chose our paradise as the best-selling travel place in Mexico.

It’s been a challenging year for tourism in Mexico, but we are definitely heading in the right direction and are preparing for a great 2010.

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Jorge is the Social Media Executive for Yucatan Holidays. He is a travel lover & tennis player living in Cancun. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter to find out the latest travel deals in Cancun & the Riviera Maya.

Cancun & Riviera Maya | More on the beach recovery

As part of the beach recovery program, the sand poured onto this area of Punta Cancun (behind Forum Mall and NH Krystal Hotel) has been a complete success so far.  On Tuesday the 24th, some authorities involved in environmental protection visited the area to inspect the work that had been accomplished.  These visits will continue during the whole process in Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Cozumel.

Over the weekend, the second stage of the recovery project in Cancun is scheduled to begin.  They will start setting what the authorities have called “the closing structure.”  This structure will prevent the recently poured sand to be pulled out to sea like it did in 2006 after the first beach recovery program from hurricane Wilma.  Construction of the structure will take place in the Punta Cancun area with thousands of concrete cubes weighing several tons.

So far, the beach recovery program in Cancun has covered nearly 15% of the total extension planned (10.5 km.) to recover beaches between Punta Cancun and Punta Nizuc.

Cancun and Riviera Maya Beach Recovery

It’s been almost three weeks since the recovery project started on the beaches of Cancun.  It hasn’t been an easy road.  Hurricane Ida hit a couple of weeks ago (luckily causing no damage), and a controversy with an ecological group in Cozumel delayed the starting date.

Today, the recovery project is going smoothly.  The dredge is still on the coast of Cancun, having successfully poured the much-needed sand, even with curious tourists observing and taking pictures of the progress.  Today, Friday the 20th, the recovery is about to reach Punta Cancun (near Forum Mall and The City nightclub), and then later start moving to the south of Royal Sunset Hotel, where everything started, all the way down to Punta Nizuc.

As for concerns from the ecological group, Cielo, Tierra y Mar, in Cozumel (opposed to dragging the sand from the coast of this island), yesterday a tribunal overruled the group and granted permission to move forward with the project, since the group didn’t finance cessation of the dredge.  Pipes and another dredge are expected to arrive on the coast of Playa Del Carmen over the weekend (specifically near the Sandos Playacar Hotel) to begin recovery across 4.2 kilometers on Monday as previously planned.

The recovery program three days ago close to Punta Cancun
Video: Entertainment Plus Cancun

Hurricane Ida causes no trouble in Cancun and the Riviera Maya.

After the rainy past week, the sun is shining again over Cancun and the Riviera Maya. The tropical storm (later hurricane Cat.1) Ida stroke the coast of Nicaragua and Honduras last Thursday. After that, it moved up to pass through the Yucatan Canal (the one that separates the Yucatan Peninsula from Cuba) bringing only some strong wind and rain during the weekend.

All the alerts and the measures to ensure the security of the locals and tourists in the area were rapidly taken. For better or for worse, the experience of the authorities of Mexico in hurricanes matter is pretty wide, which almost guarantees that everything referred to security will be fine.  

One of the main concerns in the Benito Juarez City Hall in Cancun was about the beach recovery program situation after Ida. Fortunately, as you’ll see in the following pictures, the recently poured sand is in the  place and the recovery project is expected to continue in the following days. The dredge that was moved to Isla Mujeres for protection, will be back on track very soon.

With 105 mph winds, Ida is now in the Gulf if Mexico heading north and is expected to strike US territory. Tropical storm and hurricane warnings have been spread out in Louisiana,  Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

 

The recently recovered beach behind the Royal Sunset Hotel in Cancun has no damages.  Photos & video: Jim in Cancun

 

AP latest information on Hurricane Ida:

The Cancun beach recovery project has begun: Details, pictures and videos.

On October 31st, the beach recovery program for Cancun and the Riviera Maya (Playa del Carmen and Cozumel) finally started. Even with a rainy day, the “Kaishuu” dredge and tons of equipment in the coast were set to start  pouring sand along the Cancun beach for the initial stage of the project.

Despite concerns with ecological organizations, the authorities approved to take the sand from a sand bank known as “La Ollita” near Isla Mujeres, instead of from Cozumel. The authorities commented that approximately 1.5 millions cubic meters of sand will be dredged from this area. In a press conference, the Governor of the State of Quintana Roo, Félix González Canto said that he expects the project to be ready by the end of the year.  However, the place from which the sand will be extracted for the Riviera Maya beach has yet to be defined, because the full project requires at least 7 millions cubic meters of sand.

The project started in Punta Cancun behind the Royal Sunset Hotel last Saturday, and will run several kilometers along the coast. This is the second time a beach recovery program has occurred since  hurricane “Wilma” in 2005. But this time, it is expected to have a maintenance plan for at least 10 years. Hope they are right.

Great pictures.

 

 

Some great shots from the beach recovery program in Cancun.
Photos: Jim in Cancun & Abner Chim.

 

And a couple of videos.