Kalaka…A New ‘Must Try’ Restaurant in Playa

We were looking for a new restaurant to try the other night and ended up at Kalaka. It was an instant hit with us, and it’s already become one of our “must recommend” places. We enjoyed everything about this restaurant and have already eaten there twice in the last three days.

Kalaka bills itself as serving Italian/Mexican fusion food. We were a little dubious about that description and were unimpressed when we first read the menu. The entrees offered are pretty basic, i.e., steak, fish, fajitas, pasta. Basic Playa style restaurant fare. However, it was cute and intimate with only eight tables in an open storefront setting on Calle 4 between 15th and 20th Avenues, and it got points from us for being outside the resort zone. We decided to give it a try.

As soon as we sat down, we had a cute little free appetizer delivered to the table consisting of cheese and olives in a pool of olive oil. There is an extensive wine list but unfortunately only by the bottle. Wine by the glass is limited to your basic red and white “Chateau de Sam’s Club.” There is a full bar.

The first night Cheri ordered chicken in a mushroom cream sauce. It was a large chicken breast completely covered in a thick cream sauce full of very large sliced mushrooms (no canned stuff). In our opinion, cream sauces tend to be too thick and a little bland in taste. This one was flavorful and delicious. The chicken came with rice and some steamed vegetables which had been perfectly cooked and flavored with a whole lot of butter. Tony ordered shrimp fajitas. Rather than getting the standard bowl of shrimp with some overcooked onions and pepper strips, he got a plate full of well-spiced shrimp surrounded by huge amounts of steamed vegetables. The vegetables were fresh, well-cooked and perfectly set off the shrimps. This was accompanied by homemade tortillas and some of the best guacamole in Playa. We were both extremely impressed with our meals.

The next time we returned, Cheri had the shrimp brochette, which consisted of giant shrimps wrapped in bacon and grilled on skewers with various vegetables. This was covered by a light and very flavorful sauce. It was served with a baked potato and more of those delicious vegetables. Tony ordered one of the two filet mignons on the menu. It was a good sized steak grilled perfectly and covered with hollandaise and a tangy soy-based sauce. It was easily as good as any steak we’ve ever had in Playa. It was, frankly, better than the steaks we had at Chicago Don Jose’s and equal to the more expensive steaks we had at John Gray’s Place. It was served with fresh asparagus and a baked potato swimming in butter and sour cream. At the end of both meals, a small tray with two shots of tequila, lime, salt and watermelon chunks was placed on the table. It was a nice touch.

We met the owners, Sylvia and Max, who are from Milan. They were friendly and gracious and are obviously very enthusiastic about their restaurant. We really liked this place, as you can tell. The intimacy and soft lighting makes it a very romantic spot. The quality of the food makes it one of the better restaurants we have eaten at in Playa del Carmen. And because it is a couple blocks off of Fifth Avenue, the prices are not outrageous. The most expensive thing on the menu was the filet mignon Tony ordered at $225 pesos (about $17 US).

This place has style and is worth keeping around. We’re definitely going back (next time we’re ordering from the extensive pasta menu) and highly recommend that our readers give it a try when they visit Playa.

Shrimp Fajitas

Pollo con Champinones (Chicken with Mushrooms)

Inside Kalaka

And on a totally different topic…for those of you who have been worrying about the weather, the beaches, the sunshine, etc. (especially our friends, “the other Tony & Cheri”), here are some pictures we took this morning on Xpu-Ha beach. This is why we live here.

CLICK HERE FOR LUNA BLUE’S SUMMER SPECIAL – Pay for Three, Stay One for Free

Thinking of New Orleans

Tonight our hearts are in New Orleans.

We have loved New Orleans for many years. It is a special place for us. There is a magical devil-may-care spirit in that city, and we love to drink it in. Whether it is Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Halloween or just a spring weekend in the Quarter, whenever we go to New Orleans life gets crazier, stranger, freer and better.

We have partied with porn stars, danced with vampires and watched ghosts wander home in the pre-dawn darkness. We have been in the crowd to hear the greats of modern music play on the stages of Jazz Fest, and we have walked alone on a cobblestone street following the sounds of a solitary saxophone. We have dined with the social elite at one of the oldest restaurants in America and with transvestites at a greasy hamburger counter down the street. For us, New Orleans is soulful… in every meaning of the word.

We arrived in Playa Del Carmen three years ago as Hurricane Katrina tore our beloved New Orleans apart. And we watched in horror as the City That Care Forgot was herself forgotten by America. We were filled with anger and disgust as the politically powerful, Republican and Democrat, ignored the danger, abandoned the helpless and ran for political cover even as the victims of the storm ran for shelter. The shame should haunt all of us forever.

A short story by the wonderful James Lee Burke tells of a man who is drowning in Katrina’s flood waters. As the waters take him away to his death he notices a wooden statue of Jesus is being swept along with him. He talks to the statue in his final moments and remembers the beauty of the place now dying along with him:

“That’s the way it was back then. You woke up in the morning to the smell of gardenias, the electric smell of the street cars, chicory coffee, and the stone that has turned green with lichen. The light was always filtered through the trees, so it was never harsh, and the flowers bloomed year-round. New Orleans was a poem, man, a song in your heart that never died.

I got only one regret. Nobody ever bothered to explain why nobody came for us.”

~Jesus Out to Sea by James Lee Burke

We didn’t make it back to New Orleans for over a year. But as we started our new life in Playa del Carmen we never forgot the city we loved so much. When we could finally return for a visit in 2007, we found a city destroyed and a people in pain. Places that had existed for generations were shuttered. The empty wreckage of homes were tattooed in paint with the strange code that told other relief workers it had been searched and how many dead could be found inside. People we had known and seen for years were gone–disappeared or dead we would never know. And among those left was a sorrow that could not be described. Friends and strangers would tearfully tell us their stories. Waiters and cab drivers would stop working to begin to cry with us, for their families, and for themselves.

Slowly and painfully New Orleans struggled to breathe. And the people stayed. They didn’t give up on themselves. They survived by their own strength and by the love and gifts of good people around the country. By the time we went to Jazz Fest this year, we saw the spirit of the place we loved starting to swell again. It was a joy to behold.

Sadly, tonight New Orleans again faces destruction. As we write this Hurricane Gustav is poised to strike the Gulf Coast just as Katrina did three years ago. Predictions are that it will arrive as a category four hurricane with its deadliest power centered on the levees of New Orleans which are built to only withstand a category three storm. Massive flooding and damage is expected.

Once the storm passes New Orleans will begin again. Of that there is no doubt. But they will need help. We hope that people will answer the call for help without waiting for the politicians and corporations who never came last time. There are many fine charities and organizations already in place. We will post some of them in the days ahead. We will ask the people who know us, or simply know of us through this blog, to try and help. Please help. Do what you can.

And tonight please join us, if only in your hearts, in New Orleans.

Obama/Biden in 2008

A Little Hurricane Humor

As hurricanes become part of our daily focus, we thought we’d share some humor from theonion.com that was posted by our favorite meteorologist, Dr. Jeff Masters, on wunderground.com (click on the title below).

Hurricane Bound For Texas Slowed By Large Land Mass To The South

It’s so true. We once saw a Weather Channel broadcaster exclaim, “Thank goodness the storm hit Mexico!” And of course there’s always our favorite, Fox News, which, after Hurricane Dean missed us last year by a couple of hundred miles, dramatically declared, “Playa del Carmen is destroyed!”

Enjoy.

Dolly the Dud

Dolly passed through last night and nobody noticed. When we went to bed last night, we left the windows and doors to the bedroom deck open, not only to get some breeze but so we would awake when the storm rolled into town, just in case we were needed at the hotel. We never heard a thing. We were awakened this morning to our usual alarm clock of tropical birds in the banana trees outside our house and of course lots of dog licks. Gypsy always seems amazed that we’re still here every morning.

During the night, Dolly had decided not to strike Playa del Carmen after all but slipped through the straits between Mexico and Cuba, where the Gulf of Mexico runs into the Caribbean Sea. We got a little rain during the night and a little more today, but it’s not even as strong as a normal thunderstorm. We got lucky, but unfortunately Dolly is still rolling north and now has hurricane potential. Our thoughts are with our friends in Texas where Dolly seems headed next.

As for us, our favorite meteorolist, Dr. Jeff Masters at weatherunderground.com, says that conditions are building in Africa for another storm system. Hurricanes are born as weather systems off the coast of Africa. Moving westward over the warm waters of the Atlantic and the even warmer waters of the Caribbean Sea, they build in strength and can turn into major storms, even hurricanes. You can be sure we’ll be keeping our eye on this latest situation. However, it’s really nothing new; it’s just life in the tropics for us. As our close and personal friend Jimmy Buffett sings, we’re just “trying to reason with the hurricane season.”

Hello, Dolly

Well, here we are again, blogging about a storm bearing down on us. It’s been almost a year…so we guess it’s about time. Still, Tropical Storm Dolly took us by surprise. It was supposed to be just another band of thunderstorms passing through when it suddenly organized itself into something bigger. It was only about midafternoon today that we discovered Dolly was upgraded to a tropical storm and that her 60+ mph winds were going to make landfall in Playa del Carmen this evening around 11 or 12 pm.

Taking advange of the unseasonal breeze, we went to lunch at El Pirata on the beach for some of the best Sopa Azteca in Playa and to check out the pre-storm ocean. We ran into some friends and took a few pictures. We wandered back through the crowds to the Luna Blue and found our bar filled with people. Unfortunately we also found that the thundershowers we had been awaiting had turned into a tropical storm of pretty good force, that it was going to hit in 6 or 7 hours, and the city in its wisdom had declared all alcohol sales prohibited. We made the disappointing announcement to the bar, bought one last round for everyone on us and began a speeded-up version of our pre-storm checklist. With our receptionist Jaime and our bartender Jose assisting, we quickly moved through the hotel taking down hammocks, carrying loungers and chairs to the bodega (storeroom), tying down the columpios (swings) in the bar, and generally securing anything that might swing or blow away in the upcoming winds.

And for the first time, not on our checklist was grabbing Blue and putting her into a room to keep her safe from the storm. We wiped away a tear over that.

While spreading the news among the guests, we assured them of their safety. After all, this is just a storm, not a hurricane, and we’ve certainly weathered worse, but we still take it seriously. With the hotel secured, we headed home to follow the same routine for our home. This being only a tropical storm, there’s no need to board up windows, but we still need to make sure there are no items out in the open that can be thrown about by the wind.

That having all been done, we now settling in to enjoy our dinner, play with our new kitten (that’s another blog entry!) and watch the Fool’s Gold DVD we rented at Blockbuster a few days ago.

Right now it’s quiet and humid with an occasional gust of wind and burst of rain. If we’re awake and the storm warrants it (and we have power, of course), we may blog later tonight about what’s happening here. Otherwise, to all our friends and family, don’t worry, we’re safe & sound. And if you’re coming to Playa soon to visit, don’t worry about that either. The storm will move quickly through, damage if any will be minimal, and Playa will be up and operating by tomorrow afternoon.

Hasta luego.

Long After Hurricane Dean, Mahahual Continues to Suffer

The little group of Playa del Carmen volunteers known as the Playa Pals for Mahahual returned to Mahahual with more supplies on Saturday, September 8. We were saddened to find that despite publicity and promises by the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations, no one other than private volunteers and the occasional government assistance truck has been to Mahahual. Three weeks after Hurricane Dean devastated this region, there are still no established relief programs in place. There is no regular supply of food, water or medical supplies. There is no organized assistance for rebuilding individual homes. In some isolated areas, there is literally no help at all.

With the help of the Dutch consol and a number of Holland ex-pats who we affectionately refer to as “the Dutch Army,” we took more than 200 despensas (packages of food containing rice, beans, cooking oil, coffee, soup, soap & tuna); about 450 mosquito nets for hammocks; boxes and boxes of mosquito repellent, sunblock and mosquito coils; lots of blankets; bags of donated clothing and new underwear for children and adults; many tarps and, as always, bags of candy for the kids.

We pulled in to the parking lot of the Costa Maya Inn where Kevin Graham, local organizer of volunteers, and his group of helpers have set up headquarters. There to our joy was a large Cristal truck which Alex, one of our Dutch friends, had arranged to come from Chetumal to meet us there. They had 1200 gallon jugs of water, which they sold to us at a discount and delivered for free. Everybody pitched in unloading the truck and putting the water into the vans and pickups which were going to be distributing aid door to door throughout the area.

We were asked by Kevin to distribute our truckload of goods (food, water, clothing, mosquito repellent) in the central part of Mahahual nearest to the beach and the former tourist area. The other truck and van were directed to other outlying areas. If you’ve never been to Mahahual, it had a beautiful beach looking out on the Caribbean Sea. Lining a sand road which ran along the beachfront were small hotels, shops and palapa restaurants. It was a tiny tropical village. The second road back from the beach began houses, again mostly wooden with palapa roof. Behind them was the giant mangrove forest. Wherever the forest opened up, small Mayan style houses had been built. There is a school and a very small city hall.

A local Mahahual resident, Otto, guided us door to door. He was invaluable. He knew families that were in trouble and he knew houses that looked abandoned and destroyed but were actually home to people still living there. He also knew where to tell us to drop food and water for people who were off working but would return. Unfortunately, the population of Mahahual has dramatically shrunk since we were there last. The area experienced a forced evacuation when Hurricane Felix threatened. Although the hurricane came nowhere near Mahahual, many of the residents decided not to return. It is no small wonder given what we saw there on this day.

As always, the people of Mahahual were friendly, gracious and effusive in their thanks. We asked one local resident, as we offered him food and water, if he had received any government or Red Cross help. He said that the government had been through once since the hurricane, offering despensas, but there had not been enough for everyone. He replied that a local official had been telling people that if anyone asked about the assistance, he should not say that the “gringos” brought it down.

We also saw little in the way of rebuilding of the homes that were destroyed. On our previous visits, the town had been a beehive of activity with people digging out and beginning to put up new boards, walls and roofs on their small homes. We saw none of that this time. We learned from a local newspaper article that palapa style homes could not be rebuilt or fixed up unless the owner first obtained a permit from the local government at the cost of $500 pesos. Any attempt to rebuild without a permit, according to the newspaper article, would result in a government-enforced halt on work. We personally saw more than one building with “Clausurado” signs, indicating that no permit had been obtained. It appears that larger concrete structures are exempt from this permit.

Although we observed no Red Cross or government aid offering food, water or medical assistance, we did see surveyors in several locations near the beach. We stopped and offered them water and asked who they were. They informed us that they worked for the governement and were surveying for the building of the new malecon (oceanfront walkway). It seems that a “new” Mahahual more conducive to tourists and cruise-ship daytrippers is planned. That plan seems to include an expanded and modernized beachfront. It does not seem to include the small colorful wooden Caribbean-style buildings and homes that existed before.

Among other changes that we learned of, Kevin informed us that the community kitchen which had been serving up to 200 people per day was closing on Sunday (yesterday). The kitchen had been one of our primary means of distributing food and water to the people of Mahahual. It had been run by Francisco, a volunteer chef who worked nonstop for the past three weeks but always seemed to have a smile. Our question of course is who will feed these people if the kitchen is closed? Another change we saw were new signs throughout Mahahual posted by the Department of Tourism proclaiming that Mahahaual would be rebuilt. And, near the beginning of town there is a large sign hung by the people of the nearby areas of Placer and Ubero which says “We have received no help; we have been forgotten.”

We have to say again that despite announcements by the International, American and Mexican Red Cross organizations that they would soon be offering aid in Mahahaul and the rest of Costa Maya, there was no sign of any organized help.

With the drop in population, the Playa Pals discussed last night focusing more on individuals rather than on large-scale relief. Claudia made a request on behalf of a 70 year old man. He has a serious infection in his leg that needs immediate medical attention. He is afraid that if an ambulance takes him to the hospital, he’ll just be abandoned. Claudia asked if the Playa Pals could pay for an ambulance and oversee his initial medical treatment. She asked for approximately $500.00 for this, and we said yes.

In the same vein, Willem and Alex of our Dutch Army contingent came back from their distribution of goods with a sad story of a family, two adults and three children, living in one of the poorest areas of the mangroves who were desperate for assistance. The family had lost everything, and both parents were so crippled from rheumatoid arthritis they could not easily begin to recover. The guys were invited into their home and found nothing but a hammock. NOTHING. The guys suggested to the rest of our little group that we give this family special attention and provide them with some of the necessities of life even beyond a package of food or water. We all agreed that we would spend some of our money and donations buying such things as cooking pots, plastic table and chairs, specific clothing for the children, shoes (no one had shoes, and the ground and swamp water is filled with parasites), and whatever else we could think of to help them create a home again. The thought of our group is that without institutional help, we cannot possibly sustain food and water for everyone in Mahahual, but we can help some specific families. The Playa Pals for Mahahual still have some money left in the treasury and will be spending it this week on another shopping list to be provided by Kevin. We will all be heading down again next Saturday, sooner if Kevin says he needs us.

We’d like to tell one more story. As we were handing out food and water in one area, a pregnant woman with a small child accepted some of our help. A short while later she returned with a bowl which she had obviously made herself by cutting the bottom of a plastic container. The bowl was filled with water and a few cubes of ice, which she then asked us to pass around our little group, insisting that we needed it because we were working so hard. That’s when our friend and fellow volunteer Heather started crying the hardest.

By way of something positive, here is an email we received the night before last from Kevin Graham, who is coordinating the volunteer relief efforts in Mahahual. It was originally written to his fiancee, but he sent a copy to us:

To My Playa Family…

The most incredible thing happened today. Early today we had no more water to give the public commissary which is preparing 300 meals per day in centro. Then an entire water truck from Cristal arrived courtesy of our friends in Playa……I think 2500 1 Gallon Jugs and we distributed it to go out with the convoy from Playa. They brought hundreds of mosquito nets from the Dutch Consul, dozens of lonas, and enough dispensas to go around all the areas of Mahahual and Xcalak, too. It is amazing to see what Luna Blue, playa.info and the Dutch community are doing and it all appears to be seamless. It is really hard to tell who is bringing what! They work together beautifully and selflessly.

After the convoy was split up and sent their different ways with volunteers from here I was privately worried that we may not have had enough dispensas to last for a more than a few days. Just then a huge bus full (same size as an ADO) of college students from a university in Cancun arrived and asked for me. I have no idea how they ended up her but will find out. In addition, they had a moving truck full of at least 1200 dispenas. What an emotional moment. When the students asked me to tell the entire group what Costa Maya means to me I couldn’t help swallowing my words…they know what it means to now. One doctor that came with the group came up to me and thanked ME for taking care of the Mexican people. I told him that I will never come close to repaying the kindness and warmth that the Mexican people have given me. The students and volunteers from here connected instantly and worked together to deliver dispensas to the pueblo and then went with a guide to Limones, Chacchoben, and Noh Bec on the way back to Cancun. There will be enough food for another week now, too.

The town is shutting down the public commissary tomorrow, so now we are all really worried. Still no aid from anyone other than volunteers.

Lic. Kevin Graham

We’d like to end with these words:
“And if ye mingle your affairs with theirs, then they are your brothers.” — the Koran

Great News for Mahahual and the Quintana Roo

We just received this email from Kevin Graham down in Mahahual:

Hola,

The government of Mexico has declared a state of emergency for Costa Maya and other areas of Costa Maya. The other areas such as Cozumel and Cancun may have been added to the list in order to obtain more funds. This has been confirmed now.

So, where do go from here? Until the aid arrives here we have to keep going but this should open the door for formal humanitarian aid. At this moment I was told that 3 tons of food, water, and lamina are on the way to Mahahual that are independent of the lamina, food, and clothing that Marilyn secured yesterday. When it appears, I’ll let you know.

And, who can I thank? If you received this email you are to be thanked individually. I am so afraid that I will leave someone out that I can’t single out anyone. We know each other and that is enough. I think the most powerful thing has been all of your combined positive thoughts, actions and spirit that will change the history of Costa Maya. This is the truth.

Life is about celebrating the small and large accomplishments…this is a big one. Take a second and think about what you have done.

Thank you,
Lic. Kevin Graham
Si necesitas ayuda, solo avisame – If you need any help, just let me know.

How great is that?! Maybe, just maybe, us amateur relief workers can get out of the way for the professionals. We have no doubt that the money, donations, time, emails, letters, links, etc. that so many people from so many places and so many websites have contributed has had a very positive effect on the decision to make this happen. You are all heroes in our book.

Let’s remember in the two weeks since the hurricane that it has taken for this to happen, YOUR DONATIONS have fed, clothed and helped house the people of Mahahual. Let’s also remember that the professional relief workers aren’t there yet. As Kevin has said, there is still an immediate need for food, water and supplies. Another convoy of supplies is scheduled for Saturday. We are continuing to receive donations and don’t worry–the money will still be well spent.

If surplus money exists once the official relief effort is underway, the Playa Pals for Mahahual volunteers will meet to discuss where that money might best be contributed or spent. What a great problem to have to deal with. Anything we do, we will inform you on this blog and playa.info.

Again, thanks to everybody!

Mahahual Struggles to Survive

We’re back. Sorry there hasn’t been a new update on this blog for awhile, but we’ve been a little busy. We’ll try and cover as much of what’s going on in Mahahual as we can. We’ll also do a couple other blogs about some other things that have been happening. Believe it or not, we’re still trying to have a life.

Since our last blog entry about the Mahahual relief efforts, Playa Pals purchased another 150 construction kits as well as 100 hand saws from Manzanilla, a local hardware store. We had previously purchased other materials from them and, with the help of someone from the Red Cross, negotiated a 13% discount. This time, we went on our own and negotiated a 15% discount! It may have been that they, too, wanted to contribute to helping Mahahual. Or it may have been they were impressed with Cheri’s new Mexican flag bikini top which she wore, much photographed by the stock boys with their cell phones. Either way, we were glad to save the money. Our “Dutch Army” (friends Willem, Jessica, Alex & more) did their own shopping trip for boots (also negotiated at great discount), food and more. We don’t know what Jessica wore for the discount, but we’re happy she got it.

We actually had planned on not making the trip on Saturday to Mahahual. We were expecting a large group who is taking over the hotel for the week, and we needed to be there to settle them in and make sure everything went without problem. Unfortunately, Friday night we discovered there was some confusion as to who was driving what and when. We wanted to make sure the construction kits got there, so we loaded them all into our white Chevy Express van, affectionately known as the Big Bastard, and drove them down ourselves. We didn’t go with the convoy since, because of what was happening at the hotel, we needed to make the 8 hour round trip as early as possible. We rolled out around 6:30 am and zoomed down to Mahahual. If you can call a four hour drive “zooming.”

We hooked up with Kevin Graham, who was working with a team of other locals from Mahahual to make sure the goods are distributed. They have set up their operations center in the Costa Maya Inn, which withstood Dean’s winds, but unfortunately still has no plumbing or water. Kevin’s volunteers helped us unload the construction kits. He promised us they would be delivered to the outlying areas where they were needed most as soon as they could find a truck. Then we got a quick report on the status of things. It was pretty much the same. While the government has been working on restoring power and clearing roads, only private relief drives like our own Playa Pals have brought in food and water. We promised that we would return on Tuesday with as much food and water as we could carry. With that, we were back in the van racing back to Playa to get there for our incoming guests.

On the way back, we passed Jessica, Alex, Willem and another volunteer (sorry, we don’t know his name). They’re all from Holland, so we call them the “Dutch Army.” They have been relentless in their efforts to raise money and distribute goods to Mahahual. Willem, who we refer to as Wacky Willem, is a force of nature unto himself. He looks a little like Anthony Bourdain, the guy from the Food Channel network. When he’s not helping buy, convoy and distribute goods for Mahahual, he’s buttonholing people in Playacar, the wealthy suburb of Playa del Carmen, and demanding contributions. His home in the same area is now covered in signs alerting people to the crisis in Mahahual and pushing them to volunteer, donate or get involved. As far as we can tell, no one has the ability to say no to Willem. Like we say, he’s a force of nature. And Jessica and Alex are two of the most committed people we’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. The Dutch Army in and of itself have raised about $3,000, and every penny has gone directly to the Mahahual people. (BTW, the pictures on this blog entry were taken by Alex). They helped to organized a Mahahual fundraiser last Saturday night and have another event planned (with large raffle & lots of cool prizes, including a 5 night stay at the Luna Blue Hotel & Garden) for this coming Friday night, September 7, at Pinche Gringo’s in Playa del Carmen.

When our friends returned to Playa del Carmen, they gave us their report, and it was pretty discouraging. Kevin directed them to a couple of areas where relief just had not reached yet, which is pretty sad. It has been two weeks since the hurricane, and there are still people who do not have power, drinking water, food or help of any kind. These of course are the poorest neighborhoods which were tucked away among the mangrove swamps. Those mangrove swamps have now been tripled in size from the storm’s battering and rain. They are filled with crocodiles, harmful parasites and dank bacteria-ridden water and have become a breeding ground for millions of mosquitoes. It is an ecological and health disaster in the making.

The folks from Holland, who didn’t get home until late that evening, told us that once again they encountered nothing but smiles and polite thank yous. Nobody rushed for goods; nobody took more than they needed. People did make requests, and the number one request was to help them get away from the overwhelming swarms of insects. Insect spray, mosquito netting and sunscreen were on the top of their wish lists. This is the same story that we heard from friends and people in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In our last visit to New Orleans, one woman told us that even after the flood waters receded she had to sleep under wool blankets in 90 degree heat to avoid the mosquitoes. This seems as bad, if not worse.

Of course, at this point Playa Pals are simply trying to meet the emergency needs of the people: food, water, clothing and simple tools to build some shelter. This does not address the long-term economic loss of the region. People in the central or beach area had begun to develop an economy based on tourism. The cruise ships, day trippers up north and people looking for a little slice of paradise had discovered Mahahual. Now that is destroyed. The cruise ship dock is gone, the beachfront shattered, and most of the little stores are in pieces. And of course, there are no tourists. However, the damage goes deeper and is much larger than that. Many outlying Mayan communities had eked out a living by carving farms out of the jungle. Growing various crops and fruits for their own support and to sell at market had been a way of life for many generations. Those crops are now gone, as we said before, the mangrove swamps seem to be everywhere. For a report on this, go to Hurricane Dean Damages Mayan Crops.

We have no explanation or understanding of why there has been no organized help. We understand that Mexico has had a series of blows recently with Hurricanes Dean and Henriette. However, we’re stunned that international aid has not arrived here. Where is the Red Cross, the UN, Habitat for Humanity….anyone? Perhaps it’s too small. Perhaps the media just hasn’t made it a large enough focus. Maybe, as someone else said, people are “Deaned out.” We just don’t know. We continue to hope, along with the people of Mahahual, that some organization with much more resources than local private fundraisers could ever have will step in to help.

Of course, now there is the threat of Hurricane Felix. As we type this, Felix is projected to make landfall considerably south of this area. That’s the good news. The potential bad news is that Felix, depending on where it makes landfall, could still send massive amounts of rain, storm surge and wind to poor little Mahahual. In anticipation of this, the government has evacuated the area. We had planned on taking down another truckload of food and water today but have been instructed by Kevin to wait until Saturday when people have returned to see what is left of their homes after this second storm.

Now, the good news. People have continued to contribute. As of this morning, the paypal account contributions (and personal donations delivered to the hotel) stand at just over $21,000. So far we have spent a little over $14,000, leaving us in the neighborhood of $6,700 still to spend. As always, and if you’re a regular reader of this blog you know this already, every single penny/peso contributed to the Playa Pals for Mahahual fund (e.g., our paypal account) is being used exclusively to purchase relief supplies which are then immediately driven to Mahahual and the surrounding areas. No volunteer has received a penny of these contributions, not even for gas or to reimburse for personal expenses. None of this money has been directed to any third party or person. We want this money to be used for immediate relief, and we promise you that is the case. So please, continue to contribute. Our donations at this point have slowed to a trickle. Please help us to help Mahahual until somebody with more power and money than we have comes forward. To find out how to contribute, go to How to Donate to Playa Pals for Mahahual.

If you’ve already contributed, thank you very much. If you can’t contribute any more or at all, you can help by getting the word out. Link to the Hurricane Dean section of this blog (Playa Pals for Mahahual) on your personal websites or in emails to everyone you know.

Here are the items currently most needed in Mahahual:

WATER!!!!
Canned goods
Diapers – all sizes
Nan 1st 2nd and 3rd Stage baby milk
Baby clothes
Underwear mens and women
Lamina
Wood strips to attach the lamina and nails
Sunblock
Mosquito Repellent

And for whoever stands in the way of oncoming Hurricane Felix, say a prayer and keep a thought.

Fundraising: It’s Not a Competition

There’s an old sarcastic saying that “no good deed goes unpunished.” We’ve recently learned how true that is. When we started working with the other volunteers in Playa del Carmen to help the people of Mahahual after Hurricane Dean, members of our group, as far as we knew, were the only ones raising money and driving supplies to the area. In the days that followed, we discovered other people and private organizations were soliciting funds for help in Mahahual. We applauded everybody’s efforts and welcomed any and all volunteers, donations, or efforts to get the word out and the supplies in.

One of those organizations that began to solicit funds was a travel site based out of Akumal, Mexico called locogringo.com. They set up a fundraising campaign. One of their members even created a website, helpafterdean.org, which took people to their fundraising webpage.

Our thought was: the more the merrier, or at least the better. So, when we were posting on TripAdvisor we made sure to mention locogringo’s efforts. The link was also publicized on playa.info, which had already become home base for the Playa Pals to raise money. Again, nobody (at least in our little group) saw any issues of competition or conflict. We thought the more people raising money and helping, the better it would be for Mahahual.

That’s why we’re pretty surprised to find ourselves under attack on the locogringo forum. It started out simply enough from our point of view. We learned that locogringo had deleted a posting by one of its members which told about the Playa Pals’ efforts. We were confused by this. We were directing people to their website. Why were they not allowing reference to ours? After all, it’s all about Mahahual, right? The more money raised, regardless of the source or the site, the better. So we posted what we thought was a pretty reasonable comment. We explained who we were, who the Playa Pals were, and the work that we were doing for Mahahual. And we asked a simple question: why was the previous post deleted? In our comments, we praised locogringo and its forum members for their efforts on behalf of Mahahual and said that they should keep up the good work. And we meant it.

One of the moderators of that forum responded in a way that we thought was pretty unsatisfactory. There was no apology, no reaching out. References to our effort had been deleted, he said, because they had a policy of no solicitations. The reason for the policy, we were told, was to protect their members from con artists and unscrupulous people. We were a little taken back by that. We have never been perfect, and over the years we might have been called a name or two, some of them maybe even deserved. But to be lumped in with con men and “unscrupulous people” not only took us by surprise but frankly insulted us.

When we wrote again explaining how the legitimacy of Playa Pals was a simple matter to confirm, all hell seemed to break loose. Some members of the locogringo forum then began to post that we were jealous, ugly, seeking publicity, and trying to denigrate their great efforts. They said we were trying to demean and attack the owners of the forum (who we have never met and whose names we didn’t even know). And the best one of all: we were attempting to stop their fundraising!

We were pretty shocked. For trying to spread the word about the problems in Mahahual and give people an additional place to contribute or offer help, we were personally attacked and condemned. Not by everybody. Some people on that website offered their opinion that what we were doing was good and that we were not bad people. But they appeared to be in the minority. Some members of that website wrote us privately, asking us to just wait, that when the owners of the website returned from a visit to Mahahual, they would reach out to us and explain to their members who we were and what we were doing. However, that didn’t happen. Instead, when the owners returned, they praised the forum members for defending them against personal attacks!

We have not posted on that forum since, and we will never post on it again. However, our name continues to be abused—unmoderated—in forum postings there. This whole episode has saddened us deeply. To be called names, even by strangers, is never pleasant. To have the efforts of the Playa Pal volunteers (Claudia, Heather, Kevin, Alex, Jessica, Willem, Soraya, Michael, Jimmy, Doug, Luis, the other Luis, Laura of the Hotel La Tortuga, Andrea of the Bomberos, the Il Barreto restaurant, the people and owners of playa.info, and many many more, not to mention all the people who have donated money and material) demeaned by people living comfortably thousands of miles away is unfair and undeserved. And to turn fundraising into a competition is the worse offense of all, because it turns people’s focus away from the real issue, which is the need for help in Mahahual.

We’re also concerned that this same website is talking about how there is now a relief program in effect for the area. This is simply not true for Mahahual. The state government of Quintana Roo–to whom locogringo gave the majority of its funds–has been trying to help as many people as it can, but there is damage and people in need everywhere in the southern Yucatan. Their resources are stretched thin. They’re doing all they can. In Mahahual, the government restored power in an unbelievable three or four days. They sent in the Army for a few days to try and stabilize the area and clear roads so people like Playa Pals can get in. They have sent in Fonatur with heavy earth-moving equipment and trucks to remove debris. They have set up chemical toilets and brought in potable water in some areas. They are doing what they can and doing it well. However, Mahahual has not yet received food, water, medical supplies or assistance for rebuilding from any official, corporate or humanitarian entity. It is still relying upon private donations and private volunteers.

We raise these issues because we don’t want people who have been directed to locogringo to walk away with either a doubt about the continued need for donations, volunteers and work in the Mahahual area or a question as to the validity of the Playa Pals and the work they are doing.

The locogringo website has collected a lot of money, and we are sure they have spent it in the way they feel is most effective. We applaud the generosity and effort of their members. However, fundraising efforts should not be handled in such a way that other legitimate efforts are demeaned.

Thanks to our blog readers for letting us get this off our chest.

Note: Subsequent to the posting of this blog entry, and the posting of blogs by others who were treated similarly on the same website, the owners of the locogringo forum have decided to “delete any negative comments” related to this topic. Seems that since the most negative commentary came from a single poster who apparently cannot be reined in because of her volunteer work for the board, the entire thread in question was deleted, avoiding the need to admonish her or others. At least with the written evidence of this horrible exchange now gone, the only people who will remain affected are those who were involved and who read the thread, and that’s probably best for everyone, although the damage has been done to our feelings and to our reputation. We’ll take away our own lessons from this experience.

Hurricane Dean: Playa Pals for Mahahual

The relief effort goes on in Mahahual. So far, the “Playa Pals for Mahahual” (being the volunteers from Playa del Carmen who have been donating and fundraising through our paypal account, posting on the playa.info thread, and hauling items to Mahahual several times a week) have raised over $16,000.

Yesterday, we went down with four other trucks and many volunteers. The items we took were:

150 construction kits (shovel, hammer, machete & sharpener, gloves, nails, face mask)

216 hygiene kits (soap, toothpaste, TP, toothbrushes, razors, candle & matches, deodorant, sanitary napkins, baby wipes, insect repellent)

12,500 liters of water (collected by the Hotel La Tortuga)

Clothing

Towels donated by local hotels

Food

Unfortunately, in some ways the situation in Mahahual remains unchanged in the week since Hurricane Dean turned the lives of the Mahahualense upside down. As of yesterday, there were no professional relief agencies present. The Red Cross had indicated previously that it would start raising money and provide assistance in Mahahaul. So far that has not happened. The only assistance and relief Mahahual is receiving is from private donations and volunteers such as our little group.

It is good to see that the Mexican government is present with earthmoving machines to clear debris and haul it away. They have also brought in a number of chemical toilets.

We continue to raise money for Mahahual and ask everyone reading this to donate through our paypal account. On Saturday another convoy will be headed to Mahahual to take more materials and supplies.

On yesterday’s trip, after delivering the relief supplies, we made a couple of personal journeys through the devastated area along with our friend Heather. One was to deliver a bottle of tequila to Francisco, the volunteer chef at the community kitchen. Feeding a couple hundred familes each day, he has been working without rest since the hurricane passed through. He’s also working without pay. He was most appreciative.

We also took a large quantity of candy down and passed it out to the local children. We were rewarded with incredible smiles and laughter.

One example of the sad situation in Mahahual: A couple of days ago, our friend Claudia spent the night after making the trip down. There is one room in the Hotel Mahahual that is habitable, and it was offered to her. She protested, but the local family making the offer said that crocodiles have been coming out of the mangroves at night since the hurricane, and it was unsafe for her to sleep outside. She asked where they (a family of seven) would sleep. They told her, “Don’t worry, we’re used to it.” (!!!). This is one of the many reasons we continue to try and help this community.

Another convoy is going down on Saturday. We won’t be able to make that trip due to work at the hotel. However, we will returning to Mahahual early next week and will provide more information then, if not sooner. In the meantime, we continue to ask for any assistance that anyone can give us at this time.