Cancún revving up again after Wilma

One of the biggest impediments to Cancún's return to normalcy overall seems to be the reduced numbers of flights coming in. At this time of the year, major carriers like American and Continental typically have anywhere between 200 and 340 flights a month to Cancún, says Pitta. This past December and January they are running between 40 and 80.

"It was a little optimistic to think we would be back to normal here by Christmas," admits Annette Schmid, vice president for contracting and marketing at Riu Hotels and Resorts.

"The airlines are waiting for the hotel rooms to open up, the potential guests are waiting for the bars and restaurants to open, the bars and restaurants are waiting for more people to fly in," she sighs. But, she assures, "It is all coming together."

The Riu hotel chain, with three properties in Cancún and five in the Riviera Maya, was one of the first to get up and running at almost complete capacity. "Now, slowly, the whole region is coming back to life. Every day a restaurant pops back up, another flight resumes service," says Schmid. "At the moment, people still have Wilma in mind and are nervous," she says. "But, in a few months they will forget. Everyone wants to go on holiday."

Carole and Gary Sander from Oklahoma City, Okla., came down to the Riu Cancún for a week's holiday with 19 family members. Sitting poolside, everyone from 70-year-old "Pa" Gary to 8-week-old Chip - all decked out in matching yellow "Kiki and Pa's Cancún Christmas" T-shirts - cooed about their Cancún experience.

"There was more damage than we had imagined," admits Carole "Kiki" Sander, an antiques dealer. But all the Sanders, she says proudly, went snorkeling, took canopy tours, and threw themselves into the never ending activities by the pool. "The sun is out, the staff are lovely. We are together. It equals a wonderful holiday."

The biggest winner in the post-Wilma story might perhaps turn out to be the Riviera Maya, which starts some 20 miles south of Cancún and stretches towards Playa del Carmen and beyond, to Tulum. This area, which suffered badly from hurricane Emily in mid-July, was far less affected by Wilma, and all 24,500 hotel rooms here were expected to be ready by January - soaking up tourists, in some cases, from closed Cancún properties.

Sandra Nadel and her fiancé, Todd Holtzman, had wanted a Cancún vacation. But, worried about hurricane damage to hotels, they did some homework before getting on a plane from Los Angeles.

"I called the hotels we were thinking of staying with in Cancún directly to ask about the damage," says Ms. Nadel. "A lot of them didn't even answer - which was a sure way to figure out if staying there would be problematic." Hesitant to book a hotel which was just reopening for New Year's - "We were worried there would be all sorts of kinks to iron out in those cases," says Nadel - they decided to look south, near hip Playa Del Carmen.

And so, they ended up, with feathers in their hair and champagne glasses in hand, at Secrets Capri, an all-inclusive adults-only resort on the Riviera Maya for New Year's Eve, thrilled with the results of their gamble. "We were kidding on the way here, saying to one another - let's not have any expectations. Whatever it looks like, let's just enjoy," says Nadel, sitting under an ice sculpture and getting ready for the fireworks. "But it turned out perfect. I would think twice about returning to Cancún after finding this."

Meanwhile, Cancún's famously raucous clubs tried to make up for the hard times. Both the Bulldog and The City discos were closed and under repair. But Dady Rock rocked on, and Dady'O put on a light show and busted the tunes.

"I would not say it's a normal New Year, or exactly the happiest one," admitted Gilberto Noyole, a security guard. "In fact this has been a critical time for us who live here."

Mr. Noyole lost his home in the hurricane. His wife, who worked as a part-time cleaner at a hotel, lost her job.

"But, as they say in the disco songs ... times will be better," he says, humming along to the music wafting out of Dady'O. "At the end of the day, there is only one Cancún."

• Ms. Harman is Latin America bureau chief for the Monitor and USA Today.

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