Hurricane Richard clean up

After getting our driveway cleared enough so that we could take a drive, we set out around Gallon Jug to assess the damages. Clean up is well under way now, as you can see from the photo above of our driveway.

Although we didn't enter the surrounding tropical forest, it really looked as though it had held together fairly well. The dense growth of trees apparently offered enough integrity so that only a few (relatively speaking) were toppled or topped. And it is good to remember that these forests and animals evolved with hurricanes and are thus adapted to such events. Mahogany, as a matter of fact, is considered "hurricane-dependent" since it sprouts in areas opened up after such a storm.

Our house is high on a hill, as high as the top of the forest canopy which is about 400 yards away. This left us in a very exposed position which is why we felt the wind so badly during the storm Sunday night. Some of the other Gallon Jug buildings were hardly impacted.

Although the road to Chan Chich Lodge had a lot of downed trees, the Lodge and cabanas emerged virtually unscathed. Some of the thatch needs replacing on the roofs but that is about it. Nestled in the plaza of a Maya ruin and buffered by the surrounding tropical forest, the Lodge was really well protected and looks virtually untouched.