Honduras This Week Travel and Tourism

Despite Mitch's fury, Utila suffers minor damage

By GUNTER KORDOVSKY

Special to Honduras This Week

UTILA -- After living for 28 years on this Jewel in the western Caribbean, lovingly called "The Rock" by locals, I had already a taste of hurricanes from Fifi and Greta. However, nothing prepared me for the fury Hurricane Mitch unleashed on Utila.

Hearing the first reports of Mitch while it was still a long way off, we figured it would just pass us with nothing to worry about. But as Mitch gained strength and it was certain we would get hit, everybody frantically raced for the hardware stores to get plywood, zinc or what ever to board up houses, to the local markets to stock up on food and drinking water, batteries and other pre-hurricane preparations.

"Contrary to some reports, Utila is open for tourism.

Planes are flying, the ferry is operating, the dive shops are teaching and diving, the restaurants and markets have plenty of food and drink, purified water is locally bottled, stores are well supplied, fuel is plentiful, lodges and inns are open, communication and television are working

-- all is back to normal on Utila, except tourists are missing!"

I helped my old buddy Kent to board up because he lives right on the ocean. After all preparations were done, the long wait started as Hurricane Mitch approached at snail's pace, intensifying in strength. Guanaja was the first victim and Mitch was now a category 5 hurricane. After hearing the first reports of all the devastation, one wondered -- "are we going to be next?"

We did spend some very anxious nights, especially the 27th and 28th of October. Because my house is on high ground, it was used as a shelter by some friends, as was the Utila Methodist Community College and many other residents' homes. Not being the homebody type, especially in as much as there was at times no electricity and only kerosene camp stoves and candles -- as well as my two little daughters creating their own Hurricane inside the house! I escaped to the airport, which was up to two and a half feet under water with 6 to 8 foot breakers washing the existing beach inland.

AWESOME FORCE

After hearing on the Weather Channel that Mitch probably would not hit Utila full force, I borrowed a waterproof camera and spent the next three days in the jungles, swamps and on the beaches experiencing the awesome force of Mother Nature at full bore! I tried to get other friends to come with me, but nobody felt crazy enough to brave the 80-100 mph gusts.

My first journey took me up to Steward's Hill, our second highest elevation. Through my binoculars, I could see the incredible wave action pounding the beaches. Attempting to proceed via my old shortcut to Pumpkin Hill Beach, through the swamp which usually takes about a half hour to walk, I encountered dozens of fallen trees and two feet of water, which made orientation impossible. I was lost for almost two hours.

After several detours and climbs over and under so many trees that I lost count, I ended up at Pumpkin Hill Beach where roaring breakers came pounding in, uprooting even some of the biggest coconut trees. One house on the beach had the front wall pushed in with sand dunes and rocks inside the house. The whole area all the way back to the plantations, 200 feet from the beach, was covered with coral rocks and sand. The gusts were so strong it ripped the coconuts off the trees and turned them into flying missiles that I had to dodge at times.

Leaning against the gale so as not to get blown off the big boulders I was using as vintage point for my photographs, I got blasted from flying sand. The whole coastline was reshaped as huge amounts of sand, gravel and rocks were pushed hundreds of feet inland. Pieces of Indian pottery were exposed, even graves.

GIGANTIC WAVES

My next point of interest was Big Bight and Red Cliff, these being on the eastern shore, therefore suffering the main impact of Mitch on Utila. Even thinking that the waves on the North Side were impressive, nothing could prepare me for the wave action on the East Side. After another extremely tough cross country hike over more fallen or snapped trees, I could hear the roar of the angry sea as I approached Big Bight.

I can only say of the waves that they were awesome. Being an outdoorsman all my life, I've seen avalanches skiing in my homeland of Austria; big mud slides, waves in the North Sea as I went from Montreal to Hamburg on a freighter; I've dove in Yugoslavia, the United States and Canada, but Mitch was the ultimate adventure. As I dodged flying coconuts and branches and sprinted for safety when a wave came too close for comfort, I had an absolute adrenaline rush -- it was great!

At Red Cliff, which is an 15-20 foot high rock barrier with spectacular caverns below, the waves broke over the cliffs. On the morning of the 29th when I managed to get into the cliffs and get a few good photos, walls of water came cascading down on me.

The next day the whole huge cliff formation was under attack by those killer waves. I placed myself on a big boulder hundreds of feet back from the beach to get a better photo angle and found myself in water up to my knees, water five feet deep tearing inland. I finally reached the airport, which was covered with huge trees, rocks and debris and almost completely flooded.

Three highly exciting days and two rolls of film later, we got the good news that Mitch was on his way out. Thank God!

THE AFTERMATH

"Locals, expatriates, and tourists gave time and hard work, and loaned equipment including a dozer! I want to thank everybody who helped to bring our beautiful island back to its normal state of beauty."

Damage assessment revealed the Island of Utila to have only minor damage compared to Guanaja and the mainland. Barely any damage was done to buildings and there was no loss of life. The beaches and reef did get a beating; however, nature has a way of healing herself.

The Cays suffered more damage than Utila. On Utila lots of trees are down and root systems exposed. Now, only a few weeks later, thanks to many volunteers too numerous to name, roads that were destroyed are passable and the airport looks better than ever. Ralph Sloane and a mission team made inland roads passable with their chain saws and machetes. Locals, expatriates, and tourists gave time and hard work, and loaned equipment including a dozer! I want to thank everybody who helped to bring our beautiful island back to its normal state of beauty.

Contrary to some reports, Utila is open for tourism. Planes are flying, the ferry is operating, the dive shops are teaching and diving, the restaurants and markets have plenty of food and drink, purified water is locally bottled, stores are well supplied, fuel is plentiful, lodges and inns are open, communication and television are working -- all is back to normal on Utila, except tourists are missing!

There is one warning, however: This Island has a habit of growing on you, as numerous expatriates have found out. I came with a diving expedition almost three decades ago, and the laid back pace of life, super beauty of the island above and underwater, the island's friendly people, mild climate, plus many more advantages have kept many of us on "The Rock."

Gunter Kordovsky is an expatriate, diver, and artist, who is also something of a local legend in Utila.

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IHT issues report on impact of hurricane damage
The Honduran Tourism Institute has issued a communique summing up the impact of Hurricane Mitch on the nation's major tourism destinations and, not expected Guanaja -- where Mitch stalled for 39 hours -- was one of the most devastated sites.

Guanaja, stated the IHT report, was stripped entirely of its vegetation. "Every tourism business suffered substantial damage, although few were totally destroyed. Many of the houses of the local people were badly damaged or totally destroyed, especially those on stilts over water."

As of November, IHT did not yet know the condition of the reef. A team of experts from Texas A & M University has been called to evaluate possible reef damage.

Surprisingly, added the report, Roatán suffered much less damage. "While the winds and waves did pummel the island for days, the intensity was much less than experienced by Guanaja. Most of the damage to tourism infrastructure is repairable and the island has been working non-stop on those repairs since the storm moved on."

Experts surveying the reef on the south side of the island have found it to be in good condition, except for some shallow flat areas where elkhorn and staghorn corals have been damaged. "Most resorts and tourism businesses in Roatán are open and welcoming visitors now. The rest will be up and operating by Dec. 15."

The IHT report stated that damage on Utila was even less. "Most lodging and dive operations lost docks, but sustained little other serious damage. Reconstruction has been underway. On Utila some visitors actually rode out the storm and others have begun to arrive since Mitch left the area. All operations are either open or nearly ready to open at this time."

With respect to Honduras' Mayan jewel, IHT stated that Copan weathered the storm with little damage. "Almost all the nearby lodging facilities were also spared. In spite of storm damage to roads, Copan has been reconnected with both Guatemala and San Pedro Sula. The nearby airstrip on Guatemala was also unaffected."

Inland, IHT said the hardest hit areas were Tegucigalpa and the San Pedro Sula area. "Tegucigalpa suffered greatly when heavy rains collapsed a neighborhood into the Choluteca River, forming a lake that inundated the downtown area. Most of the bridges in Tegucigalpa were destroyed [or seriously damaged] in the flood and many lives were lost. Tegucigalpa was cut off from the rest of the country by damage to roads and bridges."

IHT said, "The lodging facilities have risen to the occasion, serving the thousands of relief workers and international press as they poured into the country in response to the crisis. The infrastructure of basic services like electricity and water survived with some damage, and the city is working to clean up. Traffic is likely to be an issue for some time with the number of missing bridges. Access to nearby tourism destinations, such as Valle de Angeles and Santa Lucia, has been restored."

In the San Pedro Sula Area, widespread flooding destroyed much of the agricultural base of the region, IHT said. "The international airport was flooded, damaging some of the electronic equipment used in communicating with aircraft."

The North Coast suffered varying degrees of impact from the storm, read the report. "On the west end, Puerto Cortes suffered little damage. Some bridges crossing streams were damaged by floodwater. Repairs are underway. Most hotels are reporting light damage, but there are exceptions."

The Tela area was more fortunate, according to IHT. "Aerial surveys showed that Punta Sal is without significant impact. The Garifuna beach village of Miami lost some structures but was not impacted as severely as predicted. Few palms were damaged along the sea front and little debris is evident o the beaches. The hotels in the Tela vicinity are open and serving visitors.

"Approaching La Ceiba," continues the report, "one begins to move into more highly impacted areas. The Cangrejal River flooded badly, destroying some houses and at least temporarily halting white water rafting. Some trees were reported down in Pico Bonito National Park. There is a great deal of storm debris blown up onto the beaches. Most lodging facilities are open and serving guests, although some are repairing minor damage."

Trujillo, to the west of La Ceiba, was closer to the point where the eye of Mitch came ashore and sustained significant damage to vegetation. "Significant amounts of debris have accumulated on the beaches. While some lodging facilities suffered minor damage, almost all are open and ready for visitors."

IHT reported that heavy rains from Hurricane Mitch in the south flooded areas around the Gulf of Fonseca. "Bridges were damaged or destroyed and the roads suffered substantially. There is substantial beach debris, but the islands in the gulf seem to be in good condition. A makeshift road has been reopened between the south and Tegucigalpa. Some tourism businesses report flood damage, but most are open or plan to open soon."

IHT says that more specific information will be placed on a new website at http://www.hondurasmitch.com dedicated to information on Honduras Tourism and the impacts of Hurricane Mitch.

Live aboard diving and sailing in the Bay Islands

the best possible time in the Bay Islands,
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The People of Honduras Need Your Help.
Click here for a list of organizations accepting donations. There is one in your area.

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