MIAMI -- With the exception of San Pedro Sula in Honduras, all
international airports in Central America escaped damage from
tropical storm Mitch.
"Flights of all international carriers are back on schedule in
Central America," said Frederico Block, chief executive officer of
the Taca airlines group.
Only the airport at San Pedro Sula remains closed until the
weekend of Nov. 13 and 14, while repairs (due to extensive
flooding) are being made on the runway, he added.
Block talked to Travel Weekly just before boarding a cargo
flight from Miami, loaded with relief supplies bound for Managua,
Nicaragua. Taca took that plane, one of its 737s, out of regular
service, reserving it for delivery of essential materials to aid
hurricane victims.
The Bay Islands off Honduras took the first hit from Mitch, one
of the worst tropical storms of the century. Hotels on the south
shore of Roatan, sheltered by highlands, escaped damage from the
high winds and record rainfalls, as did the Roatan airport, which
received Taca flights from Miami and Houston last weekend.
Reports on several sites in and around Honduras follow:
Coco View Resort reported damage to over-water walkways,
landscaping and its gazebo. "The reefs ... are in amazingly good
condition, with visibility improving every day," said Terry Evans
of Roatan Charter, Cocoa View Resorts' U.S. representative.On Roatan Island, Anthony's Key, a popular dive resort on the
north shore, is closed. It sustained damages to its waterfront
cabanas and piers, but is expected to reopen for Christmas.On Guanja Island, Pousada del Sol and Bayman Bay Club required
major repairs to their lodges and docks, but both are expected to
reopen by Christmas.On Utila Island, the Utila Lodge is closed until Nov. 21 and
Luguna Beach Resort will reopen on Dec. 19.On the Honduran mainland, the road connecting San Pedro Sula to
Copan is closed; a spokesman at the Hotel Marina in Copan said he
expects repairs to be finished by Nov. 15.In Guatemala City, inbound tour operator Clark Tours reported
that all roads to the tourist areas around Antigua, Lake Atitlan
and Chichicastenango are clear and overland itineraries are
operating. "The highway from Guatemala City to the Caribbean, which
leads to Rio Dulce and the Quirigua archaeological site, was
hardest hit," said Mark Rogers, director of Clark Tours, "and it
will be a week before visitors are able to travel to this area."
The Peten rain forest region, which shelters the Maya ruins of
Tikal, was not affected.Belize, which escaped most of Mitch's high winds and torrential
rains, reports that properties in the interior were basically
unaffected and, according to Valerie Woods, director of tourism for
the Belize Tourist Board, "inland areas were unscathed and are
offering full services to guests." The same is true for the resorts
along the southern coast, near Placencia. Piers, however, will need
repairs, said Jack Chivers, head of Magnum Belize in Detroit Lakes,
Minn.The largest facility casualties reported are on Belize's
Ambergris Cay, where sea swells knocked out many of the hotel piers
and dive shops, particularly at resorts north of San Pedro. Magnum
Belize's main property here, Captain Morgan's, was to reopen Nov. 8
after beach cleanup and repairs to its pier. According to Chivers,
all resorts had moved their dive boats out of the storm's path.
Also along the Ambergris south shore, Journey's End lost its dive
pier and one of its cabanas but expects to reopen Nov. 20. Clients
who were booked at Journey's End during the hurricane period can be
rescheduled until Dec. 15, 1999, with no loss of deposits or
additional charges, a hotel spokesman reported. Close to town,
Ramon's Village lost its pier and dive facility but remains
open.