Our decision to go to Cozumel was based on the fact that prices for vacations like this were at a low. Mexico's two largest industries are oil and tourism. Mexico depends heavily on tourism and that has been affected by the economic depression in the United States, the report of violence with drug traffickers and the swine flu. Perfect timing for us; prices are cheap and what would be the chance we'd have problems with the drug cartel. They really wouldn't want a bunch of tourists. As far as the swine flu was concerned we had already had it. My mother had a few days that she could watch the kids at the beginning of November so we booked the trip. I had looked up hurricane season and average rainfall in November and it looked like it would be ok. Hurricane season was generally over by the end of October so we were home free. I started looking at the weather report for Cozumel about 10 days before we left. The weather was supposed to be beautiful up until we arrived and then rain or thunder and lightening while we were there. But really, it wouldn't rain the whole time. We were sure that it would rain for maybe an hour and then it would get nice, besides the temperature was to be between 80 and 85 degrees. We packed for sun and took off.

I didn't check for hurricanes or tropical storms because nothing was on weather.com. We landed and it was 85 degrees and rainy. No one was on the beach.

The next day the hotel employees started taking all the deck chairs off the beach. They took down their beach kiosk. The ceiling fans and all outdoor light fixtures around the beach and the outdoor restaurant came down. Then we received this very nice letter that stated

Dear Guest:

Please be informed that the presence of tropical storm IDA is located at the Caribbean Sea. According to the last report the National Hurricane Center confirms that IDA is still a "Tropical Storm"

We are expecting winds and heavy rains by 12.00pm tonight, please stay in the rooms from 10.00pm. As a prevention measurement for your own safety we recommend to close the curtains completely and put inside the room the chairs from the balcony.

For any additional information, we are available at the Front Desk....

Very encouraging don't you think? One couple was telling us that they were at Cozumel right before Hurricane Wilma five years ago. At that time, they were doing the same thing but they were also cutting all the coconuts off the trees so that they wouldn't become flying projectiles and they weren't doing that at this time. Another couple was scheduled to fly out Sunday night from Cancun which is 12 miles west and their travel agency had them leave the resort and relocate to another resort on the mainland. The ferry service quit running from 3pm Saturday until Monday morning due to the storm and all the boats had been pulled out of the water and no more tours were given.

We headed off to bed waiting for heavy wind and rains. Instead we slept great and awoke to another grey and wet day. We hopped into our jeep to tour. Driving through town we did notice large waves breaking over the sea wall in town.

Also we weren't allowed to drive around to the east side of the island due to waves. These very nice policemen had us turn around use an alternative route. They willingly posed with me though.

When we arrived home, we looked through a weeks worth of email and received this notice from Orbitz our travel agency.

Dear John,

The Orbitz Care Center has been closely monitoring Tropical Depression IDA, and we wanted to give you an update.

Forecasters say the storm, which has maximum sustained winds near 35mph, could reach Tropical Storm strength by Saturday and will likely pass near Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Cancun on Sunday with 60mph winds and heavy rain.

We encourage you to monitor local weather reports and check the status of your flight before leaving for the airport. Please note that if a hurricane warning or hurricane watch is in effect where you're traveling, we will waive any Orbitz cancellation fees and help you rebook your flight, hotel, car or activity.

Our email downloaded this email the Friday we arrived at Cozumel but we didn't read it until we got back. It was $4 a minute to use the internet at the hotel. Our emails weren't that pressing but then again maybe they were.