A Day at the Beach: Playa El Medano Post Hurricane Odile
Mango Deck is back in business, as are many of Medano Beach’s signature restaurants and cantinas.
The first week after Hurricane Odile felt like a roller coaster ride through the emotional spectrum. By the second week, as the situation in Los Cabos stabilized, so, too, did my responses to much of what I saw.
Each walk through formerly familiar neighborhoods basically engendered one of two reactions: 1) joy at seeing that some of my favorite people and places were fine, and would soon return to something resembling normalcy; and 2) sadness when that was obviously not the case, and the damages were going to take a significant amount of time and effort to repair.
A visit to Médano Beach yesterday, my first since the hurricane, elicited both reactions. The beach was pummeled during the storm, but thanks to earth movers, rakes, and dedicated cleanup efforts, much of the golden sand is back where it belongs, at least from the Marina to Casa Dorada. A few dedicated beachgoers had already returned, in fact, and were relaxing with children under multihued umbrellas. Pangas cruised by in the bay, foregrounding the granite monuments at Land’s End. It was close to the picture I had in my mind from previous visits, but even prettier than expected. The water has been gorgeous of late, crystalline blue, placid, and inviting.
Billygan’s Island’s palapa took a beating, but hurricane damages haven’t affected the quality of the food, drinks, or service.
Most heartening of all, many of the area’s signature restaurants and cantinas are back in business. Spring break mecca Mango Deck reopened in typical weekend party hearty fashion on Sunday, and neighbor The Office is expected to reopen today with 50 percent discounts. (note: grand reopening celebration was held the morning of Oct 1st) Billygan’s Island Restaurant and Beach Club’s palapa took a beating, but the place is up and operating. Baja Cantina Beach Club’s roof, on the other hand, looks so immaculate you could be forgiven for thinking it was taken off pre-Odile, transported to a remote location, then reassembled when the coast was clear. Nope, there was a simpler explanation. Norberto, the kinder, gentler hurricane that skirted the peninsula the week prior, had blown a small hole in the roof, and through some random miracle of reduced wind resistance, allowed the structure to escape Odile’s wrath with only minor repairs needed afterward.
The outlook may be positive, but repair and cleanup efforts are still a work in progress.
As I sat and discussed this with my waiter, cold Pacifico in hand, we agreed that all the restaurant – hell, the beach – needed was tourists. The places that are up and running are noticeably short of customers, and will be until commercial flights resume to Los Cabos International Airport on October 8…and the majority of coastal resorts reopen, an ongoing process that will unfold over the coming month(s). And the restaurants and cantinas that have yet to reopen, and that were hit particularly hard by Odile – The Sand Bar and The Moxitos Beach Club are obvious examples – well, they’re going to need a little more time, too.
The good news is that cleanup and repairs are being effected faster than even the most optimistic of us probably hoped. And with the airport reopening, and Bisbee’s fishing tournaments fast approaching, Médano Beach – like many tourist-friendly areas in Cabo San Lucas – is showing noticeable progress on a daily basis.
Médano Beach will be ready when the tourists return. In the meantime, it’s easy to find a prime sunning spot. And the service couldn’t be faster or friendlier.