A sand sculpture carved with a message that reads in Spanish; "Welcome to Vallarta" decorates the beach in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.(Photo: Rebecca Blackwell, AP)
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Hurricane Patricia — one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall — was downgraded to a tropical depression Saturday, leaving behind less major damage than feared and some tourists eager to either continue their vacations or get home fast.
No deaths were initially reported as emergency crews made their way into the hardest-hit areas of Mexico. The tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta and the neighboring Riviera Nayarit escaped major damage, motivating some tourists to continue with planned vacations to the areas. The Puerto Vallarta airport also resumed normal operations on Saturday, the Communications and Transportation Secretariat said, while the Federal Police and armed forces started airlifting out stranded tourists.
"The worry was much greater," said Stan Singleton, a bed and breakfast owner in Tlaquepaque, a suburb of Guadalajara popular with tourists and folk artists. "In actuality, we've seen worse."
Singleton stocked up on extra provisions and water to prepare for a potential influx of coastal residents. His seven-room business, Casa de las Flores Bed and Breakfast, filled up quick as Hurricane Patricia approached the coast. But the build up proved to be worse than the storm itself, he said.
Shop owners in Tlaquepaque opened their gift stores and fast food joints early Saturday for business, even as large dark clouds roamed overhead.
In the meantime, while some tourists were stuck in Puerto Vallarta, others were flying in, shaking off concerns that their long- planned vacations could be ruined by damage from Hurricane Patricia.
"We had nine days off and we were going to go somewhere," said Tina Speece, 48, of Durango, Colo.
She and her husband, Dan Speece, 50, and their two children, Casie, 21, and Cody, 17, were sitting on an American Airlines flight in Phoenix, Ariz. waiting to fly to Puerto Vallarta.
Tina said she looked into other destinations when they heard the strongest hurricane ever was barreling toward their favorite vacation spot, where they go every year to eat, drink, fish and lay on the beach. Their flight was supposed to be full but half the seats were empty, apparently after many other travelers cancelled their trips.
Tina also thought about canceling but her husband Dan talked her out of it. At 10 p.m. Friday, they decided to go after friends already in Puerto Vallarta told them the storm had not been any where near as bad as predicted.
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The pilot announced that upon landing they could expect rain on and off, temperatures in the 70s and most surprising, "the winds are calm."
After all the media reports, "we really expected something other than a nice day," the pilot said over the intercom.
Their flight was scheduled to leave at 9 a.m. but was delayed. But not by the weather. Grounds crews needed to check an engine problem.
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Favorable geography worked to Mexico's advantage in avoiding deaths and destruction. Hurricane Patricia made landfall on the thinly populated Costa Alegre, a collection of fishing ports, beach towns and, increasingly, luxury villas between Manzanillo to Puerto Vallarta.
"It's a mess," said Daniel Hallas, an American realtor in the seaside community of La Manzanilla, 25 miles from Cuxmala, where the storm made landfall. "All I can say is that it's a mess."
In Barra de Navidad, also in the Costa Alegre, locals reported downed trees and power lines and roofs ripped off of homes, along with flooding during the storm.
"There wasn't much of a warning," says hotel manager Damian Sánchez, who estimated the storm lasted four hours – with a pause while the eye of the hurricane passed.
Contributing: David Agren in Monterrey, Mexico.
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