Canadians return from Mexico

A dream vacation in paradise turned into a nightmare for thousands of tourists in Los Cabos earlier this week when a hurricane hit the coastal resort town.

At the height of the storm, roughly 30,000 travellers were left stranded, including many from the Hamilton region.

Hurricane Odile slammed into Los Cabos with 200 kilometre-per-hour winds leaving an extensive trail of damage.

Roads were destroyed and cars turned over. In just one hour, it dumped six months worth of rain onto the coastal resort area.

There continues to be widespread looting of shops and supermarkets as locals struggle to deal with crippling shortages of food, water, and gas.

As for tourists, the last Canadian rescue flight touched down in Calgary Friday night.

Mike Parente and his girlfriend Lisa were in Los Cabos and returned home on Thursday morning.

He said the two of them barricaded themselves in the bathroom and emerged the next day to see their resort in shambles.

With no power, the resort was cut off from outside communication and food had to be rationed.

The storm also severely damaged the city’s airport making flights out of Cabo hard to come by.

Despite their ordeal in Mexico, Mike and his girlfriend are adamant about giving back to its people.

They are planning a fundraiser and have started a Facebook page to help raise money and supplies for those in Los Cabos impacted by the storm.

Sunwing is also giving back.

Mike said the company promised passengers on his flight a full Sunwing credit for the amount of the trip to Mexico.

Visit Mike’s Facebook page for more information on how you can help: https://www.facebook.com/Saving-Los-Cabos/