Hurricane Maria

 

Follow my journey to Vieques, Puerto Rico where Generation Gives are traveling to help this island of 9,000 Citizens restore communication so that people can talk to their family and friends. Here is my story of the first few days of our efforts.

 

Saturday October 7th

This trip has been a wild adventure and it’s technically only day one.We hustled to finish up packing Saturday morning and rushed to the airport, picking up a few forgotten items on the way.

Curb-side check-in was very fast and there was no line at TSA.We all toasted to our journey with a beer near our terminal gate and then boarded the plane, trying to download a few more Netflix shows before we lost Wi-Fi for good. Bo slept like a baby. When we arrived in San Juan, we posted up inside the terminal to finish activating our 10 Garmin InReach Locators. When we left to pick up our baggage, two of the bags were missing (the most important ones).

After an hour long conversation with Baggage Claim, they were pretty certain they got held back with TSA in Tampa and would arrive on the next flight. Considering they were filled with Solar Panels and cans of food, these items need a heightened security check. The guy at baggage claim was very friendly and complimented my Spanish. We went to discuss with Cape Air whether they would transfer the bags from Southwest for us, since we had booked flights to Vieques before the bags would arrive. After running back and forth between the two airlines, we finally got a taxi to the hotel. Then another bump in the road happened; the driver had no GPS and needed exact directions. Luckily, Joe's cell service worked well enough at the airport to show him a map. The driver gave us local Puerto Rican candy and we gazed out the windows at the mess, broken billboards, shattered windows and debris piled down the sides of roads.

When we arrived at our hotel, Joe and I ran inside to talk with the reception. In Spanish I told him we had a reservation and handed him our printed receipt. Before even glancing at the paper, he said “Siiiii… pero tengo una problema” (Yes, but I have a problem). I didn’t like the sound of that. He said there was no light and no room for us. We said we had paid but he said they didn’t charge. I asked for advice about where we could go and he was no help. It was a scam. So we bribed our hasty and rude cab driver to take us to 5 more hotels to check for rooms. Finally, the last hotel, Colorado Vanderbilt, had a room for $420!

 After all the hustle, Joe bit the bullet and paid for the overpriced room. We had a room on the 11th floor with a view of the old downtown and beach. We all settled and went out for some cocktails on the town. The first place we went to had live music with lively culture. We ate fried calamari, croquettes, and fried chicken. After long conversations about politics and disasters, we went to a bar with live music. This place was a pizza bar with so much livelihood, with elegant lighting outside and cheerful Spanish music. I got to brush up on some Spanish with the servers as well. Finally, we went back to the hotel and stopped at the inside bar for a mojito. Joe showed Bo and I a trick, lighting his finger on fire with Sambuca. The lighting inside the hotel bar kept flickering and the room fell black a few times because all electricity was dependent on a generator.

Sunday October 8th

The next morning we hustled to the airport to get on our Cape Air flight to Vieques. We ate delicious empanadas and cream cheese pastries.

The plane was so tiny, two people per aisle. We could see so much outside of the windows, including destroyed gates that were no longer operating. We also saw a few helicopters hovering over San Juan and a huge military Army green plane, most likely delivering cargo for aid. The flight was about 45 minutes over incredible scenery with clear bright blue beaches. When we landed, we saw a couple small planes that had been blown over in the storm. The airport was tiny and some signs and roofing had been blown off.

The cab driver was very sweaty wearing a dirty white t-shirt and withered pants and looked tired, but still smiled. The first thing I noticed was the people and their bright spirits. Everyone laughed and smiled, even amidst the post hurricane chaos.

The drive to the hotel was so crazy, tiny winding roads with debris piled up on both sides of the car, occasionally branches smacking the car doors.

What was once a lush rain-forest now was dried debris piled high, with naked trees all around.

 

 

The first really devastating damage I saw was a home, completely uprooted and flipped upside down and shattered on a hill, with different colors of clothing and painted wood spread everywhere.

When we got to El Blok hotel, Joe and I walked around the ground floor looking for an entrance, it almost looked abandoned. The elevator was obviously broken and wood and supplies were everywhere. We found the stairs and went up to the 2nd floor, which looked like the reception area with a bar and kitchen. After a conversation with the GM, Lainey, she agreed to house us for free in exchange for Internet in the evenings. During the day, we could go out in the island to serve others. We hollered at Bo to come up and paid the taxi driver. Then we spent the next few hours labeling items and starting up the satellite. The people hanging out around the hotel were very friendly and a few were cooking a huge meal to box up and deliver to hospitals and shelters. They gave us some lunch too.

Bo and I checked out the beach which was still filled with debris. Later, a local showed us photos of what it looked like 2 weeks ago, it was such a difference. It became apparent these people had been working non-stop since Hurricane Maria lashed her winds through the Caribbean. Then it was time to take Bo to the airport and to pick up our luggage. The bags still had not arrived and we said our goodbyes to Bo, who said he would check on the baggage when he got back to San Juan. I hated saying goodbye and wished he could be here experiencing this with me. He sent us a message on our InReach Locators saying the bags would arrive the next day around 9 a.m. Joe and I finished up some work, then walked over to La Nasa, an outside very local bar that was blasting Spanish music and reggae-ton.

This was the first true experience of the Vieques culture. Happy beach lovers dancing salsa and la bachata, filled with laughter and excitement.

There were many young children too, and I noticed many of the mothers were younger than me, some maybe only 15 years old.

Everyone was doing the salsa and bachata: boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, grandparents and grandchildren.

Everyone seemed very happy. Joe and I met a few locals, and then we met 2 Red Cross guys. One of them was Shaun, who told us more about his experience. He immediately got us embedded with the Red Cross team and helped us with transportation and advice on how we could provide the most aid. His first idea was to get Internet to the bank so people could use the ATM. He said every day people ask them for a way to get money, but they simply do not have the bandwidth to get Internet to the bank and are swamped with a range of activities, including helping locals get access to food and water, as well as organizing distribution.

Monday October 9th

First day on the job and I slept like a rock in the morning. When I woke up, my face was puffy with congestion and allergies. Unfortunately, my Claritin D was in the bag that got held back in TSA. I took a quick shower and did some blogging, then Joe came back and said he needed me to translate for him.

We got a ride from Shaun to the plaza, where we set up station under a gazebo in the center. People lingered around asking us for all sorts of things: shampoo, phone calls, clothes, and around 2 p.m., many locals gathered around asking about a meeting. Apparently, the mayor had conducted meetings everyday at 2 p.m., but today he cancelled without notice. The people seemed frustrated to have traveled for this meeting to understand what was happening; however, they were able to wait in a line for hours to pick up food and a snack pack, or use our Internet and mobile services.

With our satellite device, we could only allow a few people to use the Internet at a time, otherwise it would become inefficient. We also only had one phone for making Skype calls, but every person that used it showed us so much gratitude.

Meanwhile, the Humane Society was posted up nearby doing a free animal clinic from 9-2. At least 50 dogs had come through and been given shots and treatment. Around 2:30 p.m., Joe came back from picking up the solar panels at the airport and we were both starving. I walked to an open restaurant called Bieques Bistro. They were running on a generator, but had a limited menu from the hurricane. I was so excited to order empanadas, but when I got the food, it was a fried steak -- unexpected but still delicious!! Especially the plantains.

Around 4:30 p.m., a young mother, probably no more than 17 years old, came up to use the phone. She had her 2-year-old daughter with her tugging on her dress. She was desperate to get to the United States to her sister’s house, but could not contact her. She used our device to send a few texts and left a voicemail. Unfortunately, no one answered her.

There was another lady who was very fit with several tattoos. She had been conducting Zumba in the plaza every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 p.m. Many children and even grandparents showed up to Zumba. Her speakers wouldn't work so Joe tried to connect them to the generator, but something was wrong with the boom box so I lent her my portable speaker.

At the end of the day we sent out around 20 phone calls and 20 texts with a few of the InReach GARMIN devices. We hoped to help more people, but we believe the heavy rain kept people away, and the word about our mission and equipment had not spread yet.

When we got back to El Blok Hotel, some new military men and security guards were staying the night. After dinner, we had a long conversation with them about the island and their assessment. They were eager to help and tried to come up with solutions for how we could help the most with our technology. One interesting thing they mentioned was Vieques was much better off than they expected, but the East Side of the main island was in far worse condition. There are hundreds of people having to stay in bleak shelters with absolutely no communication even 3 weeks after the hurricane. They want to help more, but they simply do not have enough supplies or materials.

Tuesday October 10th

First thing this morning around 8 a.m., Joe and I got a ride from Shaun to rent a car. When we got there a bubbly lovely lady was waiting outside for the lenders to return.

She inquired about our shirts and after a brief conversation, she stated she was the postmaster and became thrilled about our ability to communicate and Internet. She said she could get in touch with the mainland and get 2-day shipping and money orders for people if she could get a connection.

Joe ran to the car to grab her a kit and then explained how she could use the solar panel, battery, inverter, and InReach GARMIN device.

Next we went to the bank to see if we had permission to connect the ATM to Internet yet, but the manager had not returned from the mainland. They said he would be here at the end of the day so we could come back in the morning. We stopped at an outdoor food window for a quick bite. There are only a few restaurants open in town running on generators with limited food options. None of them are running coffee machines because it uses too much gas. From the limited menu we grabbed a quesadilla and ham & cheese sandwich.

Then we were told we could go to the rural parts of the mountain with the military food trucks. Next thing we know they are not going out because the mayor wants them distributed at the plaza. After an hour of confusion and whoever is in charge came to an agreement, we were told the trucks would be in a village called Villa Jugo. After a wild goose chase looking for the huge military trucks and an unsuccessful couple stops at auto stores for Fix-a-Flat (we were told to have a back-up due to all the debris and nails), we finally found the village, but no trucks. So we returned to the center and one of the Red Cross guys passed by in his jeep and rolled down his window telling us to follow him to the gas station. Our friend, David jumped out of the Red Cross jeep and got in our car. David is a prompt and helpful liaison between the locals and the military, FEMA, Red Cross and Humane Society. (And now Generation Gives!) He told us the food trucks would be delivering to a different village and guided us there. But on the way we saw the military food trucks going the other direction, so we turned around and followed them to the plaza. There we learned where there next stop would be.

When we got there the parking was incredibly difficult because the food trucks were crammed tight surrounded with cars along with a couple excavators picking up debris. We finally found a spot but we struggled to find a sheltered area to set up the satellite because it was pouring rain. We were in an open area so set up in the back of the car and draped one of our yellow backpacking tarps over the back to shield the electronics. I made an announcement by the food trucks and many shouted in gratitude.

However, not many people came to our car for communication help. That may have been due to everyone wanting to get out of the rain. Many people walked by looking exhausted from waiting in line for hours for a case of water and only 2 MRE meals. We helped about 10 people make phone calls, and many of them sounded panicked on the phone.

The young mother we saw yesterday ran up to us asking if her sister had responded, unfortunately she had not. It’s a tricky situation, because we don’t know why the sister won’t answer, considering she had pleaded with her to evacuate earlier, but she didn’t have the means.

The rain picked up to where we could no longer operate the satellite. We headed by the plaza and stopped for pizza. Then we walked to the Post Office, but our friend and Postmaster, Pamela was not there. We went to the plaza where we heard International Red Cross had set up a public Wi-Fi with a large satellite. When we tested it out it was unsuccessful. Too many people were on their phones and it was inefficient. The rain started to down pour so we ran into La Alcaldia for shelter, where the Red Cross and military were working. By then, they were familiar with us and very welcoming to let us inside. A family with a little girl came in from the shelter and told Joe they had been waiting a week for some cots, mosquito nets and a tarp from the Red Cross but the Red Cross simply didn’t have enough and all had been accounted for. Joe found some mosquito nets and gave them to her to help since the family had to sleep outside. Then Joe and I headed back to the hotel but stopped at the Bieques bistro to pick up a couple bottles of that amazing hot sauce.

Recapping on the day, it seems like there is a significant lack of communication between all the aid groups. Joe and I could potentially solve that problem by lending out our GARMIN devices which would allow the groups to work together and be more productive. Getting Internet to the Post Office tomorrow would make a big difference to help with money orders. But most importantly, if the bank gives approval, we would help thousands get access to their bank accounts so they can buy food and water, or flights to leave the island. Some people came here on vacation and are still stuck with no way to get home because the ATM is down.