I've had some PM's wishing me the best, thank you! Myself, wife, dog and Crossfire are all safe and sound. I'm writing from Boston as we had the foresight to book the first flight out, which was canceled, but with outside help rebooked for the next day. Theres a 20,000 person waiting list currently. The airport is under military control. No radar. Flight instructions come from Miami. Only 10 flights a day. When we checked in they revised a printed list for our names. The airport is an oven. The early estimates are between 4 and 8 months to restore power to the major metropolitan areas. The entire Island is devastated. For the time being the people are dealing well and there's order. When we left it was uncertain whether chaos or calm would prevail as food and diesel were running out. At that time all purchases were cash only, banks were closed and ATM's inoperable. All my phones were inoperable including land lines. No communications at all. Now it seems, at least where I live, that calm continues. Our condo found diesel for the emergency plant, some banks have opened and gas rationing is subsiding. When I return is undetermined. Pray for those still in P.R., the Virgin Islands, San Martin, Culebra, Vieques, etc. The have a long road to travel to regain some normalcy.

Les

 

Good to hear from you and that at least you and yours are OK.
Your President says you are getting great help, let us hope that is true for once.

 

Good to hear from you Les, didn't want to bother you with IM etc.
Hope you can return soon !

 

What I heard on the radio from the local government and read in the USA don't jive with what I was seeing. Here's a link to the P.R. newspaper. I believe it has a button for english.
https://www.elnuevodia.com/ultimas-noticias/


Les

 

Glad to hear that you & family survived Maria without any injuries. Wife & I send our prayers to your family for a full recovery from this horrific storm.

 

Great news to hear you and family are fine. If your travels bring you near Indiana, please let me know. Hopefully you can return home soon.

 

Les,,glad to here you and yours are ok. I know what you went through,, (andrew 1992) also evacuated from my home in ft lauderdale,for irma ,,everything is good on my end. if I,WE, can do anything for you guys just let us know. jim,

 

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and words. I've been traveling around the country visiting relatives and return to P.R. on the 15th. of Oct. As far as I can determine not much has changed for the better in P.R. but home is home. Jetblue has been wonderful. They refunded the pet fees and are allowing free checked luggage. I purchased a Yamaha generator, solar lights and will pack plenty of food for the return. On the bright side, the racetrack is up and running .... without the grandstand roof.

Les

 

You're only going back because you heard they were getting free towels tossed at them.
Seriously though, seeing the devastation all over it will be a long time before things are back to something like normal. At least the sea and the sun were not affected, good luck.

 

Sniff, the sea WAS affected. No power, no water treatment for the sewage....... The ocean is brown and stinks. Where I live still has no electricity. I'm taking solar lights, generator and 50 lbs. of food. And, car tools, naturally. It's a disaster unlike any other in US history.

Les

 

That is bad, diseases will break out rapidly if nothing is done about it soon.

 

If you have internet, be sure to keep us posted.

 

Hi Les, I checked your link to the newspaper - one article from the 15th says that after 24 days they still only expect "95% with electricity before Christmas". I realize there is a grid problem but that is tragic. I hope you made it back ok and there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Best wishes to you and yours as you try to deal with this situation. Ron

 

Back in Puerto Rico for a week now. No electricity. No work. No information thats reliable. Most of the island is on hold waiting for power. All that can be done without it was accomplished, in my area, long ago. I have solar lights (suck) plenty of batteries for reading by flashlight. My portable generator is stuck in Priority mail storage in Miami, I believe. It seems FEMA is using commercial flights to bring equipment and supplies. Little space for packages of the USPS. The ocean is better. No smell but the color tells the tale. Gasoline and diesel supplies are no longer a problem that I can see. Food is available. I have water in my Condo which I filter and sterilize. Everything is running on diesel generators. Ours have been running with few days off since Irma. (John Deere) My poor car has 2 months of dust on it. I'd take a bucket of water down to the basement but I don't want to risk scratching the heck out of the clear coat. If you've never seen Condo basement dust ..... it's carbon from exhaust. Thick and heavy. Cell service is back in my area, finally. If you've seen pictures of the damage, yes it's that bad and yes, it's every square inch of the island. While metropolitan construction is mostly concrete and cinder blocks when you look close .... Repairs are slow. Materials are competing for cargo space on ships and planes with FEMA. Perhaps FEMA gets too much blame as we don't really see what they do at ground level. Only that we are competing with them for supplies and transportation since day one. To ask for help from FEMA you have to call or fill out a form by internet. Which is still unavailable on much of the Island. As more time goes by one adjusts to a new reality. People are still helping one another. Staying mostly sane and patient. The government employees have returned to work, without power, so not really working, just collecting.
What a mess.

Les

 

I have read that many of the islanders are leaving for New York, is that true and if so are they free to enter the US at will.?
I guess they have relatives there, so if they lost most or all of their possessions they have nothing to keep them on the island for now.

 

Entry to the mainland is the same as traveling from one state to another. Puerto Rico is a part of the USA.

Les

 

Power came back on last night in my Condo. 45 days without electricity. I have a hangover. It's been a long time since I earned anything. Perhaps the government offices I rely on will open ..... and their backup is alive. The new normal is here.

On the car front, Needswings has a few goodies I'm wanting. When business returns.

Les

 

Good news at last.
That is at least a step on the road to normalcy, but it will be a long road to travel.
Our power was out four days in the winter some years back and I thought it was hell.

 

I can't even imagine this happening, I have a small generator but at 45 days I would be lucky to keep the fridge and freezer going.

 

I don't have many photos at all. My priority was saving the battery charge as much as possible at the time. Now I'm wishing I had taken many, many more. Here's a few from the 21st. of september. Street view, lobby ... or what's left, parking, mezzanine full of water.

Les