A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I were in Puerto Rico for
my cousin’s wedding. And everyone has been asking me the same questions I was
asking her, prior to our going.
Is PR still there?
Can they still have a wedding?
Can they still have a wedding?
How is the island doing?
Etc.
Hearing reports on the news is not the same as going there
and talking to the people to hear their stories. We were in Puerto Rico for 4
nights. We talked to every cab and Uber driver, and every person we met along
the way. And let me start by saying that everyone was incredibly nice,
generous, strong, resilient, and hopeful. All qualities that I can’t imagine I
would have in the same situation as them. They were all inspiring.
Flying in, you can see tons of homes covered in blue FEMA
tarps where the roofs are very damaged. So you start to see the effects of the
hurricanes before you even land.
As of Jan 11th, 30-40% of the island still didn’t
have power. But what the news doesn’t say, is that even the parts that have
power, don’t have it consistently. The power grids become overloaded very
quickly as they are repairing them. So people would get power for a few days,
then off a few days, or hours, etc. So they couldn’t depend on it.
Evidently, the US government approved the rebuilding of the
original infrastructure, but not improvements. So instead of making a more
stable power grid, or burying the power lines, they can only put them back up
the way they were, which seems counter-intuitive for the future.
The rain forest is still not open for tourism. But the
wedding was in the rain forest (and yes, we got rained out of having the
ceremony outdoors) and driving through the hills, you see that all the houses
have no power, and all the power lines are falling down. I was actually shocked
that we, in large busses, were allowed to drive through at all. The place where
the wedding was, Hacienda Siesta Alegre was running on a generator. It’s a
beautiful place, high upon the hill. I don’t know what it was like before the
hurricanes, but the roof was so damaged (not enough for a FEMA blue tarp
though) that shelter from the rain was challenging, since it was still raining
on us inside.
Tourism is still up and flourishing. The cruise ships never
stopped coming, which was a big blessing to PR. However, the increase in the
number of ships has been a challenge for the tiny island, already crowded in
the Old San Juan area. We were told that normally, there are always 3 cruise
ships there. The max was 6. And the week after we left, Marti Gras there, they
were expecting 12. We could not MOVE in our Uber in the area, so I can’t
imagine there being 9 more ships there at once. But they’re very grateful for
the business, because it’s the only thing keeping them going. One driver said
that right after the hurricane, drivers would sit at the airport for sometimes
12 hours just hoping to get even one ride during the day.
Driving around the island was definitely a challenge. Almost
all of the stop lights were out. So cars have to use the honor system to merge
and turn. Very slow process, but they’re certainly used to it after 4 months. I
will say, Uber is not welcomed there by cab drivers (understandable) and since
the hotels have agreements with the cab companies, you can’t call an Uber at
the hotel. You have to walk a few blocks away. And if you’re too close, the cab
drivers start screaming at you. Our Uber got EGGED by a cab driver. And our
driver didn’t even flinch. And, how’s this for synchronicity, when we called an
Uber home maybe 6 hours later…we had the same driver.
We had a discussion with people about Puerto Rico becoming a
state. They said it might have been more likely before the hurricanes. But with
most of the natural resources being destroyed, it wouldn’t be financially
beneficial to mainland USA for PR to be accepted as a state. So their chances
lessened, just when they needed it the most. A huge percentage of
pharmaceuticals and IV drips are produced in PR. And now that the plants have
been damaged, the US is running extremely low on necessary supplies. Ask any
hospital. And yet, our government doesn’t seem to understand the value, or
basic decency of helping our territory. They think they’re doing a great job of
getting things back to normal. But there will never be a return to normal. Only
a new normal. And think about how YOU would feel without phone, TV, a computer,
internet, or a refrigerator for 4 months or more. I don’t think anyone could
work fast enough.
My hats and heart go out to you Puerto Rico. Thank you for
letting me visit.
