Liv'n Large in Puerto Rico

Hurricane Maria 100 Day Disaster Recap

Everyone has heard about how bad Puerto Rico was hit by hurricane Maria and how slow the recovery has been. As reported by the press, about 45% of the island is still without electricity and without that, you have no running water. The press has also reported that about 400,000 Puerto Ricans have left the island since September 20th.

THAT’S ALL TRUE.

To add insult to injury, the Feds suspended issuing reports on the recovery ‘progress’ being made. No news is better than bad news, right?

Before I launch into the post, I need to say we are fine, The dogs are fine. Our concrete house suffered only very minor cosmetic damage. However the trees I’ve been working on for the last 6 years did not fair so well. Vegetation was decimated. We lost many trees, many more were badly damaged.

We were most fortunate… many more still need our help.

What follows are my own observations, some photos, how we dealt with it and a timeline which got us to where we are now. I’ll conclude with my observations about the exodus from the island and the FEMA response.

A short, crude video taken during the hurricane is also in the works. I’ll drop a link on this page when it’s done.

The Issue of Hard News or Lack of It

We would not see any national news until we were back on the Net on November 30th. Nothing until then. Nada. No emergency broadcasting capability at the local or national level. It was like a military invasion blackout. We had no clue as to whether Maria had done more damage elsewhere or if we might see anymore hurricanes in the near term. We had no idea, hurricane Lee followed Maria. We did get a lot of wind and rain, days after Maria passed by. It was never mentioned on the AM stations we were monitoring.

Local news, what there was of it, came from 3 or 4 AM radio stations that had a hard time staying on the air. Issues with electricity and the lack of functional generators. Especially on the south side of the island where we are. San Juan on the north side has ready access to news we could not get. Of course all of it is in Spanish with the exception of the 2 or 3 announcements made by US Government officials. The only English announcement made by a Puerto Rican authority was delivered by the Governor of PR on the day the President came for his infamous photo-op.

MAKE NO MISTAKE, 100 DAYS IN, THERE ARE STILL MILLIONS WITHOUT CITY WATER OR SEWER, ELECTRICITY OR CELL SERVICE AND LITTLE TO NO BASIC HEALTH SERVICES.

THAT’S ALSO TRUE OF THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS TOO.

Ironically, Coamo has it’s own little independent radio station, WCPR 1450AM (Radio Free Coamo?). We would listen to Tony’s morning show, hoping to learn something from it. This was almost always an exercise in frustration as he would often redirect the conversation away from the topic of the moment. We love him, but he’s [Read more…] about Hurricane Maria 100 Day Disaster Recap

Our Slice of Paradise: The Projects (3/3)

I will admit, most of my other projects have taken a back seat to getting the fruit and nut trees in the ground. In retrospect, that is probably THE big project, though I never thought of it that way. As with almost anything you do in PR, it has taken longer than I thought it would to get to this point.
I covered most of that in the first 2 parts.

Outside the ‘planting of the trees’, there are several other projects I’m working on. They can be grouped into ‘minor’ and ‘major’ efforts.

I’ll cover the smaller projects first, the bigger ones last.

Minor Projects:

A few of my early projects or experiments were related to growing new stuff. Those included growing peanuts in raised beds (I would do that again), testing tropical birdseed for potential growth (I would do that again, too), growing Kenaf (a pulpy, fibrous Hibiscus similar to Hemp, but not illegal) to assess it’s ability to prosper and even a little cotton too. Most of these have been covered in previous posts.

Way back when, Cotton was a minor cash crop here on the island.

It grows wild along the side of the road. The plant resembles a big bush with fluffs of white on it. I picked enough roadside cotton to start a dozen plants, just to see how it grows. I figure these could be considered ‘heirloom seeds’.

Well, cotton needs a lot of water. More than I currently have available. Another issue is removing the seeds. It took me 2 hours to pull all the seeds from about 6 ounces of ‘fluff’. Yeah, yeah, Eli invented the Cotton Gin. [Read more…] about Our Slice of Paradise: The Projects (3/3)

Talk Like a Pirate Day & Other Adult Nonsense

’tis the most favored day of pirates, everywhere. To honor September 19th, is to honor all things piratical. That includes independent thought, Rum and the Caribbean as well. Did you know a pirate ship was often ruled by the democratic process and that the captain could be replaced by a simple vote of the crew?

The Lord knows, Puerto Rico has known it’s fair share of pirates.

What’s sad, is that we have more pirates today than we ever had in the past. They dress in suits and drive expensive cars… we know them as lawyers and politicians. Us locals are flailing in their wake… ARRG!

Things may get a little worse before they get better, but they WILL get better. I don’t have the room on my blog to pursue this rant, but there is ‘change in the wind’. The people of Puerto Rico are ready for it.

RUM and Rum Like Beverages…

I like to feature new adult beverages as they come my way. Talk Like a Pirate Day is the perfect time to do it.

I’ve spoken before about my fondness of Barceló Rum from the Dominican Republic. Well.. they have introduced a new line to PR so here they are. The one on the left is my ‘go to’ favorite, Ron Barceló Añejo. A very reasonably priced rum suitable for sipping or mixing. Next up is Blanco Añejado, a smooth mixer. An aged rum with a clean taste. The middle bottle is Ron Barceló Imperial and it is as smooth as any premium añejo I’ve ever tried.

It’s Barceló’s best. At least the best I’ve had so far. Not cheap, but less expensive than other top-shelf añejos. The 4th bottle is Grand Añejo and falls between my fav and the Imperial. Still very smooth, but not quite as smooth as the Imperial. Lastly, Ron Barceló Dorado. A perfect dark mixer for Planter’s Punch or a Mai Tai or straight up, if you have the will. [Read more…] about Talk Like a Pirate Day & Other Adult Nonsense

A Long Overdue Update

I apologize… I kind of lost my momentum over dealing with family issues, the downward spiral of Puerto Rico’s economy, my crappy ankles, our crappy internet service and the local drought. Nothing has changed regarding the last 4 issues, but I am inspired to start writing again.

As bad as it is for the locals, those that stay on the island need our help. So I choose to maintain a positive state of mind.

Puerto Rico will never be ‘home’ to those from the mainland who cannot adapt to a culture other than their own. Those whose lifestyles and standards of living are too rigid, hate it here. I guess I’ve become less ‘Americano’ over the last 6 years. We are so hardcore, we drive with the AC off and the windows down, if it’s not raining. Most of the issues brought up by ‘mainlanders’ don’t bother me. So yes, I still like living here. I will continue to share the places and things I discover while ‘out and about’. I am still busy shooting the places we visit so there are 3 or 4 posts I’ll follow up with. Plus there is the garden thing which keeps me very busy.

The 20 Year Drought

It’s been dry here. Way too dry. So dry the Puerto Rican government has started rationing water in the greater San Juan metroplex. I’m very glad I set up a small rainwater catchment set, but I cannot cover [Read more…] about A Long Overdue Update

5 Years in.. Time to Reflect

This yearend post finds me reflecting on more than what it’s like to live in Puerto Rico. I can say I’m just as jazzed to be here as when I landed for the first time in August of 2009. I cannot imagine living any other place.

The food, the music, the countryside, the people will grow on you.

As I’ve said before, Puerto Rico is not without it’s frustrations. Especially if you are a gringo from the mainland, though Alaska hardly qualifies as the ‘mainland’. I grew up in Alaska so that tends to ‘color’ my perspective.

Puerto Rico and Alaska share some of the same issues

Both rely heavily on food and almost all consumer goods used day-to-day from stateside. In Alaska, we referred to it as ‘the lower 48’. In PR, it’s the ‘mainland’ or something less friendly. Both places share a sense of independence.. an attitude that you could make a go of it. Not so much these days, but you can see it in the attitude of the ‘old timers’. Those that were used to depending on each other to get stuff done. I see it in the rural folks of PR and I admire them for it.

Then there are the cultural differences. To be honest, what passes as American Culture these days bothers me to my core. I think about it a lot. Way too much emphasis on consumerism and ‘things’ and less concern with ‘community’.

Goodbye to TV as We Knew it-

I was a child of the TV Era. I remember the day my dad brought home our first black & white TV. I must have been 4 or 5. TV ads were part of the norm. Even after I got cable… nothing had changed. Just more of it. There [Read more…] about 5 Years in.. Time to Reflect