The Aftermath of Maria - Day 9

It’s Friday, September 29th. We have running water. There’s no power and no cell signal. The raw sewage smell is as revolting as ever.

The generator ran from 9am to 11:20am this morning. We had oatmeal for breakfast and watched Ghostbusters. I am anxiously waiting to hear if anyone was able to get in touch with my Dad. We have half a tank of gas left in the Kia. We still have plenty of cash for food and gas.

We washed clothes and Jason made new drying racks for the balcony. Clothes take 2-3 days to dry. Our laundry is now on display for all the people driving down here to see the beach. I guess they really don’t mind standing in those horrendous gas lines?

At 5pm, Pierre comes up to chat. He had no luck with his Verizon phone today. He plans to buy a Claro phone tomorrow morning at WalMart. If he can get a phone, he will drive us to a signal so we can call my Dad. This news hurts. I feel a huge wave of discouragement wash over me. I’ve written this same extremely detailed note 5 times now over the last week and I’m no closer to reaching my Dad or to getting plane tickets. But I am not a quitter. And I sure as hell am not staying here for another three months with no power and no clean water.

Maria and Luis are going to San Juan tomorrow, which means they should have a cell signal in Bayamon. I bury every shred of doubt and disappointment and I write yet another detailed note to send with Maria. These notes I’ve been writing on my little green notepad include all of our personal information and Lucy’s information with specific instructions to book us a flight on JetBlue out of Aguadilla ASAP. We need to fly out of Aguadilla for a number of reasons. First, JetBlue does not require a health certificate for Lucy. While we did plan ahead and got a health certificate, it is only valid for 10 days. We would have to take Lucy back to our vet to get it renewed, and they are of course closed with no power and no water. Second, we need a ride to the airport. Uber doesn’t exist here and even if taxis were running we have no way to call for one, so we are relying on our neighbors for a ride. No way am I expecting them to drive us across island to San Juan. Third, I am terrified to fly out of San Juan after hearing the horror stories of huge crowds living in the airport. I take my new note and head down to Maria’s door. I tell her no one has been able to call my Dad and she agrees to make an attempt tomorrow.

While we are grateful to have water, food, and 2-3 hours of generator power a day, this is no way to live. We are beyond ready to go. Pierre is determined to get communication, and when he succeeds we could call David in New York for a possible Delta flight if JetBlue is weeks out (JetBlue is our option if we fly out of Aguadilla). I am so glad Pierre is willing to use his gas to get a working phone. He says gas lines are still bad in town today. We are leaving our Kia parked until Monday when Jason goes back to DXC. I do not see Gustavo tonight, so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see if he was able to call my Dad.