Dorian vs. Covid

What was it like rebuilding after Dorian, you might ask? It was the best of times….it was the worst of times.

It was amazing because this little island had SO MUCH HEART. The strength and resilience of the local community was inspiring. It was also an amazing opportunity for second homeowners to really pitch in, help, and become part of the community. We were all in it together.

It was terrible because there was so much debris and no way to remove it. There was so much needed repair and no way to get supplies. There was no electricity or water for well over a year.

We made our first trip down just 2 weeks after the hurricane. There was absolutely no way to do actual repairs, so we simply cleaned out debris, dried up anything wet, and put tarps on the roof. It wasn’t until March 2020 that we were finally able to get supplies to Guana Cay to repair the damage. As we left home, we were hearing some rumblings about a virus that was over in China.

It was a long, hot week of working without electricity, cooking on a busted up gas grill, washing our clothes in the sink, and cold showers. With no electricity, no cell service, and no wi-fi….we knew very little about what was happening back in the states. We had NO IDEA there was a pandemic back at home.

It was March 15 and we had a few days of work left. That was also the day that the first case of COVID hit the Bahamas. The next day we were told that all visitors needed to leave the Bahamas by the next day or be stuck. We had to be on the 12:30 ferry on March 17th.

On March 17th at 10:12 a.m…..the guys were still on the roof trying to get finished. We literally finished just before noon…just making it onto the ferry and getting out of the Bahamas just as a proclamation of emergency was declared and the borders were closed.

Not only did we have to leave, all of the US relief workers who were trying to help Abaco rebuild had to leave. COVID seriously derailed the rebuilding efforts. We didn’t know when we would be able to return, but we had at least managed to get our repairs finished. Others were not so lucky.

We returned to the states to a bizarre world where there was no toilet paper, we were immediately quarantined, and every normal thing ceased to exist.

We didn’t know when we would get to return to Abaco and Guana Cay.