Baja California Sur, Mexico
Hurricane Odile Relief Trip
by Nena Barlow
My trip to Baja was my small way to contribute to the
efforts of rebuilding from the damages of Hurricane Odile. We launched the
Friends of Harald group to raise funds to go directly and entirely to help
those who need a boost to recover in Harald’s neighborhood, like Pedro, who
lost his entire house. I chose to contribute by using my resources of time and
money to actually deliver some goods and be there to assist physically and with
whatever reassurances I could offer. I took my 17-year-old son, PJ, with me for
experience for him and just some extra muscle for the rebuild projects. We both
saw a lot, learned a lot, and it was a gratifying trip.
We left from Arizona with our 4x4 pickup truck and drove Mexico
5 through San Felipe and Coco’s Corner on our way to Highway 1, the famous
Transpeninsular Highway, to Guererro Negro at the border of Baja California
Sur. Then we drove the 1, all the way to La Paz. Everyone will tell you to be
careful driving in Mexico. But after driving in Phoenix and Los Angeles, I find
that driving the Transpeninsular Highway is a refreshingly friendly experience.
Yes, the lanes are very narrow much of the way, but the pavement (even after
the Hurricane) is much smoother than, say, Sacramento or Santa Monica. The
traffic is light, polite and very cooperative about passing and making way for
oncoming traffic.
As we passed through coastal areas of Baja California, you
see some roofs missing, sand piled against some structures, and a few downed
trees, but you are not sure if this is just neglect or hurricane damage. But
once you reach Baja California Sur, as you drive through San Ignacio, then
Santa Rosalia and Loreto and Mulege, you suddenly realize how violent and
recent this all actually was. Water lines on trees and walls above the roofs of
homes, trucks and cars half-buried in sand alongside a recently rebuild bridge,
wind-whipped trees leaning with just a few scraggly leaves clinging to the
branches, and tarps where roofs of homes and businesses used to be.
I have to admire the people’s response to the hurricane.
Instead of sitting down in the middle of the devastation, lamenting their
losses, and waiting for someone to come help, they take the attitude of “well,
that sucked—let’s start sweeping up and do what we need to do to get working
again.” The Transpeninsular Highway, the main artery of all of Baja, washed out
in many places. Bridges or low water crossings were just gone, and in many
places where the highway had been built up to be level, the fill was washed or
blown away and the road edges were collapsed. By the first day the water had
stopped flowing, locals were clearing go-arounds and bypasses so the trucks
could get through. The federal government sent over ferries full of CFE (the
power company) trucks to reestablish electricity as soon as possible. Within a
week or two after the hurricane knocked down nearly every power pole in the La
Paz area, CFE workers had them upright and functioning again. And on an
individual level, I like to point to Pedro and his family-- Pedro’s entire
house collapsed. They salvaged what they could and put up a tarp for some
shelter. He showed up to work the following Monday. Life goes on.
So, our trip was not to bring immediate relief of emergency
supplies, but rather to help with the ongoing rebuild of secondary needs (if
you consider things like a house secondary, after water, food and electricity
are restored…) La Paz has a population of almost one-hundred thousand people. Like many American cities of that size, has a
Home Depot and a Walmart, which seems so odd after driving the last 1000 miles
through rural Mexican countryside. Having those stores meant that there were
many supplies we needed for our projects that did not have to be carried by us
from the states. Our load of supplies consisted of odd things that cannot be
found in La Paz stores: a cement vibrator, synthetic motor oil, solar panels,
and Viva paper towels. Any of you who
have traveled with Harald understand the significance of Viva paper towels.
This also made for interesting conversations at the military
checkpoints. The primary goal of the military checkpoints is to stop guns and
drugs, but they found my camping air mattresses, Viva paper towels, and my ARB
weather-proof duffels to be the items of most interest. When one thorough
soldier insisted on me showing the contents of my duffel, I pulled out the pair
of pink panties on top and waved them at him. He quickly decided that we could
move on. I might not recommend that as a technique for everyone.
We spent five whirlwind days at Hacienda Las Puertas
(Harald’s house), righting leaning trees, cutting up trees that couldn’t be
saved, rebuilding hurricane-ravaged roofs, and working on wall and house
designs that would be better this time around. We did take evenings off to
enjoy local cuisine, cruise El Malecon (the Esplanade), or hang out at the
beach. I lived on seafood and tortillas—yum! We held a small party on Saturday
afternoon for the Friends of Harald, and presented Pedro with a gift
certificate for a house. He was
surprised and very happy! On Monday,
Harald, Karl, PJ and I visited Pedro’s family. Pedro showed us his property,
and gave us radishes from his garden. His mother and father, who also live on
the property, showed me where their kitchen had collapsed. Karl came up with a
plan to improve the electrical wiring for the whole property as well as hook up
the rebuilt house to the sewer for the first time.
We talked a lot about what to do next with Friends of
Harald, now that the plan for Pedro’s house is set and work is starting. The
challenge is that there are so many that still need basic things, like a roof
over their head, that it is hard to choose who gets what little help we can
offer. We made some wonderful friends and saw some amazing things. I hope that we made some difference, and
through Friends of Harald, can continue to do so. We go on, and we do what we
can with what we have. Hasta mañana!
