greatgrandma
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- Rosalie
In my pool exercise class we were discussing the tsunami warnings that have been given after the earthquake in Russia. (I remember when we called them Tidal Waves) I have been doing blogs and simultaneously going through blogs written after 2000 on a travel side and plucking out photos of lighthouses, beaches, shops, airports and museums to put in threads here.
But the first time I visited Grand Turk (which is what I am working on at the moment) it was after they were hit on 6 September 2008 with Hurricane Ike, a Cat 4 storm. And I thought it might be interesting to have a place for those photos
12 November 2008, we were on one of the first cruise ships in to Grand Turk after Hurricane Ike. In the days before the cruise, I had doubts about whether we would be able to visit at all. But they had rebuilt the cruise ship pier. Even though the children were going to school in a tent. and many buildings were still in ruins, the islanders had coped. Instead of a building at the lighthouse offering drinks, there was a lady with a cooler selling cold drinks. The roads had been cleared and the residents were getting on with their lives. I was impressed with their industry and energy.
Trashed satellite receivers near the lighthouse
I wanted to go out and see the lighthouse, so the port person on the ship told me to go to the information desk and ask about a taxi. There was no information desk.
We saw the little (smaller than a reasonable sized science fair project) information booth, but there was no one there. We walked out to the taxi stand and they said to go back to the booth and look for someone in a green shirt.
The man (in a cream shirt) eventually came to the booth and he explained that his tour was an hour and included the lighthouse and would be $19 each. A taxi out to the lighthouse and back would be $18 each ($9 each way) So we opted for the tour. The tour would have cost $39 each from the ship. The tour included a narrative by the driver (also the person who sold us the tickets), and he explained about how things were after Hurricane Ike (category 4). Apparently the British Navy came in for the recovery and ordered 300 body bags - they didn't have to use any of them. You can see that there is extensive damage to the island, but the roads are cleared now, people are getting their homes back together, and the shops at the dock are about half back in business
But the first time I visited Grand Turk (which is what I am working on at the moment) it was after they were hit on 6 September 2008 with Hurricane Ike, a Cat 4 storm. And I thought it might be interesting to have a place for those photos
12 November 2008, we were on one of the first cruise ships in to Grand Turk after Hurricane Ike. In the days before the cruise, I had doubts about whether we would be able to visit at all. But they had rebuilt the cruise ship pier. Even though the children were going to school in a tent. and many buildings were still in ruins, the islanders had coped. Instead of a building at the lighthouse offering drinks, there was a lady with a cooler selling cold drinks. The roads had been cleared and the residents were getting on with their lives. I was impressed with their industry and energy.
Trashed satellite receivers near the lighthouse
I wanted to go out and see the lighthouse, so the port person on the ship told me to go to the information desk and ask about a taxi. There was no information desk.
We saw the little (smaller than a reasonable sized science fair project) information booth, but there was no one there. We walked out to the taxi stand and they said to go back to the booth and look for someone in a green shirt.
The man (in a cream shirt) eventually came to the booth and he explained that his tour was an hour and included the lighthouse and would be $19 each. A taxi out to the lighthouse and back would be $18 each ($9 each way) So we opted for the tour. The tour would have cost $39 each from the ship. The tour included a narrative by the driver (also the person who sold us the tickets), and he explained about how things were after Hurricane Ike (category 4). Apparently the British Navy came in for the recovery and ordered 300 body bags - they didn't have to use any of them. You can see that there is extensive damage to the island, but the roads are cleared now, people are getting their homes back together, and the shops at the dock are about half back in business
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