MORE GOOD NEWS FROM CABO!!! I just heard from Martin Posch that electricity has come to the Cabo Corridor... Unbelievable response from the Mexican government and hundreds of workers from our Federal Electric Company (CFE) laboring around the clock to rebuild the grid. Beating even the most optimistic projections. ALSO, we have many friends and owners at Villa La Estancia, a premier property in Cabo, including Arnie Reusch in our office. WHAT A WONDERFUL DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTUAL EVENTS!!! And this is an example of how they roll in the Villa Group as reported to owners by their General Manager. CABO STRONG! Dear owners, Finally I have a chance to sit down and write to inform you of the situation in Villa La Estancia during and after Hurricane Odile. Initially the hurricane had been forecasted to pass a couple of hundred kilometers west of us over the ocean. However, on Saturday evening the forecast was changed and the projected path led right over Cabo San Lucas. This left us just one day to prepare. Nevertheless we managed to make all the preparations we do each time a hurricane warning is issued. The storm made landfall in Cabo Sunday night at 11:00 P.M. as a powerful hurricane III with sustained winds of 125 mph. We had prepared the parking garage as a shelter with chaise lounges blankets and pillows. We served a buffet dinner and provided coffee, water and soft drinks throughout the night. As we had lost electricity from the city, we were on emergency power almost the entire time we were there. Unfortunately the pipeline running from our main diesel tank to our generator was hit by flying debris and broke causing us to lose all our diesel full and our emergency power. We received permission from Villa del Palmar to take some of theirs. When the wind calmed down temporarily, two of our engineers made it to VDP, came back with full jerry cans and restarted the generator. Most owners and guests came down to the shelter. Some remained in their villa at their own peril. The next morning we reviewed the damage throughout the condominium and immediately started the cleanup of the pool area, restaurants and hallways. We were joined in this effort by a number of owners and guests. The building had weathered the storm remarkably well and, as became evident later, much better than most other resorts in the area. The damage consisted primarily of broken terrace ceiling fans, broken roof tiles, a number of uprooted palm trees, and broken glass sliding doors in several of the ocean front and penthouse villas. The landscaping has been visibly affected, but most trees, bushes and plants are standing and should get back to their former glory in a matter of weeks, although some palm trees will take a little longer. Both the arroyo in front of our resorts and the one next to Ocho Cascadas had become rivers leaving us isolated from town. We had about 150 owners and guests staying in Villa La Estancia. Our first concern was their well-being. Luckily no-one was hurt. During the remainder of their stay, the last ones left on Thursday, we served breakfast, lunch, dinner, water and soft drinks to everyone staying on property at no charge. Normally the resorts stock diesel fuel sufficient for at least five days. But, due to the fact that VLE lost its entire supply of 5,000 liters during the storm and we were sharing in the supply of the other two resorts, we figured that we would run out of fuel after three to four days. Therefore, on Tuesday the decision was made to shut down the generator in VLE, leaving the property without electricity, water pressure and phone service, and offer accommodation in VDP to all remaining guests and owners. Those who chose to stay were able to take showers at Villa del Arco. Food and beverage service was moved to the employee dining rooms of VDP and VDA. Meanwhile a member of our management staff drove to La Paz with sufficient cash and managed to buy 10,500 liters of diesel full and to contract with a tanker truck owner to drive it down here. They arrived back at the resorts at 10:00 P.M. that same night with the diesel, which was divided equally between the three properties. We tried to start up the generator, but found that the batteries were too weak. We took them to VDP and charged them overnight. The next morning at 10:00 we were able to start the generator up again. In the meantime the Governor of Baja California Sur had issued a general evacuation order. All non-residents had to leave Los Cabos in 72 hours. The initial plan consisted of evacuating a part of the guests of each hotel each day taking them by bus to the airport at certain hours to coincide with the arrival and departure of planes. However, due to road conditions, availability of buses, drivers and planes, and exacerbated by the fact that many tourists ventured out to the airport by themselves, the situation quickly became nightmarish with long lines and waits at the airport. As is often the case in natural disasters, Cabo´s less well-off suffered the most. Many people lost their homes and belongings. In the first days after the hurricane there was looting of the major supermarkets and some other stores and a general sense of unrest. However, with arrival of large number of police and army personnel and an equally large amount of help in the form of truckloads of food and drinking water arriving and being distributed in the “colonias”, order and security were restored very quickly. Cabo is again Cabo, a place where people help each other. In addition people have seen the arrival of hundreds of trucks and workers of the Federal Electricity Commission with new poles, cables and equipment. A sizable section of town already has electricity. Every day at nightfall we see more lights glimmering around us. This morning CFE is working right in front of the resorts. We have good hope to have electricity today or tomorrow. Soriana and Wall Mart supermarkets have opened up again. The roads have been cleared by work crews and bulldozers. Bus service has been reinstated. Many employees of Villa La Estancia have been greatly affected by the hurricane. The Villa Group has been distributing food packets to all employees and has authorized up to 250 employees and their families who lost their homes to come and stay in Villa del Palmar until further notice. Employees have been coming to work in large numbers, in spite of whatever personal problems they have been experiencing. The first days many had to walk for hours to get here. We have organized everyone in special work teams for cleaning and repairing the property. We have cooks and waiters painting walls and bellboys vacuuming the swimming pools. A lot of progress has already been made. Today a roofing company arrived with 15 workers to replace the missing or broken roof tiles.Every day the property looks better. Our goal is to be open for business by October 1st with the pools and both restaurants fully operational. Status of the villas. The first thing we have done is gone into every villa to ventilate and to dry wet items. Now we are going villa by villa making a detailed list of any items which are broken and taking pictures. The Owner Services Department will send each owner a status report for his or her villa with a list of any items needing repair or replacement. Looking into the near future, what Villa La Estancia and all of Cabo San Lucas will need most is people staying here. The greatest threat right now is empty hotels and restaurants, and taxis, tour companies and fishing boats without customers. I have heard from many owners who have made or want to make donations. All this is deeply appreciated by all of us here and will be of tremendous help. Another great way to help is to come down, stay in your villa, go and eat in your favorite restaurants and the things you like to do. I am compiling a list of restaurants and activities in town which I will send to you soon. We will also send you a link with photos so you can appreciate what Villa La Estancia looks like after the storm. Again I appreciate all the tremendous help, concern and interest everyone has shown and I will be writing to you again soon. Best regards, René Van Balderen General Manager
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 16:56:32 +0000
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