Zandoli Inn Dominica

Day by day. Little by little.

Fixed running water part way...the throne is in order.

Room 3.
I got this.
Giving thanks to all the help.

The frustration I feel, from the lack of press coverage for Dominica, keeps me up at night.
Basic human rights have been swept away by Maria.
Food, shelter and education, GONE. Maria's winds were merciless. Our hearts go out for Puerto Rico, but please don't forget about Dominica.
Hurricane David (1979) set our country back 40-50 years some say. Maria was much worse.
If you remember my rant from after T.S. Erica, foreign aid and distribution of aid is F@&$ed!
Life is not easy in the best of times in this stunningly beautiful island.
This hurricane has broken the coral reefs, evacuated or killed birds, insects and wildlife.
Pollination is a concern, endless fruit trees need to be properly trimmed ( before rotting) to produce. What I'm trying to say is that the work in front of Dominicans ( not Dominicanas) is way beyond a daunting task.
People are hungry, tired and stressed. Not that they would tell you. West Indians are a strong people. In these times there is no room for gentle discussions of mental health. Collecting fresh drinking water is more pertinent. Lining up weekly for a family aid parcel is not for the meek.
I have been researching, writing letters and in the next few weeks will return to evaluate where and what I can do for our immediate community. Being in the south means less aid reaches our friends and neighbours than those on the more accessible West ( Caribbean) coast.
Those of you who have donated $25-$50 have NO need to apologize. I thank you. Crowd funding makes an impact. Talking about the present situation in Dominica to your friends and colleagues helps too. Please don't forget Dominica.

Click here to support Help Friends, Family & Zandoli organized by Jennifer Andreoli 2 years after T.S. Erica shrouded Zandoli and dismembered tourism, Maria came to completely devastate Dominica. The apocalypse is truly difficult to comprehend. My son and I have relocated to Canada. We evacuated with not much more than the clothes on our backs. Survivors guilt is haunting me, a...

Click here to support Help Friends, Family & Zandoli organized by Jennifer Andreoli 2 years after T.S. Erica shrouded Zandoli and dismembered tourism, Maria came to completely devastate Dominica. The apocalypse is truly difficult to comprehend. My son and I have relocated to Canada. We evacuated with not much more than the clothes on our backs. Survivors guilt is haunting me, a...

Good day. It's been a while. We have been offline for a while regrouping, resting and of course figuring out how to move forward and thoughtfully be of help.
Please contact me by email if you have specific questions or concerns.
Hundreds of messages have become overwhelming at times.....d phone pinging and ting!
Many thanks for your thoughts and well wishes.
Have a good day.

We had already partially boarded up for Irma. Preparing for a Hurricane is a familiar task. We have boarded up and locked down many, many times, over the years.
No amount of preparation would have helped protect ourselves from Maria.
The last I heard she would become a Cat 3.
Now I hear she was a Cat 5, 175mph with gusts up to 250mph.
My second last text out was at 18:55 "Dead calm"
My last 19:27 " Oh F**k. Forget that"
Imagine a blender. Imagine the whole island, our trees and flowers, buildings great and small, inside.
A beast worse than Seuss' Ka**en howled for more than 6 hours. I think the storm swallowed us on the South side, we entered the ring walls before the eye and stayed there.
Our ears were popping. My teeth felt as if they would fall out. For those who don't know, hurricanes have great air pressure.
One of the window shutters disappeared, wind started to rage through our chosen bunker room. We spent 8 hours in the shower with 2 dogs, in prone position with the plumping rattling. The water rose 10 inches.
Our friend told us he heard the storm "suck a breath" as it left his room.
It did leave just as quickly as it arrived.

I am at this time unable to describe the aftermath. I will assume the media and Facebook can fill in the gaps.
I will continue to write and when the time is right, reassess. For now, rest.

We are safe.
Your reservations will be cancelled.
I will post more information soon.
Please be patient with us.

Zandoli
Dominica
2 islands south of Antigua

Irma missed us in Dominica. A few dry leaves that were ready to drop, did. Not even an avocado left a precipitous branch. In fact all the islands to the south of Antigua were unaffected
After 2 days of work boarding up and locking everything down in preparation for Irma, my son and I, intending to clean and cover the pool, watched what we believe to be, a MantaRay giving birth in GrandBay. The creatures large body moved gently just below the surface of the sea for an hour before the young appeared, joyously darting about.
For two hours, on one of the more clear and beautiful days in recent memory, we shared, witnessed, experienced a beautiful creation of life. From the comfort of our home.
Since Erica, I haven't felt the clam I did that afternoon. We enjoyed our time. We had done all we could do to prepare.
We live everyday with the knowledge that hurricanes destroy.
Tourists ask us this question, without fail, in succession. Our answers vary. I think that most West Indians may agree that everyplace has its time, everyplace takes its blows in life.
We live in nature. Everyday we see it's wonders, hummingbirds sword fighting, parties of Pelicans, pods or Whales, a lone Osprey ( I swear), owls, violet rainbows around the full moon, the galaxies beyond the Milky Way, waves of fireflies, night herons nest on the cliff beside my bedroom. We hear the tide and roll of the sea, from the hundred foot cliff we live on.
In the face of Irma's destruction, We are reminded that nature always rules. Even prior to the obvious climate change, see Hurricane David 1979.
Our hearts go out to our neighbors to the North

Thank you all for your concern. Dominica was not effected by Irma.
We are worried for our friemss and family members on the effected islands to the North.