On September 14th, just before midnight, Hurricane Odile made landfall at the tip of Baja Sur, in the Los Cabos region. It then proceeded to traipse up the Baja peninsula. It has been logged as the most intense hurricane to ever make landfall in Baja.
As I have said to many of my friends, life in La Paz has been segmented into life BEFORE the hurricane, and life AFTER the hurricane. What occurred before Odile came roaring through lies in the distant past.
And so here I am back at the helm of Prestige Property Group, after the hurricane. What went before is ancient history. I thought I was going to retire, and sit atop the hill in Haciendas Palo Verde and write my memoirs. Things change, and smart people adapt and grow with the change. It isn’t always easy.
After the hurricane, when it was safe to poke our heads outside and survey the damage, we were shocked. We wondered if La Paz could recover by the peak of high season in January. We wondered if the Los Cabos airport would ever re-open. With grit and determination, our beautiful city of La Paz has bounced back. There is work to be done, but we are up and running. With a gargantuan effort the Los Cabos airport is open. Our precious tourists are arriving daily.
After the hurricane, my Beloved and I stood in line waiting for our chance to shop in Chedraui. We watched many people exit, but no one was being allowed in. Then a young woman employee came out accompanied by a police officer and announced that they would be closing for two hours while they re-stocked. No one yelled abusive words, no one tried to push their way in. We, as a group, shrugged, said, “gracias,” and left. I did not expect any different reaction from my neighbors. But, I was still so proud of the civility of La Paz. We saw lines of hot, tired people waiting for ice, for gas, and to get into a store. No one groused, pushed, shoved; they waited patiently.
I have lived here for fourteen years, and there have been times when I was frustrated almost beyond endurance. There have been many more times when the graciousness and consideration of strangers has touched me. Never have I been more proud to say that I was a Paceana than during these weeks after the hurricane.
We have all been changed by the fierceness of this storm, the devastation, the loss. We have survived and will continue to come back strong and healthy.
So dear sellers and buyers, Prestige Property Group is still here to serve you. I am honored by all of you, my sellers that have put your faith in me to sell your homes. And I am grateful for you, the buyers that helped sellers move on to their next adventure. We are here to help you with your new Mexican adventure. Our website is new and refreshed. Our marketing online, in print, and in social media continues. We have buyers on the way, and many more talking to us online in preparation for their trip to La Paz.
After the hurricane, even though their homes and businesses were flooded and had damage, many of my colleagues brought water and food to those affected the most by a natural disaster, the poor. Never have I been more proud to be part of an organization like AMPI/MLS, then I am today.
Odile, the Black Swan, may have knocked us to our knees. We were never down for the count, and we are back, doing business, and welcoming visitors to our beautiful city.
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