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Peter Greenberg
is the multiple–Emmy
Award–winning travel
editor for CBS News
and host of The
Travel Detective on
public television
( petergreenberg.com).
year ago, Puerto Rico was in the
center of a storm, and not just
any storm. It was ravaged by
Hurricane Maria, sustaining
wind speeds of up to ;;; miles per hour.
Within hours, Maria had destroyed
Puerto Rico’s electricity grid, mobile-phone towers, air tra;c control systems
and radar. It blocked hundreds of miles
of roads and bridges and damaged or
destroyed ;;;,;;; houses.
The travel and tourism infrastructure
was likewise devastated. Hotels and
resorts were seriously damaged. The
San Juan port was closed. Few areas
were hit as hard as Puerto Rico.
And few areas have bounced back
better, and in some cases bigger, than
Puerto Rico.
The rebuilding process ramped up.
Hotels have been rebuilt, some from
the ground up. Resorts have reopened.
Power was restored to ;; percent of the
island, and by the time you read this,
all the lights should be back on.
More than ;;; hotels are now up and
running, and ;,;;;-plus restaurants
have reopened. Puerto Rico’s ;; casinos
are open for business. The cruise ships
ANot
just any
port in
a storm
Recovering from last
year’s Hurricane Maria,
Puerto Rico declares it
is “ready to enchant you”
by PETER GREENBERG
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