Stories of Sanibel: Residents, business owners share their experience returning after Hurricane Ian

Mountains of debris line every street, the same heartbreaking combination of drenched furniture, battered appliances and well-loved keepsakes piled up.

Sheets of metal hang in the barren trees like garland.

Restaurants, shops and resorts that were teeming with patrons just a month ago now sit empty, some with entire sections gutted out.

Sanibel Island, known for its sliver of paradise, now looks borderline apocalyptic as residents and businesses returned home, many for the first time since Hurricane Ian's landfall.

The temporarily restored causeway was reopened Wednesday morning, giving Sanibel its lifeline back to the mainland and allowing more crews to come onto the island to continue restoration efforts.

By the way: Was Hurricane Ian the most expensive hurricane to hit Florida?

And: DeSantis announces deadline extension for property tax payments for 26 counties

Journey across the causeway

On Thursday, traffic was lighter than expected getting up to the causeway on its second day open, barely a 15 minute wait to get to its first check point, which meant breezing through the second one right at the base of bridge.

The real test would be driving on the actual causeway, which was the source of a lot of speculation during its three weeks of rebuilding. What would it look like? Would it just be a dirt road? Was it safe?

Builders were able to create a paved two-lane road in less than a month. The main difference from the original causeway was the lack of parks along the bridge, which fell victim to Ian's winds and storm surge. As Gov. Ron DeSantis promised Wednesday, there was also quite a bit of construction going on beside the road, work on the more permanent repairs.

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Once on the island, it's clear utilities are scarce, with dozens of crews working rapidly to restore power and water. There was no running water, no gas stations open and officials are estimating the power to be back roughly by Oct. 31.

Portable bathrooms are set up throughout the island, as well as a free LeeTran shuttle service from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

On the beach, a mix of water bottles, random household items and mementos from residents stick out from the sand among the thousands of white, unbroken seashells that washed ashore.

The traffic conditions remained light throughout Sanibel, the only hiccups being debris trucks blocking the roads slightly.

There was a small sense of hope in the air as crews were picking up the piles of scraps and putting up powerlines to restore vital utilities, giving locals a faint feeling of victory as they made there way to their properties to begin their own clean-up. Here are some of their stories as they returned back:

‘Picked the building up and shook it’

The Sanibel Deli & Coffee Factory has been a staple on the island for nearly 14 years, bringing a bit of New York cuisine to the small Florida community.

Nestled in a plaza along Palm Ridge Road, the deli is in the perfect spot before the storm for both locals and tourists to grab a bite to eat on the way to beach, their menu still reading their daily lunch specials.

Owner Jeff Weigel said he and his son originally saw the deli the Monday after the storm, leaving from Bunche Beach on kayaks to survey the damage.

While the deli fortunately had hardly any external damage, the scene he saw from the backdoor was different story. He describes it as "someone picked the building up and shook it."

Large appliances turned over and smashed, the refrigeration systems suffering in result. A mixture of dirt and sand caked the normally checkered floors, turning into wet clay when it touches the puddles of rain water. A gold "welcome" sign sits hauntingly among the debris scattered along the floor.

However, the first thing you notice is the smell; three weeks worth of rotting meat, ice cream and vegetables created the most revolting cologne.

Weigel said the first thing he noticed was a Yankees baseball bat that was sitting out front, usually hanging in the bathroom wall.

He said he'd do anything to see a video of what happened inside his deli throughout the storm.

"If somebody said to me, 'Hey, for 100 bucks, I have a video of what went on inside your restaurant during the storm,' I'd want it in a minute," Weigel said.

Despite initially feeling discouraged from the damage, he's been working as much as he can, trying to clean up his deli to get it open as soon as he can. Members of the public have stopped by to check on him and ask about his reopening plans, which he said has been rewarding throughout this difficult time.

’My car is in my living room.’

Walking through the second floor of Amy Marto's home, you'd never know a Category 4 storm swept through. Besides the loss of power and water, everything is still in its place.

Downstairs tells an entirely different story.

Torn walls and smashed floors. Precious items, like a photo of her son and her grandma, hidden throughout the property, as if playing the cruelest game of treasure hunt.

Two cars parked in her pool, the third parked in what was previously her living room.

She said with all the wind outside, she never heard it come in.

Marto rode out the storm with her son and mother in her Sanibel home, not having particularly worried about Ian since she had never evacuated for other hurricanes in the past.

She recalls her son calling out to her that the water was rising outside. After taking her own look over the porch, she remembers running to her closet downstairs and putting whatever she could on the highest shelf to protect it.

She said she would've grabbed more things ahead of time, now knowing that top shelf of her closet would end up destroyed. Yet, overall she remained positive as she walks around her property,

The family ended up getting evacuated from Sanibel that Friday, Sept. 30. Marto grabbed a backpack of personal items to bring back to Fort Myers, her mom brought cash and jewelry, her son brought his skateboard and Xbox.

She's only been back to Sanibel a few times since then. Marto has still been working at the Sanibel Holiday Rentals when she can, adding her boss has been great about giving people time off while they process their own destruction, though she welcomes the distraction of checking on properties.

"I feel really lucky for that because I know a lot of people are out of work," Marto said. "Coming out here and doing stuff for other owners... I'm almost happy to do it."

Prior to checking on her own home on Thursday afternoon, she did a check on two of her rental properties in the same building.

Similarly to her own home, the differences were night and day depending on the level.

The first floor renter had the same story of many residents, their unit completely destroyed by Ian's storm surge. Marto documented the damage for the renter, showing where she had put on hurricane shutters hours before Ian's hit.

"It's like a bomb went off," she said, staring at the chair lodged into the wall.

For the renter on the fourth floor, the unit remained nearly untouched beyond the hardened sand on the front door. As Marto left, she noted she'd be able to give someone some good news.

Heading back to her home, she goes over her day and what her next steps are. She's currently staying in Fort Myers with her family, wondering if they'd be able to come back home soon.

She does know one thing for certain: Next time she's evacuating.

"I won't be doing this again ... Next time we have a tropical storm, I'll be in Montana," Marto said.

It’s all gone

Out of all of the shelves behind the counter of The Fig East End market, the one holding co-owner Debra Campana's prized $1,200 espresso machine was knocked over.

Along with other businesses on Periwinkle Way, their interior was scrambled by the storm, with food and merchandise scattered on the floor. Looking at the debris, Campana admits it's all gone.

The ovens, the refrigeration, almost everything.

She describes a heartbreaking scene of seeing the damage and how unbelievable it was. With a tired sigh, she adds "But we're alive."

Throughout the cleanup happening around her, coworkers, family and friends have stepped up to the plate to help, coming together as a community to help the Campanas. As she stood surveying the damage, various helpers would offer Campana a hand, or comfort, as she couldn't bring herself to go back in the market anymore.

Packing up their white van to head to their other restaurant, 400 Rabbits, Campana truthfully said she isn't sure what their next step is. They are living in Cape Coral right now, as their own Sanibel home is destroyed.

But she said they will keep moving forward and see what happens, hoping to reopen soon.

"There's a lesson to be learned in all of this, but right now ... I don't know what that is," Campana said.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: After Ian: Sanibel locals share their experience returning back