The monastery

Until the Puertopianos find land, they have descended to the Monastery, a hotel of 20,000 square feet that they rented as a base and that to a large extent had not been damaged by the hurricane.

Matt Clemenson and Stephen Morris were drinking beer on the roof of the Monastery one recent afternoon. Mr. Clemenson had a tolerant affection and wore aviators in two tones; Mr. Morris, a talkative Brit, wore cargo shorts and combat boots with steel laces, with a smart phone on a necklace. They wanted to make two things clear: they chose Puerto Rico because of the hurricane and they come in peace.

Morris, 53, said:

"It's only when everything has been swept that you can defend the reconstruction from scratch"

"We are benevolent capitalists, we build a benevolent economy," said Clemenson, 34, co-founder of Lottery.com, which is using blockchain in lotteries. "Puerto Rico has been this hidden gem, this enchanted island that has been constantly overlooked and mistreated. Maybe 500 years later we can do it well. "

Other Puertopianos arrived at the roof like a herd, just after a full day's tour in search of properties. From the middle, Brock Pierce, 37, the leader of the Puertopia movement, came out sporting capri pants with dropped crotch, a black vest that almost reached his knees and a large black felt hat. He and others had arrived on the island in early December.