Bermuda "showed the world how things should be done," with Hurricane Igor, according to Governor Sir Richard Gozney.

The Governor commended Police, Regiment, Government departments and BELCO who prepared residents for the hurricane — and assisted with clean-up in its aftermath.

Igor brought 100 mph winds and torrential rain on Sunday night. Yesterday it passed by Newfoundland in Canada and is expected to reach Baffin Island in Canada and Greenland on Saturday.

Approximately 29,000 people lost power in Bermuda, some boats were damaged, homes flooded, a utility pole crashed on a roof and trees and branches flew into the roadside. Still the impact was far less than expected and the Island was largely back on its feet yesterday.

Sir Richard expressed his "warm gratitude" to emergency services for beginning the clean up promptly on Monday. He also thanked HMS Manchester the Royal Navy destroyer which came up from the Caribbean to help senior Police and Regiment officers survey damage on Monday afternoon.

"I would also like to pay sincere tribute to the common sense of the vast majority of Bermudians. You prepared well and you kept your heads down indoors on Sunday night (with or without a bottle of something special). You showed the world how things should be done."

Schools are expected to reopen today after the Department of Parks worked to clear debris yesterday.

At press time, there were 3,900 BELCO customers still without power. BELCO spokeswoman Susan McGrath-Smith said crews were set up around the Island, but there was not likely be any big jumps in numbers due to the amount of work involved in restoring power to these areas.

The power company hoped the number would be decreased to 3,500 by the end of last night.

The Bermuda Post Office has resumed its normal mail delivery and the General Post Office and all sub offices opened for business yesterday.

While many mailboxes were lost and damaged in the storm, the Bermuda Post Office plans to make every effort to deliver mail until October 15. After this date mail will not be delivered if there is no mailbox available.

The traffic lights at the junction of Collector's Hill and South Road, Smith's were yesterday being repaired.

The Ministry of Works and Engineering advised motorists to exercise care and caution while travelling through this junction.

Highway staff was repairing collapsed barriers along the southern side of the Causeway yesterday. Department of Works and Engineering along with Bermuda Police Service divers were completing a full inspection of the Causeway, which should be completed tomorrow.

In the meantime, traffic signals are in place along the Causeway for the monitoring of one-way traffic.

Residential waste collection was altered due to the storm and waste in the east end will be collected today. Waste in the west end was collected yesterday, while tomorrow and Friday's waste and recycling collection will resume as normal.

Horseshoe Bay, Warwick Long Bay and John Smith's Bay have also reopened despite some major erosion of beach sand, leaving exposed rock in some areas.

Astwood Park is also open, but the public is asked to exercise caution around the cliffs, which were severely eroded in some places.

Meanwhile other beaches such as Elbow Beach and Cooper's Island remain closed until the Department has repaired damage and cleared debris from the roadways.

The Botanical Gardens will also be closed until later this week, though the offices for Department of Parks and Environmental Protection and Masterworks will be open for official business.

Extra staff had come in to the Bull's Head Car Wash, where a line of vehicles was reported to extend out to the roundabout from the start of business.

Part owner Denise Riviere said the incoming traffic was all cars caked with salt, leaves and sand from the hurricane. "I hope people come in earlier," she said. "It gets harder to clean off as time goes by."

More than 200 vehicles had come through yesterday afternoon and two lines were being maintained to keep the road clear. Ms. Riviere said that she and her staff were too tired to remain open late, and anticipated several more busy days.

The site of the former Golden Hind on the South Shore in Warwick took a hit from Hurricane Igor. Russell Eddy, who lives nearby at Tribe Road No. 1, has been monitoring the site and went around at low tide on Tuesday.

"Along the whole cliff the fall was really big, quite incredible to see," Mr. Eddy said. "Big hunks of the cliff have come down onto the beach. Overhangs have come down and there are overhangs waiting to fall."

Close to the point currently proposed for the Grand Atlantic Development, the section of cliff enjoys fine oceanfront views but is also notorious for coastal erosion. Like much of the South Shore it bore the brunt of powerful seas over the weekend.