Tuesday 16 November 2010

There is always room for more...


Oh, yes.
Sometimes I wonder if they are coming to the island or going to the DR... But what is the difference? The biggest question here is: How do they manage to put so many things on the boat and sail with them between here and the DR?
Does everything arrive? Does anyone care?
Anyway, it was pretty interesting this morning trying to guess how many things there were on this boat. At least 3 cars, a couple of fridges, beds, mattresses....
I did not even try to estimate the number of kg. or lbs. that boat carried but the courage of the ones on that boat is really something to admire...or maybe the need of doing the job does not allow any other kind of thought.
Island life has these things... The price of living in paradise is sometimes like this.

Sunday 7 November 2010

Tomas on the island ... and after

Well. Tomas was here and his effects are still around... Friday afternoon and evening, the island looked so dead...
Everybody was at home or protecting windows, placing sandbags, etc.
All the stores closed (or almost all of them...). Cloudy sky, a little windy but the ocean on the west side calm as a pool.
I prepared my "emergency backpack" and went to my friend Phyllis' place to spend the night. I do not like to listen to the strong wind and the waves (I knew that calm would not last...) on my own.

Around 2 am we heard a big noise: one window had broken. It was the only one on the west side that was not protected and Phyllis brought this big panel from outside to cover the hole, since the screen was already gone.
For a few minutes both of us were holding it but realizing that we would not be able to hold it for hours, although it was certainly a very good arm workout...

So, clearly in those moments, creativity is really good and we built some kind of barricade to stop the big piece of wood from falling by using bottles of vinegar, boxes filled with dog food cans, bottles of water and everything that we were able to find ... and it worked.

Yesterday, the Atlantic side was completely calm again... Tomas had decided to go somewhere else.
However on the west side (...my side) the wind was still strong and the waves quite wild. I went home to see how things were and I found a couple of chairs that had flown around the deck but nothing too bad.
Today the ocean is still wild (not as bad as after hurricane Earl) and windy/noisy but I am back home hoping to be able to dive again in a couple of days.
Tomas is far from us but his effect is still over here, at least on this side of the island. Of course, it also affected the supermarkets that have not much to buy so I am anxiously waiting to see if anything comes tomorrow...

It also had an impact on the cruises. Tomorrow's cruises had been already cancelled and we'll see what will happen on Tuesday.

But, we have to look at the good part. No big damages.Nobody hurt.
Nature is being nice with us. So, let's be thankful.
See you soon.

PS: Here's the pic of our barricade for the western window, built in the middle of the night :)