Thursday, March 10, 2005

from the "something wicked this way comes" dept.

Whoo boy, it seems that paradise isn’t always so.

It was a blisteringly hot day today, as noted earlier. However there was something strange on the horizon.

A wall of cloud slowly moved in from the north and east. As the day wore on, and it got closer to sunset time (5:45), the cloud darkened and rumbling, like that of a distant drummer, rolled through the air.

I walked down to the split to see what was up, and it soon became apparent that outside was no place to be.

Just a few moments later I was back at my apartment, and it looked like it was already night. The winds were picking up, the rumbling got louder. Still no rain.

I unplugged my computer, just to be safe. No need to have 10,000 volts of chip-frying hell course through my beloved Powerbook.

Then, suddenly, the skies opened up. And the winds went to full force. For a few moments I thought the roof was going to fly off.

I ran to the balcony and began snapping wildly, trying to capture the fury of the storm. It was wicked. Coconuts thudded all around, and palm trees bent awkwardly.

The rain seemed to be coming from all directions, and I soon had to run back inside to keep from being drenched.

The power managed to hold out for a few more moments, and then finally blinked out. The entire island was now black.

After a bit more howling, the wind finally abated and the rain stopped. I looked in vain for a candle, and a neighbour offered one up. Once I lit it, I discovered my own. A survivalist I’m not. But my little flashlight was handy for beer hunting in the dark fridge.

I headed outside again, determined to capture the scene on my camera. Not an easy thing to do. When its dark, the shutter remains open for a long period of time. Any shaking or vibration will result in lots of smeary images.

The beauty of digital is that I was able to shoot a few hundred shots, and with luck, was able to capture the lightning show that started. It was pretty intense, though mostly cloud-to-cloud. A bolt hit nearby and rattled my bones like a ride on a chicken bus.

Down at the beach I was able to capture some pretty cool images, both of the darkened main drag – which was occasionally lit up by the lightening – and of the Caribbean Sea.

The power eventually came on, and things are beginning to return to normal. It is just after 7pm local time as I write this.

Heather, who runs Costa Maya Cabanas, had unplugged the wireless internet transmitter to save it from being fried. The result of that means that I don’t know when I’ll be posting this or the images. Soon, I hope.

Until then, I think I will wander down the street in search of food. This is my second last night in paradise, although there is still a full week of hanging in the tropics before I have to return to Canada.

Not that I mind, but it’s been really nice to have nothing to do for the past 10 days, other than stuff that is mentally, physically and occasionally liver stimulating.

Enjoy the pictures!

Cheers!

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