Taken this morning in the rain. We pulled the boats in yesterday. Took the sailboat to the back. Hauled in all the plants and chairs. We're prepared but I think we'll only get rain and tropical force winds.
In October, when it rains on Ambergris Caye life changes – for the good and the bad. The rain cools down the ocean and it redirects the traffic.
Cooling down the ocean is a good thing because warm water encourages hurricanes and we don't want them. We've gotten horrible hurricanes in October before (i.e.Mitch) so no one relaxes despite the rain. But, redirecting traffic is another matter.
The same water that fills up 1000 gallon vats in less than an hour creates new "pot" holes as big as small trucks. Driving from one end of town to the other becomes an obstacle course and a mental challenge – do I go straight through that brown puddle or dodge along the edge? If my golf cart starts to sink, should I jump? I'll definitely need that new water to wash my muddy clothes.
Of course, that same rain turns drooping hibiscus lush while providing just the right environment for mosquitos to flourish. And then the sun comes out.
In Belize, most of the month of September is made up of national celebrations and public holidays.
For school children, September is particularly fun because after the first week of school, schools, banks, and many offices close for the Battle of St. George's Caye Day which takes place on Sept. 10th in commemoration of a great battle in which we, a tiny colony of British Baymen, beat the Spanish. School children in uniforms proudly march. Important people give speeches and a few beauty contests are held.
Did I mention that September is also a great month for hurricanes and rain as well as parades and business closures? With one eye on the weather, people plan for the most important day of the September celebrations.
Our Independence Day is on the 21st of September. This year it will be 30 years since we officially became Belize and not British Honduras. Schools close. Banks close. Businesses close. And they close not just for one day. They close one day prior to the holiday for preparations; they close for the celebrations; and they close for at least one day of recovery.
There are speeches. There is music. The streets are decorated. The winners of the beauty contests adorn fantastic floats. They are joined in parading up and down every street in Belize by people dressed in tropical feather boas dancing tirelessly and energetically to such loud music a person's heart starts to beat in rhythm. Most of the parades take part in the middle of the day and it’s a miracle most every marcher survives the heat; but, these are celebrations and fluids are provided – sometimes by nature.
It almost always rains on one of the parades but that doesn't matter. Belizeans celebrate. And besides, everything is closed.
Hurricane Season starts here in Belize on June 1st; but, no one really worries about a storm until the unusual day when the winds stop, the tide drops, there are no waves breaking on the Barrier Reef, and the water is the temperature of a hot bath. Then a strange calm descends on the island and combines with an intense concentration of energy – usually realized by the sound of hammers – and all radios are tuned for the latest weather forecast. No one talks of anything else.
We all make lists of things to do before the storm: closing storm shutters; nailing pieces of plywood over windows and doors; moving boats to a safe harbor; testing the generator; stocking the larder; bringing in the potted plants and the lawn furniture; and, one of my favorites, getting someone very agile to climb the coconut trees to remove the coconuts. In a storm, they become missiles.
Fortunately for us, we usually have time to get ready. I say usually because Hurricane Keith took most everyone on Ambergris Caye by surprise. It went from a tropical depression to a full fledged hurricane overnight. If residents hadn't evacuated the island by noon, they were stuck here. They looked for the highest and strongest building for shelter. There was no getting off the island. That was an exceptional storm. Usually we have a day or two to prepare.
Once the hammering sound dies down, a walk down the beach is ominous. The houses and hotels are boarded. The beaches are empty. There are no boats moored on the piers or anywhere in sight. And strangest of all, even the dogs disappear.
Today the winds are from the east, there are waves breaking on the reef, the tides are normal but the water by my pier is almost as warm as a hot tub. It's early in the season. The coconuts are still on the trees at Caye Casa (see photo). I won't really start worrying until September or until I hear a lot of hammering.
