Tropical Storm/Hurricane Nate – gave us a pass

Boarding up for TS Nate.  

Normally a bit of rough weather doesn’t bother us. We’re Canadian and have experienced snowy blizzards and drenching rainstorms. But I confess I’m not a fan of tropical storms teetering on the edge of being classified as a hurricane.

I don’t mind wind, but I really don’t like the high velocity winds of a tormenta. Sadly, though, when this recent storm, TS Nate, blasted over the mountainous countries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, it was the excessive rainfall that caused the deaths of twenty-two people.

Since we live at the edge of the ocean and TS Nate was forecast to pass directly over this flat, little sandbar of an island, we obsessively clicked on the NOAA site and several internet weather channels, checking predicted rainfall, storm surge, and wind speeds.

On Wednesday, it was clear we were going to get hit.

By Thursday morning, we had dragged everything inside our little casa: two sun loungers, a small sofa and two chairs, glass-topped tables, stacks of big cushions for the two larger sofas, and anything small enough to become an airborne hazard. 

We tied down garden hoses to prevent them from whipping around in the wind, and pushed plant pots into tight huddles. 

I made up a couple of dozen sandbags to block the rain from entering under our doors, especially our bedroom door, which has an outside entrance onto an open deck.

New house a bit north of ours is boarded up.

We had extra bottles of water, gas in the golf cart, easy-to-prepare food for us and the pets, and cash in case the power was off for a few days, making ATM’s useless. (By now, we are feeling like the characters in the novel that I am writing, Tormenta Isla, who had to do all the same prep work!)

Then, exactly as our friends Tony Garcia and Isauro Martinez described, many boat owners prepared for the storm/hurricane by moving their vessels deep into Laguna Makax. The Caribe line of passenger boats from Cozumel brought their three good-sized vessels to Isla and docked them at the municipal wharf next to the car ferry. Presumably, that dock is more sheltered than the ones at Cozumel. Even the car ferry and the Ultramar passenger ferries shut down early.

Caribe Ferry, normally located in Cozumel

It was an eerie feeling driving along the island’s shoreline, which normally bustles with boats, islanders, and tourists. Every public or private wharf from Velasquez Restaurante, near the north end of the island, to the car ferry was empty, and all of the oceanfront restaurants were closed. Every tour, pleasure, or work boat had been moved to Laguna Makax, or dragged high up on the beach and securely tied to nearby palm trees.

Hotel shuttered on the main floor

Many businesses were closed so that their staff would be safe at home before the Friday afternoon arrival of the storm. Doors and windows were covered by pieces of wood or cortinas, the accordion-style hurricane shutters.

A light rain damped the streets, and we decided it was time to hunker down with our pets and a good bottle of wine. We read. We sipped wine. We waited, and we checked the internet. The predicted rainfall was for around 95mm or 4 inches, although TS Nate had dumped 510 mm or about 20 inches of rain on Central America. The wind speed was predicted to reach a Category 1 Hurricane of 120 kilometers per hour, about 74 miles an hour.

Wharf at Bally Hoo, empty, restaurant closed.

The afternoon turned into evening, and still no rain or wind. 

Then, remarkably, we fell asleep for two hours. I usually lie awake during storms listening to the sounds of the house: the rattle of the screen on our windows, the creak of the patio doors as the wind pushes against them, and the banging of something not tightly secured.

At ten in the evening, both Lawrie and I woke up to silence. No wind. No rain. Nothing. We checked the internet. The storm, now Hurricane Nate, had moved about ten miles east, closer to Cuba. It had passed by us. That was a big relief to everyone. Facebook pages were soon littered with jokes about the overreaction and the huge amount of prep work for a non-event.

M&J's buttoned up for TS Nate

But as one of our friends said:

“They just don’t understand what it feels like to lose everything and not have insurance. To have your only vehicle damaged, whether it was a moto or an old car, it was still your only transportation. To worry about the lives of your family, your friends, and yourself. To step out of your home and see the damage done to your community and know that it could be days or weeks before everything is back to some type of normal. In the meantime, people scramble to make a living and to feed their children. It’s difficult, very difficult. So what if we over-prepared? Better that than homeless.”

We’d happily do the same preparations again, especially if it works as a lucky charm and keeps the tormenta away. 

Although it seems that when our nearby neighbours, Rob and Julie Goth, board over their small windows, the ones without the cortinas, we are guaranteed to get a pass from the hurricane.

We’re back to sunny and hot weather and waiting on the return of our various Canadian, American, and European neighbours for the busy October to April social season. There goes the diet!

Cheers from paradise

Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Max

 ~

Tormenta Isla Book #3

 Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

Available in online book stores