A Break in the Rain: Nica Nugget #101

While Hurricane Laura makes landfall in the United States, we’ve had our own unrelated tropical depression happening here in San Juan del Sur. Since last week, the skies have been overcast and rainy. The dirt roads have turned to mud and puddles. The air temperature has cooled.

And my husband has come down with his annual cold, although now in August rather than in September like the past two years. I too was feeling headachy and congested over the weekend, so I too stayed indoors. But how frustrating and curious. We have been so incredibly cautious these past almost 6 months in order to avoid covid-19. So, how did we manage to come in contact with the virus for the common cold? And how is it that my husband gets the cold around the same time every year? I mean, where is the dang cold virus hiding the rest of the year?

Plastic garbage and driftwood brought by the flooded river to the sea.

Regardless, the skies cleared while the tide was low and cabin fever sent me out of the house. I grabbed my mask and our two dogs and headed out for a walk along the beach.

The estuary has finally cut through the sand of the beach on its own. There’s plastic garbage and tangled driftwood everywhere, brought down by the river, and abandoned at the high water mark.

The panga ferry is operating again, for the first time this year, I believe. One woman got in with her bike wile the ferry man got into the water and pulled the boat along. Another man on bicycle chose to carry his bike and child across himself, wading the channel closer to the sea. Nella, Ruffo and I crossed closer yet to the sea, with the dogs swimming and me wading practically up to my crotch.

Men playing soccer in front of their boats.

Many of the fishing pangas are safely up on shore. I heard that a fishing trawler went down and that it’s roof can be seen just above the water line, but I can’t see it from the shore. The waves are big. A couple of surfers are out. And men play soccer in front of the hauled up boats.

A pelican, likely the one I saw moving jerkily along the shore with a broken wing days earlier, lies dead on the sand amongst the driftwood. Where are the vultures? Are they being too well fed elsewhere by this storm? Surely they will find it and pick its bones clean.

A dead pelican amongst the driftwood.

Comments

  1. jeanne look says:

    I like your window into the rainy season here……Sorry your husband has a cold. I do find that they are annual events unfortunately! What estuary and what panga ferry? The estuary which empties out at the end of SJDS beach? You live in a different part entirely from us so I don’t always recognize what you are talking about, but still enjoy! Thank you….

    1. susanafield says:

      Yes, it’s the estuary that flows into San Juan bay, between where I live below Cristo and the town. I call the small boat (panga) which is used to ferry people back and forth a panga ferry for lack of a better term. I’ll try to make a better point of explaining locations. Thanks.

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