Rainy Day, Dream Away

A small tropical storm is moving past Isla Mujeres today, so we are all socked in with wind and rain.  While the island tremendously needs the moisture, along with the rain brings a few ‘uniquely’ Caribbean problems.  Hmmm.. where to start?

Since my lovely wife bought me a scooter, I have been remiss in driving the Vocho.  These are the problems of abundance I have to deal with!  The rains, rather than bringing a rinse for the accumulated salt, will wash the salt into the corners and send the rust into overdrive.

Everything here rusts.  The cargo rack on the back of the new scooter, only on the island for 3 weeks, is starting to show signs of rust.  Every imperfection in the chrome plating is a place where a little dot of red will form.  It is amazing how pervasive it is.  There is NO escaping it.

Along with the refreshing, cooler temperatures, the rain also fills all Caribbean bugs with a desire to move and make more bugs.  In a day or two, we will see dragonflies swarming the bushes on the ocean side, and mosquitos on the island side.  All completely understandable, if not all equally enjoyable.

What does not fill me with joy is the knowledge that scorpions are also on the move.  So far, we have killed 7 in 5 weeks.  Not a good ratio when you consider that it was the dry season.  With the rains, the scorpion problem will only get worse.

I check everything before I put it on, sit down or even walk into the kitchen.  Say what you will about all of the Earth’s creatures being sacred and I will counter with my unwavering desire to send all scorpions back to meet the “Scorpion God” using my Birkenstock.

In fact, as the Vocho has been sitting for a few weeks, I am quite concerned that there may be a scorpion or two lurking in there.

Riding the scooter has its own pitfalls.  Isla Mujeres is not what one might call a well drained island.  The streets flood near the raised ‘topes’ and other places.  The entirety of downtown is generally underwater until the city turns on the pumps – which are often clogged with sand!

Add to that the crabs that will be coming out of the bushes in masse, and you understand just a little of the changes that the rains bring to the island.

Did I mention that the cool weather also make for an excellent day to nap?