We make plans and G*d laughs?! (Post created 9.29.10)
The Approaching Storm
I never did like that saying…seems to cast the almighty in a mean spirited light, but I have to admit this same phrase has been rankling around in my head for the past three days. I came away to The Rock House in Negril, Jamaica, to work Book II of The Adventures of Isabelle: Journey to Orphalese. Especially as Book II is set mostly on the high seas and since Princess Isabelle is from the kingdom of Xaymaca, I thought what better place to work. I was to rise early every morning and go for a swim in the cove right outside my window, have a cup of Blue Mountain coffee, then write and sun myself alternately throughout the day. If writing went well, and the mood struck me, then I could paint in the evenings.
After three days of pure vacation with my man, in which I was decompressing and gearing up to write, the rains started. My namesake, Tropical Storm Nicole was making her entrance. First the rain, then high winds then the waves started to take on tsunami like proportions. My accommodations (which is referred to as a Villa but which look more like a fancy cottage/hut from the outside and are quite comfortable on the inside) were the highest on the property, which sits on the rocky cliff edge of the west end of Negril. Surely, this high up, I was safe from the waves that beat the cliffs and sprayed over onto the land.
The view from my perch at Villa 1
I took refuge in my cottage, Villa #1, to watch the storm. The constant rain and crashing waves began to make me uneasy. I told myself to remember this feeling and use it in the book, where surely there would be storms such as this, if not worse, occurring all the time. The waves had started to crash against my wall and actually come up over my balcony edge before showering down on the thatched roof of my little hut. As these places are very well built, the water was only coming in under the sliding glass doors a little bit so I put down towels just to keep the place clean. Over this first night the storm picked up strength and started to batter the cliffs relentlessly, shaking the foundation upon which my little house sat. I slept fitfully as the power kept cutting in and out, thus killing my AC. Security came along to check on me and bring me two candles.
By morning the power was off entirely and it took with it, my AC, light, internet and Water! Not even a phone line to call for room service. Breakfast could still be had but…no coffee! This nearly put me over the edge. The Rock House manager, a very kind woman named Charlotte Wallace, had to restrain my from hurtling my caffeine-less body into the roiling waves and ending it all (okay that did not happen, but it was close).
Tropical Storm Nicole batters the Negril cliffs
I’d like to say I made good use of the time and wrote but I did not. I fretted about the storm and let my laptop battery die (good excuse to procrastinate really). I went to the front desk to check on things. The power was out, the generator broken and the men to fix it had attempted to get here via the south coast road and had failed. They had dispatched a new crew from Montego Bay who supposedly had just made it to Lucea, a nearby town. Many guests were leaving for drier ground. I decided to wait it out a bit longer. Hopefully power and water would be restored soon, but then, this is Jamaica.
TO BE CONTINUED…
