Floods and Whatnot

The end of the dry season is coming soon. The dry season here is only about six to eight weeks long so, in African terms, hardly qualifies. However, it does alter the colours and landscape significantly and, in many areas, leads to fires that burn the undergrowth.

Monday night Dave and I headed out for supper. As we sat waiting for our order, the thunder and lightning increased to the point where it was definitely louder than the TV, fair and traffic noise. That is significant. Suddenly the rain began and it pounded down for about forty minutes. Water was cascading down the street and taking all within its path.

Predictably, the power went out as we were served our supper. The restaurant was equipped with candles and we were able to enjoy our supper without delay. Of course, for the “just of the boat” Dave, the lack of electricity also meant lack of air conditioning and the temperature climbed noticeably throughout the meal.

I dropped off Dave at his hotel and drove through the rain ravaged streets to my house. As I opened the door and felt my way inside, I realized that my shoes where making a sloshing noise as I shuffled towards the candles. I made my way throughout the house and heard nothing but water. Candles found and lit, the sight of about two inches of brown water throughout most of the house met my eyes. My flip flops were floating merrily about and, after a glance at the water, I felt that leaving my shoes on may be a bit safer.

Fortunately, as I began sweeping out the water, the power came on and I was able to see clearly what was happening. An hour later, most of the water was outside the apartment. My neighbours came back to their apartment and found a similar situation. Together we cleaned the layer of mud off the front walkway and then I finished getting most of the water cleaned up inside. I turned on the fan and went to bed. My neighbours kept at it until midnight.

Yesterday, Julia came and helped me continue the cleanup. Very fortunately, virtually nothing of my things was on the ground and so no damage was done to clothes, books or equipment. The plastic shelving units feature a couple of inches clearance which proved to be just enough to protect most things. Some monitors were on the floor but, fortunately, the floors in my apartment are not level and happened to be stacked in a high spot – phew.

The five concrete hives are now out and ready to be placed for transferring the bees. We were able to hire a man with a big truck that easily took all the hives plus the blocks to set them on. Loading and unloading the hives was certainly work. Next time I will build them in situ. Bring the bees to the hives – not the hives to the bees. But, for something that promises such a good return on investment, a couple of minutes of hard work should not be seen as too much of a drawback. We hope to start transferring bees tonight.

TTYL
Bryan