No wind, lots of rain

One of the interns for the season is Joe Daniels. Joe is passionate about photography and his pics so far are amazing. He is a really worthwhile photogropaher to watch. Here are a few of the pics he has taken this season. Pretty hey! :)

Oh! Is that not just like murphy! I am having difficulties iploading pictures. Will keep trying but it does not seem to be working for now...


Of course, the beauty of these calm days is often off set by rain. And the rain can come down in buckets – the likes of which few have ever seen. The torrents are so overwhelming that it often makes you sit up and take note. At this moment I am sitting on my veranda and admiring the rain. It seems to soften the green edges yet those yellow coconuts stand out even more as they shine and glimmer in the wet. I do admire the rain but perhaps it is not a thought shared by those who want a tropical island holiday and the associated sunshine one dreams of. It does dampen the whale shark trips and prevents aerial support. For locals I guess, it fills the few fresh water dams, something the island desperately needs.

Talking of fresh water, this year it has rained more than any of the previous years for as far back as I can remember – a fact that the fresh water lake I often fly over testifies to: it is fuller than I have ever seen. That does not mean it is full – something I wonder if anyone has ever seen, but the rain is needed by locals. They still have serious water restrictions with water supplies being cut off at certain times during most of the days. It is hard to imagine a country with so much rain to have a water shortage. Of course it is also something that obviously is born from bad management. Private freshwater tanks should have been part and parcel of each house right from the beginning. Ironically, the country invested heavily into a desalination plant some years ago. Even that has not been sufficient to fulfil all their needs and all the rain bucketing down just flow right back from where it came – the sea.

Another change the calms and rain bring is the swing in wind direction. The southeast will eventually make way for the northwest but before it does it can bring those dreaded southwest and westerlies. When these arrive the flying becomes horrible. (To get a good idea of what I am talking about check out last year’s entry in October – I think it is called the event of the year. It will give you a good idea of the kind of conditions I am talking about. Besides it is actually a cool story too. ;)

But the fact that the southwesterlies are coming is a clear as day. The only option we have is how we negotiate them. Fingers crossed!

Wish you were here!
:)