It's hotting up

I’ve had a few weeks away from Substack and a few days from Grand Cayman for a trip to Jamaica (a post about this trip might follow, so let me know if you’d like to know more!). As my flight came in to land at Owen Roberts International Airport, the pilot announced that the time in Grand Cayman was 12:06, and the temperature was 91 degrees Fahrenheit (which google tells me is 32.8 Celsius).

In the word of the Fast Show weather forecast, it’s ‘Scorchio’!

My friend kindly greeted me at the airport with a smile and a hug, and taxied me to my car. When I arrived home, I abandoned my suitcase on the front lawn because I had spotted a pair of brown pelicans by the water. Another lovely welcome home greeting!

Image of two brown pelicans at the end of a wooden pier

I watched the birds on the pier, in flight, and diving down to catch fish. They are an animal that I have a vague recollection of seeing in a zoo as a child, but that one was the white pelican, with a long pointy beak, and large droopy pouch beneath it. I was scared and mesmerized in equal parts. I cannot place where I saw this creature, but I recall it being huge, and being warned not to get too close. My child-mind feared somehow falling into the beak and being swallowed whole, like the fish thrown to the pelican by the zoo staff. The brown pelicans who visit my home are far smaller (or I am far larger!), and all I experience when I watch them is wonder. It was just what I needed.

Those summer days

The temperature and humidity have been rising fast in the past fortnight. When I comment on the heat, people remind me that we’re not in summer yet;

‘Wait until it gets to July and August’, they say with a wise side smile…

I wonder what I’ve let myself in for with this Caribbean lifestyle. Will my body cope with months of these rising temperatures? After two nights in a hot room with a single fan, I am grateful for the air conditioning in my apartment, but my car aircon could be described as temperamental, at best. Yesterday I drove for 45 minutes, patiently waiting for the hot blast of air to cool to a temperature that stopped, rather than enhanced the sweat dripping down my neck. It never did. The hair that I had so carefully dried, was occupying states of fly-away-frizz and wet strips glued to my body. It was not how I wanted to show up to a fancy event.

Today I drove with the window constantly down.

Tomorrow I plan to call the rental company to ask for a replacement car!

Hurricane warnings

The other looming event is the start of the hurricane season. It officially runs from June 1st to November 30th, but hurricanes outside this period are not unknown. Last year the season started with a bang- Beryl was the Cat 5 hurricane that beat records for being early and big. Grand Cayman narrowly avoided a direct hit, but the region of Jamaica that I visited was not so lucky. The owner of a beachside restaurant showed me photos of his cabin before Beryl, and pointed out the colourful bamboo poles that had been the walls, still lying high up on the beach. He proudly described how he’d rebuilt his new shack, and painted it in Rasta colours, with a lion and crocodile over the doorway (These were painted by a tourist, and are reflective of her artistic skillset, not the local wildlife- see here for more information about the significance of the Rasta colours).

A house nearby was missing the roof tiles. I heard two stories of how these had been lost, revealing a potential darker side of hurricane recovery and insurance claims.

Shoes are my main discovery on Cayman beaches, in Jamaica it was money boxes!

Back in Cayman we’re already getting news saying to expect a busy hurricane season. It’s emphasised by the big blooms of sargassum getting washed up on the beach with the high tide (See my post from last year for more information). Both are the direct consequence of the warmer water temperatures of climate change.

I’m starting to consider what I already have, and what I need to get for my hurricane supplies. They say the first hurricane came early last year, and I want to avoid last minute panic buying. The shopping list will include bottled water, tins of tuna, lanterns, and maybe a gas stove.

There were a couple of heavy storms soon after I arrived on island last September and it was apparent that I needed a good pair of wellies. The roads and paths get waterlogged or flooded quickly in the rainy hurricane season. You usually can’t see the ground beneath the water, so it’s helpful to have a sturdy pair of boots. I looked around the local shops and found limited options- boring black, or boring green. In the UK I loved having pretty wellies - for a long time my FB profile picture was me smiling with a much loved purple pair of Barbour wellies! So when a good friend recently visited the UK and kindly offered to bring back ‘vital supplies’, I sent a Vinted order to her holiday address.

I know it’s a stretch to call pretty wellies vital- but aren’t they better than green or black?!

I anticipate that I shall soon be wading through summer puddles with my pretty wellington boots!

P.S. Thank you too to the kind reader who facilitated the possession of my new swim wear. You know who you are. The sea swim event is in three weeks and my old training suit will enjoy its retirement!

P.P.S. And thank you to my folks who facilitated the very speedy delivery of the supplies that can be considered vital.

P.P.P.S. The rattling sounds in the audio recording are palm tree leaves blowing in the much appreciated breeze.