I left my apartment in mid-afternoon to deliver Mujeres en Cambio posters to five places of business in Centro. When I left, it was a beautiful afternoon with a few non-threatening clouds. By the time I got to the third place, the Bagel Cafe, it was looking dire. I was going to pop into their bathroom to take off the turtleneck I was wearing under another shirt, as I was sweating bullets in the hot afternoon sun (the turtleneck was a definite requirement in the morning), but I didn’t, and am I glad! By the time I hung up the poster and proceeded to the front door, all hell had broken loose. The rain was coming down in buckets. Now occasionally this does happen in the late afternoon during the rainy season, and lasts oh, maybe 10-15 minutes, the sun then re-appears, and everyone goes about their business. But yesterday was different. It rained like I’ve never seen and it didn’t stop.
So I took a seat on the cold, cement steps in the entryway to the Cafe to await the conclusion of the storm. There were two other people waiting, also. Since I had nothing to do, I deleted some photos from my camera that I didn’t like and then decided to photograph the storm, as by this time, Calle Correo, on which I was marooned, was running like a river.
Pretty soon, I was feeling drops from the window way, way above my head.
I moved. And I watched. And I photographed. About this time, I could feel that the temperature had dropped considerably, probably at least 10 degrees, maybe more, and in my slightly sweaty turtleneck, I was now feeling chilled. And then it started to hail!
Now, it does hail here from time to time, but it lasts maybe 2-3 minutes. This hail went on for 15 minutes. The noise on the window above my head was deafening and I was afraid that the weight of the rain and the steadily building hail might break the window, so I moved again. Every time a car came by on Correo, it sprayed water up into the entryway to the restauarnt where we were waiting. The cafe was trying to close as it’s only open for breakfast and lunch, but the two brothers who own it had an additional task before they could lock up. Water was now coming over the balcony on the 2nd floor (you can see it below to the right of the chain) down to where I was standing, and water was cascading down the steps from the outer part of the restaurant which is open to the sky. And there was a door next to the restaurant door, but within the entryway, and water was coming out from underneath it, too.
Finally, after 1 1/2 hours, it stopped raining, but the difficulty wasn’t over yet as all of the streets were rushing with water and crossing was difficult and dangerous.
I did finally get home, but by then I was very damp and very cold and I wrote a quick e-mail to the teacher of the English Chat that I would not be appearing, as crossing the streets was just a bit too much for me.
We were to have had a vigil of ex-pats last night, Halloween night, when hundreds of parents bring their youngsters in costume to the jardin to receive candy and other treats from the gringos, and there are lots of other folks in costume and in a festive mood. It was the perfect night to demonstrate in opposition to the hatred, xenophobia, and racism coming out of the US election, but at 7 p.m., the hour that was called for it, there was still lightning in the sky (I can easily see it from my 3rd floor windows) and I was reluctant to go out. I was deeply, deeply disappointed, as I had my signs ready and so wanted to communicate to our Mexican hosts how much I was against the foul rhetoric coming from my country. I don’t yet know if it was held, but I’m so hoping that it will be re-scheduled.
If you liked this blog, perhaps you would enjoy some of my others:
Elderhostel trip to Alaska (2005): http://alaskaelderhostel.wordpress.com
Elderhostel trip to Copper Canyon in Mexico (2008): http://coppercanyonelderhostel.wordpress.com
My first winter (2009) in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: http://hidalgohussy.wordpress.com
My second winter (2010) in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: http://secondyearinsanmiguel.wordpress.com
My third winter (2011) in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: http://Iamaregularinsanmiguelnow.wordpress.com
My first autumn (2011) in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: http://firstautumninsanmiguel.wordpress.com
My fourth winter in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (2012): http://cynthiainsanmiguel.wordpress.com
A trip to Chiapas, Mexico, with Vagabundos (2013): http://mytriptochiapas.wordpress.com
A trip to Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico, for the annual Palm Sunday artisans festival (2013): http://uruapanartisansfestival.wordpress.com
My trip to the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, with the Audubon Society (2013): http://audubontriptohidalgomexico.wordpress.com
My tip to Morocco (2014): http://reportfrommorocco2014.blogspot.com
Day of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (2014): http://dayofthedead2014.blogspot.com
My South African safari (2015): http://cynthiassouthafricansafari.blogspot.com
Tour of South Africa after the safari (2015): southafricapostsafari.blogspot.com
Day of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende , Mexico (2015): http://dayofthedeadSMA2015.blogspot.com
Dead of the Dead in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (2016): http://dayofthedeadsma.16.blogspot.com
A Trip to See a Tree (2017): http://atriptoseeatree.blogspot.com
What a Storm! (2017): http://whatastorm.blogspot.com
