Driving Through a World Washed Clean

The most mundane activities can be adventures

Where I went this weekend was not so important as when I went. You see, Tropical Storm Fiona arrived at our island late Friday night. It rained all afternoon on Friday, in preparation for the storm. There was a deluge Friday night and Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, the rain tapered off.

Friday was a national holiday (Heroes Day), so the stores were closed. Monday was also a national holiday (Independence Day). Stores are normally closed on Sunday.

We received an email saying our grocery store was going to be open starting at noon on Saturday. So, we could get the prescription my husband ran out of, as well as some groceries. We just had to brave the water.

Leaving home was a challenge

There’s a gate at the end of our driveway. It keeps the wandering goats, sheep, and cows from coming in and snacking on our landscaping. The first challenge was simply opening the gate to get the car out.

Downed palm leaves and tiny branchlets from the mango trees littered the drive. I had to push them out of the way before the gate could be opened fully.

Navigating through our development was an obstacle course of branches. My husband started driving over the palm leaves, until we heard a loud “clunk” of something striking the underside of the car. There were pieces of wood and small rocks hidden under some of the leaves. For safety’s sake, we needed to go around them.

The road was underwater

We got to the entrance of the development, turned the corner, and stopped dead in our tracks. The road was gone. It was replaced by a torrent of rushing water.

Underneath that water, we knew there was an engineered dip called a swale. About the width and depth of a quarter-tire, it normally requires driving at under 5 mph. You can take it faster, but your spine and your car’s shocks will not be happy.

The storm water running off the mountain was directed through the swale. This kept it flowing, rather than flooding the road or undercutting the pavement. The volume of water was too great to be limited to the swale. It was about 4 feet wide. We had no idea how deep it was.

“Go fast through it?” My husband asked.

“Go slow. You want to avoid splashing water up into the engine.” All those episodes of Top Gear I watched were apparently good for something.

Slowly, we crept through the water. I did not share my concern that it might be moving with enough force to push our car over the edge of the road. My husband didn’t need any additional worries.

No animals in sight

We made it through the water and proceeded down toward the main road. There were still some branches and leaves on the road, but there were also neat bundles of branches by the side of the road. People had already been out and cleared the areas around their houses.

The world was oddly still and silent.

Normally, there are animals everywhere. Herds of sheep and goats. One, two, or three cows in a loose group, with their attendant cattle egrets. Long trains of donkeys grazing by the side of the road. And, of course, green monkeys everywhere.

The animals were all in hiding, wherever they’d gone to stay safe from the storm. There weren’t even any birds or tree frogs chirping or peeping. It was like the two of us in our car were the only living beings around.

We see people

Once we got to the main road, we expected to see cars. Not a lot of cars — there’s only about 10,000 people on the entire island. But there’s usually some. Instead, we drove for miles without seeing anyone.

The whole trip from our house to the store is about four and a half miles, and normally takes about 15 minutes. We were probably about 3/4 of the way there before we saw any people.

Men with brooms were sweeping the road in front of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall. It wasn’t clear if they were sweeping away debris or trying to move the water which had pooled there. It was just nice to see other people.

As we approached the drug store, we started seeing other cars. We followed one into the lot, where half a dozen cars were already parked.

We shouldn’t have waited

Although the stores were open at noon, we waited to leave until about 4:30, when it finally stopped raining. Because we’d been driving extra slowly, we reached the door of the drug store at 5:03.

A security guard was standing at the door, telling everyone that the store was now closed. The people already inside could continue shopping, but no one new was allowed to enter.

We got back into the car and drove to the grocery store. The stores all tend to keep the same hours, so we were not hopeful. But we’d come this far. We were not about to give up.

There was a security guard standing in front of the grocery store, too. Bags of trash had already been put outside, and the metal security gates were halfway closed.

They were not completely closed, however. The grocery store was open until 5:30. As long as we moved quickly, we’d be fine. We were able to pick up enough food for lunches and dinners until we came back to town on Tuesday.

A triumphant return

We navigated the treacherous roads after the storm. We achieved our goal of getting groceries — even if, for the third time that week, the drugstore’s odd hours prevented us from refilling my husband’s prescription.

Returning home, my husband drove with confidence. We smiled at the donkeys coming out to forage and enjoyed the first tentative notes of birdsong. We even stopped at the swale to admire the gorgeous waterfalls on either side of the road.

Our destination was about as ordinary as could be. We took a trip to the grocery store. But this weekend, that trip was an epic adventure through a world washed clean by Tropical Storm Fiona.

Read Jennifer’s other stories about life as a transplant to the Caribbean. If you’re not already a member of Medium, please consider joining.

Thank you, Lady Dr. Gabriella Korosi, for your interesting writing prompt asking where we went this past weekend.