Caribbean gloom

It has been raining almost non-stop for four days. Heavy thunderstorms cause rivers to overflow and reduce visibility to 50 metres a day. I take advantage of a short break in the rain to walk back to Cabarete from the absolutely windless kitebeach on the beach. It lasts until the halfway point, then I get a clean shower.

The kite camp is almost empty, all my friends have gone. There are currently only two of us here. The day before yesterday, Ali gave us a bottle of rum, which we completely emptied during a fruitless round of poker. After that I felt sick for two days. I’ve been working at least six hours a day for days, my holiday is over.

Four days ago, I had an excellent kitesurfing session. Weak wind at first, lots of swirling. Then a nice 20 knots and three and a half hours of jumping until I got stupid. After that, I could still articulate myself clearly. But my little finger was numb. I’m sure it’s from powering up too much with the bar. After only 72 hours, the feeling is slowly returning.

I feel a bit like I did a good six months ago in Cardwell in Australia. Nothing going on, constant rain, no prospects. Okay, a car didn’t die on me this time, and there are no jellyfish, sharks or crocodiles in the water. But the feeling is still the same.

I look out into the rain and complete the fourth homepage in three days. My sense of humour makes me listen to Charlotte Roach, Wetlands. But not even the fact that cute girls eat boogers cheers me up.