Hurricane Rick had everyone in a panic when the news hit that the category 5 storm was the second strongest hurricane ever recorded in the East Pacific – and was headed for Mazatlán. But, the Virgin of the Port continued her vigil, and Rick was only a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 55 mph when it made landfall here – a kitten of a storm as far as these things go. Yeah, there was some damage, but nothing compared to the first storm of the season, and that storm didn't even qualify for a name.
We started getting some heavy rain and wind around 3 a.m. Wednesday. We both got up and Chuck did some final checks around the house to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything. We had taken down the sun umbrella, covered the washer and dryer, and secured anything outside light enough to fly away. All of the windows near anything that could be damaged by rain were closed, but a few windows were open a bit to allow the equalization of pressure. We were doing pretty good, so we went into the casita to watch the radar and track the storm.
I kept hearing a loud, crisp snap! I was concerned until I finally tracked down the source, then I was just annoyed. Our neighbors have a utility porch upstairs, and repurposed a canvas sign to act as a sunshade, tied in place like a tarp. It was flapping and cracking in the brisk wind. I kept thinking, "How can they not hear that? How can they not get up and do something about it?" Finally, mercifully, the ties gave up the ghost, and it fluttered away into the night. Blissful relief.
We lost power around 4:40, so we went back into the house, grabbed the flashlight and located the candles. Fortunately, shortly after we moved to Mazatlán, I purchased several very sturdy chimneys for use on the terrace, so we had no problems lighting the candles and keeping them lit. Aside from the obvious, there is not much to do in the dark when the power is out. We both sat down to read by candlelight and see what the storm would do next. The power came back on around 5:15 and was up for about 20 minutes. The power continued to come and go until about 8:00, when it went down for good. Luckily, we have a gas stove, and were able to enjoy a gloriously cozy morning featuring flannel pants, slippers, hot tea, and cocoa.
The worst of the storm, as far as wind goes, was between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. There wasn't much rain, but the wind really kicked up. The wind swirled through our courtyard, blowing around some leaves and kept mischievously blowing the covers off of our washer and dryer. The wind was strong and constant, howling through the small openings in the house. It was difficult to open and close doors. The wind in the front of the house was much more severe; the wide, relatively flat broadway of Zaragosa offered an unobstructed route for the wind, and it took it. Potted plants were toppled from upper balconies, and even some very large, street-level, cement pots were toppled. But, despite the dire predictions, it never got really bad, at least not at our house. We were really glad that we no longer live right on the ocean.
By 10:00 a.m. Everything was pretty much quiet. An intermittent drizzle continued, but the wind was a mere occasional breeze. We waited fruitlessly for the power to come back. When the sun came out at 1:00, we decided to venture out and see how the rest of the city survived.
All in all, the damage was minor: broken windows, downed signs, collapsed awnings. Most of the damage was caused by trees that blew down. For some reason, the trees around here don't root very deeply. Probably because there is a lot of rock not far below the ground. Instead, the roots spread far, but remain shallow. Not a very good anchor, especially when the ground is soft with two days of rain.
When we reached Olas Altas, we found a lot of other people who were out surveying the aftermath and looking for something to eat. None of us had electricity and didn't want to open our refrigerators. The only restaurant open was Puerto Viejo, and lots of people, both gringo and national, congregated there to have a "we survived" beer and exchange stories. Power came back at Olas Altas around 1:30, gratefully bringing the ceiling fans to life. We wandered in and enjoyed some tacos, then headed over to the Plaza Machado to see what was happening there.
The Plaza looked relatively unscathed. People had already made neat piles of palm fronds and other debris, waiting for the city to come carry them away. One of the hotels lost about half of its small clay planters on the second story. Two of the restaurants were open for business, and we were warmly welcomed at La Tramoya. Despite the lack of electricity, they were serving their full menu and the beer was cold. Ice trucks were out on patrol, cruising and waiting to be flagged down buy the various businesses. Electricity came back to the Plaza around 4:15, just in time to prevent me from having to carry a candle to find my way to the bathroom.
We went home around 5:00 and found that we had power and internet. Everything was pretty much back to normal. This morning it is cool and overcast, but all water is gone from our courtyard. Everything is dry, and the air is still. All that's left to do is enjoy the cool weather and a decadently hot shower.
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|SAdministrator |m-d-Y H:i:s jenniferI didn't want to say anything at first, for fear of jinxing it, but I think you are right. The weather this past couple of days have been amazing. The sky is an impossible shade of blue, the humidity is down, and if you look out to the ocean, it seems like you can see forever.
Hail to winter!
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|189.174.190.xxx |m-d-Y H:i:s Larry in MazatlanYou guys down towards Centro got it a lot worse than we did. We're half way up the penninsula, just over the crown of the hill in Lomas del Mar and it wasn't too bad. A few small limbs down but not much else. The big blow earlier this year did a lot more. It only took us a couple of hours to clean up the leaves.
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|SAdministrator |m-d-Y H:i:s jenniferI am glad you came through the storm well and had only light clean up duty. Same with us. The storm earlier season cuased us way more problems.
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|189.174.201.xxx |m-d-Y H:i:s bstoryUp here in El Dorado the high winds moaned & groaned but when a large crash occurred at the height of the storm it REALLY got our attention.
After all the winds died down the next day I climbed up to our roof & found that one of our neighbor's 10 ft. plastic satellite dish had blown over to our house. It managed to shatter the drain line from one of our air conditioners scratching the surface of our roof but no major damage. It only took a few minutes to lower it down from the 2nd floor roof to the gangway next to the house where it now reposes!
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|SAdministrator |m-d-Y H:i:s jenniferI have heard a lot of satellite dish stories this week. I am sorry about your damage. Did the dish make it down the slow, careful way, or the quick way?
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|189.174.168.xxx |m-d-Y H:i:s gini - Stone Island didnt fare as wellWe finally got electricity at 6 pm last night. The beach was taken out by the incredible ocean surge. Every palaba restaurant was damaged to some degree or other. Victors was completely destroyed, those with concrete foundations and kitchens remain.Goat island is an island once more. From this experience I learn if you live on the sea and you know a tropical storm is coming ,get out ahead of time. We had to be evacuated at the heighth of the strom on a tractor with our 14 yr old dog following, swimming behind. Gracias a Dios to the caring people of the isla.
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|SAdministrator |m-d-Y H:i:s jenniferI am sorry things were so difficult for you. I kinda wanted to cry a little bit picturing your poor dog struggling to swim behind you yo go with you. That must have been very difficult.
I am glad you have good neighbors who care for you to come to your rescue.
Overcast 63 oF • 17 oC
Glad you weathered the storm so well. I am still dreading the rest of our cleanup.
One good thing is that maybe, just maybe, the storm shocked us into winter weather? Could it be?