Recent bed and breakfasts guests, resolute that their plans to visit Jamaica would not be put out by the foreboding news of another visitor, Hurricane Sandy, embraced the excitement.
Read Tanya Marie Williams' post in which she shares some of her earliest experiences during her first visit to Jamaica: the different names used for the same fruit in Jamaica and in her homeland, Trinidad and Tobago, her first meal at historic Port Royal, and a weather condition mostly unknown to inhabitants of that Caribbean twin-island state. Here is how she summed up this latter experience, "It is not always sunny in Jamaica...but it is always beautiful". Thanks for that positive spin, Tanya.
So, what are the sights and sounds of a hurricane like here at Neita's Nest, you might ask. We have been through a couple, so here is what it is like. Rain water pelting the windows, anxious to find the smallest space through which to enter; strong winds howling through the trees; the snapping of branches and the crashing sounds as they fall to the ground; poinciana seed pods snatched for untimely dispersal and flung on the roof, rolling and rattling to the edge mimicking the sounds of a godzilla on the roof; the gushing sound of water rushing tumultuously everywhere - off the roof, down the hillsides behind the house, bubbling down the patio steps, on to the driveway and down the road. Inside, the rooms are darkened by the lack of power, turned off at source for safety. We stay far from the glass windows for fear of missiles being blown in. From a safe distance you can look through and see sheets of rain, as if torn from their drying line, being blown from north to south in uniform parade. Once we have prepared as best as we can for the hurricane, we wait prayerfully for it to pass.
Thankfully, we weathered the hurricane well at Neita's Nest. And yes, we are all saddened by the loss of our beautiful Queen Flower Tree which had her crowning glory earlier this year. Happily, we have saved pieces of her trunk for garden seating. Our thoughts are now focused on creating a new landscape feature in that location to welcome our family, friends and you, our bed and breakfast guests. Any ideas?
Read Tanya Marie Williams' post in which she shares some of her earliest experiences during her first visit to Jamaica: the different names used for the same fruit in Jamaica and in her homeland, Trinidad and Tobago, her first meal at historic Port Royal, and a weather condition mostly unknown to inhabitants of that Caribbean twin-island state. Here is how she summed up this latter experience, "It is not always sunny in Jamaica...but it is always beautiful". Thanks for that positive spin, Tanya.
So, what are the sights and sounds of a hurricane like here at Neita's Nest, you might ask. We have been through a couple, so here is what it is like. Rain water pelting the windows, anxious to find the smallest space through which to enter; strong winds howling through the trees; the snapping of branches and the crashing sounds as they fall to the ground; poinciana seed pods snatched for untimely dispersal and flung on the roof, rolling and rattling to the edge mimicking the sounds of a godzilla on the roof; the gushing sound of water rushing tumultuously everywhere - off the roof, down the hillsides behind the house, bubbling down the patio steps, on to the driveway and down the road. Inside, the rooms are darkened by the lack of power, turned off at source for safety. We stay far from the glass windows for fear of missiles being blown in. From a safe distance you can look through and see sheets of rain, as if torn from their drying line, being blown from north to south in uniform parade. Once we have prepared as best as we can for the hurricane, we wait prayerfully for it to pass.
Thankfully, we weathered the hurricane well at Neita's Nest. And yes, we are all saddened by the loss of our beautiful Queen Flower Tree which had her crowning glory earlier this year. Happily, we have saved pieces of her trunk for garden seating. Our thoughts are now focused on creating a new landscape feature in that location to welcome our family, friends and you, our bed and breakfast guests. Any ideas?
