A quick shower yesterday brought a tiny taste of what Georgetown must be like in the rainy season. We were on a day trip up to the creek, where we could break up the intro week workshops with a dip in a beautiful 'black water' creek. The morning was typically warm and muggy, and sinking into the cool cola coloured water was blissful.
The sessions that morning included a great James Bond style introduction to the equipment that VSO provides for us; water filter, torch, mosquito net, medical kit, attack alarm, hidden camera pen that can fire a tranquilising bullet, and wellies.
When the rain came, around midday, it really came down for about an hour or two before brightening up again pretty quickly. The amazing thing about the whole affair was the effect on Georgetown we saw driving back from the creek. Especially just south of the centre, which is one of the poorer areas, there were what we would think of as severe floods - houses and shops knee deep in water and roads almost impassable.
How the city survives the rainy season is hard to imagine. We have heard a few times that the rains can have a profound effect on people's lives and their ability to get into jobs or get children to school or appointments. More worryingly, the flood water will be mixed with the smelly, fetid drain water mentioned in a previous post.
I am very thankful for the wellies.
the black water creek sounds cool!
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of the tranquilising bullet pen. I want one!!
ReplyDeletekxx
This is a test, right? There's no such thing as a mosquito net! Pull the other one!
ReplyDelete