Hurricane Dean

Monday night
A few days ago we got word of a possible storm entering Mexico and since then it has been gaining speed and became Hurricane Dean heading straight for us. It´s going to be a cat 5- wind speed of 240 kmph, rain between 5-10 inches. The last few days everyone been making plans. The Mexicans are pretty relaxed, many of believing that it wasn't coming, even after it was pummelling Jamaica yesterday. The people have been boarding up their houses, shops and restaurants but pretty much everything stayed open until a few hours ago. We´ve been receiving hurricane text alerts form the mobile phone company from green to finally red alert meaning its less than 12 hours away. We dismantled the base and prepared the volunteers. making plans for their hurricane shelters which have changed several times, the refuges are full in Tulum, the nearest one available in Carillo Puerto which is now in the centre of the path of Dean, I heard the other volunteers had to change their refuge in Playa as there were too many drunk Mexicans and it could be dangerous for them to stay there. Its now 9pm and I´m in the dive shop, my shelter, with 4 Germans who are playing poker and drinkin beer and don´t seem very bothered by it. A TV station came earlier and interviewed the Germans. one had to pretend to be terrified of the approaching Dean which apparently was shown on MTV later, I was also interviewed, god knows where mine ended up. At the moment the air is really tranquil and nothing is happening apart from bouts of hard rain.

12am
Nothing happening at all, was police around but now just 4 Germans playing poker. It´s still 200 kms off the coast but packing 200 kmph.

Tuesday
well that was Dean , a great big nothing here, the only casualty for us was the dive flag falling in a puddle. Dean ended up hitting 3 hours south down the coast and totally destroying Mahual. GVI has a base down there, or had a base. The truck was found upside down the in the mangroves, the boat later found wrapped around a tree, the dive tanks totally vanished and the landlords house behind was only left with the steps still standing, the stray dogs all survived though. Most of the local people weren´t originally from Mahual and had evacuated to their towns but came back to find literally just rubble left of the town. we were lucky gits.

From Mexico...to eeer Mexico. Wierd!

This is just to back track a little only to keep account of the warblings thats called my life. After Chemuc Champay I headed to Palenque, back through to Tulum for a couple of weeks and flew Cancun- Madrid- Barcelona. I distinctly remember crying as I watched officials at the airport smash my bottle of expensive tequila intended for a friend, due to the new anti- terroist campaign to stop terroists consuming quality tequila whilst aboard an aircraft. I arrived back in Europe with a smashed spirit. I turned up in Barcelona just before christmas, such a wicked, beautiful city, great place to be poor, get a job in Irish bar, work nights through christmas and new year and then drink beers in the street, cooled down from the sewers. A good friend I met in the desert in Tunisia shared his little room with me and we were 2 people looking for spanish language, good times and fortune in this cool city. Got a job working in a bar along the Ramblas but quickly learnt I would remain skint and ´sin espanol' in this Catalan speaking city so decided to make the hop back to england to earn some dosh after 18 months away...bye barcelona I will come back for more falafels!

London hmmmm what a love hate relationship...love the city super fab to see all my good friends again but tough tough place without money or a job! I moved in a typical rented london house, 3 catalan, 1 south african, 1 egyptian, 1 swedish and a few other nationalities hanging around...aaaaah home, love it. Friends did a sterling job listening to my whinging as the 'home blues' hit and I began getting further into debt amongst job applications. Ended up working in bar, a young peoples home (great fun, you spend your time bribing them to go to school with travel cards, cinema tickets and taxis while they scream `stand back gangster´ at you and tell you to f off...no it was actaully fun)and then scored an internhip with Free Tibet Campaign working on the Panchen Lama Birthday,......greeeeeat but unpaid whoops. then whad ya know i got a job in Mexico suddenly...so after 6 months back....shes off...again!!