My neighbors dragged me out of bed at 6 a.m. Thursday morning. "You have to see the beach. Bring a sack."
All the townspeople were on the beach, some having arrived before the sun. Everyone carried huge sacks loaded with clams. There were clams everywhere, all kinds, including 'chocolate' clams which are supposed to be the best. Which reminds me...access to the beach was blocked during the storm but in our park they had the gates open to the boat ramp so that the gates wouldn't be destroyed by timber from the muelle. There was a family on the ramp looking for shells when the policia pulled up and kicked them out. Then one of the officers went onto the ramp and gathered up a bunch of chocolate clams and tossed them in the front seat of the police pick-up. Does that seem stereotypically Mexican police or what?
The beach was not only loaded with clams but with all kinds of intact shells, star fish, and debris including fishing nets and crab pots. There were no clear sandy patches to walk on, the shells and litter were that abundant. Water bottles, gas tanks, pieces of pangas. Dogs romped and played and fought. The atmosphere was very festive. Oh, and not only were there clams but scallops which never ever get washed ashore. It was truly a cornucopia of seafood. Believe it or not, I even looked for my glasses, thinking maybe they were caught up in a net or a pot.
Which leads me to another story. One day before the storm we were playing in the water and the sea grabbed my beach wrap. A couple days later it showed up on the boat ramp. I picked it up and said "wouldn't it be funny if my glasses were attached to it?" and 'lo and behold, glasses were tangled in the fringe of the wrap, only not my glasses.
This little town is very lucky that Henriette's rain and wind bypassed us. That surely would've wreaked havoc on the tarpaper shacks. I feel bad for the guys at this park; they have a mess to clean up. A couple of the bungalows were flooded and timber from the muelle wiped out much of the barbed wire along the top of the sea wall. The snowbirds will start arriving in October so the workers have to get a lot done in a short period of time. I'm sorry that the muelle - of which this town was so proud - is gone. I hope its absence doesn't affect business for the vendors whose stalls are located at the entrance to the missing muelle. Things could have been so much worse, as can be seen with Felix, Katrina, Lester, etc etc.
I bet people ate really well last night.
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4 comments:
I am glad that you and those you know are safe. The image of the beach covered with shellfish/sea life is amazing. Thank you for sharing the story of the storm and the photos. love you, Dorothy
You know, reading this, reminds me a little of Julie and Julia. The comedy within the tragedy.
Glad you're all right. Wish it was your glasses though. But how cool is that? Like the sea was trying to return something to you. Sort of.
I'm so glad your little piece of paradise did not get wiped out in this storm. I think I would have run for the hills!! The pictures are awesome. Where is the one Dorthy refers to showing the sealife on the beach? Sounds fascinating!
-Pam in Texas
you know, pam, i think i would've run for the hills if my neighbors didn't have to move their trailer first so i figured if they were going to stick it out, so would i. dorothy is referring to the written description of the shells on the beach. i asked my neighbors to take a photo - i'll see if they did. this is why i need a pocket-sized camera...so i'll actually have it with me when a photo op arises.
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