Stormy weather

What a storm! Solid rain all day, no breaks, filling the pool, washing the terraces, cooling the air. The city kept disappearing and peeking out from inside a blanket of white mist. Cars tried to drive up our road, sliding and skidding on slick cobblestones, spinning tires, burning rubber.

In the evening, during a lull in the weather, we were enjoying an outdoor dinner at the neighbour's.

It started to pour again and blow into the terrace sideways. A table of five, under partial cover, was starting to get wet. Doug got up from the table and moved under cover just seconds before a huge pot containing a six foot palm tree fell from above and shattered in the spot where he had been sitting. Two minutes later another hundred pound pot was blown from the balcony above us. We huddled inside, closing windows and doors, grateful that no one was hurt. Winds raged, clouds opened and the power went out. Our neighbours scrambled for candles. The flashlight batteries were dead. We sat and waited until the lights flickered on again.

John ran back to the Quinta and discovered massive flooding. My paintings had been blown to the floor, cameras were wet. We had not closed any doors so the rain had blown in on all three levels. We had been optimistic when we left for dinner that the storm had passed. He mopped up and moved soggy cushions and wet chairs inside.

Later, we discovered that the sculpture standing guard at the pool, was laying decapitated at the bottom of the pool. With an ongoing display of lightning overhead, we decided that it would be wise to postpone the rescue of his metal body until the morning.

The PV news reported winds of up to 90km per hour during the storm. Locals have never seen weather like this at this time of year before!