On Tuesday I tried to get some work done in the afternoon, but lacking an internet connection, I decided to the day mooch wi-fi from Banyan Bay, the resort at the end of our street. Of course, this meant I had to sit in a lounge chair by the pool because that is where the signal was strongest.
Shortly after school got out, the boys and Amy showed up on their bikes and we ran into our friend Tarik and his family. They invited the boys to swim in the pool, and before long we were all doing cannonballs. He also invited us to join them at the resort's dock later that evening for some night fishing.
After dinner and shortly before we left to meet them, the power went out. We didn't think much of it, because the power goes out fairly regularly here for no apparent reason. However, as we pedaled down the street, I noticed an unusual amount of dust/haze/particulates in the beam of my bike light. Still thinking it was no big deal (this was, after all, only my fifth night on the island) we arrived at the dock, locked up our bikes, and walked across the beach. One of the staff members at Banyan Bay saw us and said "there's a fire at Ramon's", referring to Ramon's Village Resort. At first, we all interpreted this as a fun (and deliberate) beach fire that might be more fun than the dark dock at Banyan Bay.
However, after we got to the dock and saw many more staffers, all staring north, talking on cell phones, and exclaiming loudly, we saw the glow. We walked to the end of the dock, and had a pretty clear view of the fire, which had flames shooting dozens of feet in the air and a towering column of smoke extending many hundreds of feet into the nighttime sky. It was a horrible bu t captivating sight.
Our first thought was about all of the people who were staying there, eating at the restaurant, or otherwise in harms way. Our second thought was succinctly voiced by the boys--"our school!" Ramon's is only two or three lots north of the boys' school. The fire was burning so hot and throwing up so many cinders we imagined everything around getting consumed by the flames. It was surreal--at one point Liam asked me "is this a dream?"
We learned later that no one was seriously injured in the fire, and through the brave actions of many townspeople, they were able to limit the damage to Ramon's and it did not spread to any surrounding structures. Interestingly, the fire department did not show up for 45 minutes and it was the efforts of the average citizens that prevented the fire from being much, much worse. Our instinct when we saw the fire was to stay away so the professionals could do their job, but that is the exact opposite of how the locals reacted.
The next day, Liam's teacher took the class to the resort and they assisted with the clean up. Ramon's recently announced plans to re-build, which is good, because they employ a lot of people here in San Pedro (and we never got to check the place out before it burned down!)
 |
| At my 'office' for the day |
Shortly after school got out, the boys and Amy showed up on their bikes and we ran into our friend Tarik and his family. They invited the boys to swim in the pool, and before long we were all doing cannonballs. He also invited us to join them at the resort's dock later that evening for some night fishing.
After dinner and shortly before we left to meet them, the power went out. We didn't think much of it, because the power goes out fairly regularly here for no apparent reason. However, as we pedaled down the street, I noticed an unusual amount of dust/haze/particulates in the beam of my bike light. Still thinking it was no big deal (this was, after all, only my fifth night on the island) we arrived at the dock, locked up our bikes, and walked across the beach. One of the staff members at Banyan Bay saw us and said "there's a fire at Ramon's", referring to Ramon's Village Resort. At first, we all interpreted this as a fun (and deliberate) beach fire that might be more fun than the dark dock at Banyan Bay.
However, after we got to the dock and saw many more staffers, all staring north, talking on cell phones, and exclaiming loudly, we saw the glow. We walked to the end of the dock, and had a pretty clear view of the fire, which had flames shooting dozens of feet in the air and a towering column of smoke extending many hundreds of feet into the nighttime sky. It was a horrible bu t captivating sight.
Our first thought was about all of the people who were staying there, eating at the restaurant, or otherwise in harms way. Our second thought was succinctly voiced by the boys--"our school!" Ramon's is only two or three lots north of the boys' school. The fire was burning so hot and throwing up so many cinders we imagined everything around getting consumed by the flames. It was surreal--at one point Liam asked me "is this a dream?"
We learned later that no one was seriously injured in the fire, and through the brave actions of many townspeople, they were able to limit the damage to Ramon's and it did not spread to any surrounding structures. Interestingly, the fire department did not show up for 45 minutes and it was the efforts of the average citizens that prevented the fire from being much, much worse. Our instinct when we saw the fire was to stay away so the professionals could do their job, but that is the exact opposite of how the locals reacted.
 |
| The aftermath |
The next day, Liam's teacher took the class to the resort and they assisted with the clean up. Ramon's recently announced plans to re-build, which is good, because they employ a lot of people here in San Pedro (and we never got to check the place out before it burned down!)
I think the lounge chair was where you stopped searching for a stronger signal. :-)
ReplyDeleteI just returned and read the rest of the story - and quite a story it was!
ReplyDelete