{This is a response to Friday Fictioneers, a 100-word photo prompt each week. This beach reminded me of a couple we knew, who took a vacation to Cancun, just as Hurricane Gilbert decided to pound across the Caribbean, and hit the Yucatan Peninsula, as a Category Five Hurricane.
Chichen Itza is one of the Mayan pyramids not too far from Cancun. Tulum is another Mayan site, that of the Temple of the God of the Wind. It supposedly functioned as an early warning system for hurricanes for the Mayans. The temple was full of holes, and whistled when the winds became hurricane strength.
We were planning our own honeymoon at the time, and were thinking about going to Cancun, too. After the hurricane, there was little left, to go to. Our friends brought back astounding photos and tales of being cooped up in the hotel for a week, without electricity or plumbing. Needless to say, we went elsewhere.
I tried to convey, in this story, the rather selfish and self-obsessed point of view of an American abroad: always looking only at how tragedies affect her personally, rather than at the way they affect those around her, those, who have to live, long-term, with the consequences.
Thanks for stopping by to read, thanks for the prompt, and thanks for the memories!}
Some honeymoon.
Off, to see the Mayan pyramids.
To climb Chichen Itza.
To hear the whistle of the God of the Wind, at Tulum.
Only in bad weather.
Lucky for us…
No sooner had we arrived, than people began leaving. Hurrying, to catch flights, already cancelled.
Gilbert’s reputation preceded him.
Five-hundred-thousand Caribbeans homeless.
Twenty killed.
Two-hundred-mile-an-hour winds.
At twelve noon.
Nine hours later, only one-twenty-five.
Death toll: three-eighteen.
Mostly Mexicans.
I remember a high-pitched wail.
And flushing. With bath water. On my honeymoon.
Afterwards, a dozen ships’ hulls shaded the whispering beach.
As if haphazardly parked, by some drunken valet.
I’m late, I’m late, but got here. 🙂 What a horrible event and such a callous view from tourists. So many people see it from such a small point of view. “Mostly Mexicans,” and “Afterwards, a dozen ships’ hulls shaded the whispering beach.
As if haphazardly parked, by some drunken valet.” really pack an extra punch. Very powerful!
Thank you Dawn! No worries, open all hours!
🙂 Love that!
We all have our own bubble.
Well told.
Thanks Dawn! So true.
As Penny says, love those last lines – they work so well to convey the nature of your character. Beautifully done, Andrea.
Thanks Lynn.
My pleasure
That last sentene is a cracker!
Thank you Sandra.
You capture the self-centred attitude of your narrator perfectly. Some great descriptive phrases too – as mentioned in other comments, the image of the ships on the beach is fantastic.
Thanks. There’s nothing like something that doesn’t belong there, to summon feeling.
I agree your descriptions were great and you got the lack of empathy across perfectly. Good writing, Andrea. 🙂 — Suzanne
Thanks Patricia!
This is beautifully and potently described, I enjoyed it
Thanks Michael.
I really don’t think this is an american flaw only, tourists from industrialized countries have the colonial mindset down pat. Many forget that they are guests and act like they are entitled to everything because they bring the money. That line with ‘only Mexicans’ is heartbreaking in its cruelty. Mind you, if mostly tourists would have been killed, what a disaster…
Definitely, gah.
Alas many of us are mostly selfish… I see it every day… right now it’s from Sri Lanka.
True Bjorn.
you did a wonderful job of portraying the selfishness.. I think about it every time I see an accident, and witness all the people just trying to get around it.
Thank you Violet. That’s another good example of this very human tendency.
A turbulent honeymoon indeed.
Yes Abhjit.
Every time I hear about an earthquake, a tsunami, a volcano, or some other natural disaster, I wish I could go and help in some way. Human tragedy is not restricted to any nation or, if you will, “people-group.” It is true that we in America have been, until recently, spared a great deal of death related to natural disasters, and perhaps that has made us cavalier about those who have experienced the death, destruction, starvation, illness that follows. That fact that America has been historically quick to send aid and help speaks well of those involved, if in no other way than sending money.
I think most tourists of all nationalities would have more feeling for those in need than my rather disagreeable character. It is fun to play with extremes and stereotypes in fiction, but I didn’t mean to malign my country-men and -women in general. A thousand pardons, if it came off that way. ?
No, not at all, and I am sorry that my comment made you wonder. I was just thinking out loud, really, and especially in the light of so many horrific tragedies all around the world in recent years. I have two sons now living in Europe, and believe me, it changes one’s point of view to get news up close and personal. it’s a smaller world all the time, and sadly, not always a friendly one.
Very true. So glad to hear your thoughts.
Damn, didn’t Gilbert realize they were on a honeymoon? You can never trust the weather.
So true Russell. Downright inconsiderate!
Loved the honesty in the story. I think its ok to feel a bit disappointed. Honeymoons & weddings cost a lot and there is an expectation they will be magical. You probably knew how lucky you were in the end and felt for the locals that couldn’t escape.
Thanks Tannile.
I have been to Tulum and have heard the whistle of the wind. Sounds a bit like a human cry. I sat on the beach below the temple watching the storm come and pass overhead. Got wet, but it wasn’t so bad. I have been to Chichen Itza, and I swear I heard the cry of children sacrificed at the Ceynote. I remember climbing up the inside of the pyramid, it was cold, damp, very tight, and scary dark. The view was well worth it. I stepped out on the top to watch a storm roll in. I daresay I would have fallen as I climbed down the steps if it hadn’t been for the climbing-chain. Thank you for that moment of memory. Both sites are eerie and at time quite scary.
Thanks so much for sharing your first hand account, Bear.
I actually visited those very two places waaaaay back in ’83… beautiful to behold.
That said, I absolutely loved the last two lines as well.
Poor little “woe-is-me” broad… I’m sure deep down inside she felt bad… deep, DEEP down inside…
Haha. Lucky you! Really lucky, i mean…?
🙂
The fact that she considered the death toll of comprising mostly of Mexicans, says a lot. As if it mattered. Loved the image of “a dozen ships hulls shaded the whispering beach”.
Thank you Fatima. Yes, as if Mexican people existed merely to staff her playland, Cancun, and were a huge disappointment to her. I expect she’ll be contacting customer service. ?
Dear Andrea,
The narrator didn’t have much compassion, did she? I wonder why most of the victims were Mexicans? Hmmm. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Not much compassion, no.
I think Gilbert hit the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico at its greatest strength, so most of the fatalities were Mexican.
I meant the tourist’s tone to come across, as dismissive of the humanity of people from other nations. So the lesser value of such lives is meant to be implied by the shrugging comment: “mostly Mexicans.”
I expect most of the readers here will recognize and condemn this attitude, although it exists in various forms to this day.
You know a thing or two about hurricanes! If you and your husband had been in Cancun during Gilbert, you’d have had great sympathy for the locals.
True. Knock on wood our experiences have, to date, been mere brushes with the fury hurricanes can deliver.
A frightening time. I love the last two lines about the ships.
Thanks draliman!
Great description
Thanks Iain!
Well, you certainly succeed in showing the self-centred approach of some tourists. Your last two lines are terrific
“Afterwards, a dozen ships’ hulls shaded the whispering beach.
As if haphazardly parked, by some drunken valet.” Graphic, beautiful and telling the story of the devastating power of the hurricane.
Good writing, Andi!
Thank you Penny. The wording took some work this time, for sure.
I love the lines:
Lucky for us…
No sooner had we arrived, than people began leaving.
Thanks Alice!