Tulum, November 2011.

Washed out

It started with my arse. A little damp patch on the right cheek. At first I thought it was just the cold, but as it spread, I soon knew. It extended slowly, millimetre by millimetre, barely perceptible to the naked skin. I lay quietly listening to the rain beat against the flimsy nylon poncho above. As it grew heavier the sound became a sullen reminder of the gravity of the situation. Please stop, I prayed to myself. Please stop. It’s meant to be hot here. But this is a storm. A violent tropical storm.

I’d woken up in the dense darkness to the sound of the wind ripping and howling through the palms, swinging me mercilessly between two trees. I rocked back and forth erratically at the winds whim, until my nerves began unravelling themselves. My cocoon. My safe place. Please end now. Nature is big, I am small; I get the picture.

Somewhere over the ocean thunder rang out menacingly over the howls and shrieks of the wind. It seemed to be saying heavily in its deep sombre tone; “You’re on your own out here little man, without even a roof over your head. What foolishness.”

I lay curled up in the foetal position, swinging in my soggy sleeping bag, feeling the moisture spread across my torso and legs. At knew that some point, I was going to be wet. Properly wet. I had to get out to avoid arriving at saturation point. I contemplated this unhappy prospect for as long as I could bare it before making a move.

I clambered out of my sleeping bag, taking care not to fall out of the hammock, and ran cautiously through the dark to the nearest wooden hut. I stood under the roofs tiny overhang in my boxers, clutching the sleeping bag, and shivered. I stood there shivering a good while, and then peered around into the dark trying to assess my options. 

My options mainly consisted of a tree -  the tree I’d just left. I peered harder. The huts we’re all on raised platforms, with sand built up around the platforms. All except one. I could see a dark space underneath a hut a few metres away. Waddling tensely, I picked up my foam mattress and ran over to the hut. Throwing caution into the abundant wind, I crawled into the gap, and the unknown darkness beyond. I lay down, caked in sand, and thought it best not to open my eyes too much. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. I pulled the foam mattress over my body and tried to go to sleep.