A Visit to Wit's End

We owned a farm high in the mountains of Dominica where we planned an organic farming venture. Unfortunately, a massive landslide occurred after the hill beneath our land was undercut just prior to Hurricane Dean. One life has already been lost to this feat of engineering. What is left of our property is now unstable, unbuildable, and unfarmable.

When we bought this property it had many trees that have now also been lost to the slide. You could dig down over two feet and still find the richest topsoil imaginable, perfect for organic farming. And we had a local farmer enthusiastic to start work on our chemical free farm.

But that dream may be lost.

We finally went up again to view the damage at Wit's End. The views remain breathtaking, some of the best on the island.

But landslides continue on a nearly daily basis according to our neighbor, David. His ears are sharply attuned to the sounds of crashing slides, since he will probably lose his brand new house.

David's situation is additionally sad since he acts as foster father to a couple of Dominican children. These kids had just begun to settle into the security of a stable home, but now have to listen for the sounds of the hill falling away beneath their house. It makes your heart ache to see these youngsters who have already gone through so much only to face this.








This is the cliff left after the slide was cleared. This entire area used to be underneath our farm. I have heard this road may actually be opened to the public without the hill being stabilized. I hope that is not true.












The slide has now advanced up to where the build line for our house was located.

We have been out avidly looking for land, only to find that we will probably never again find the special combination of attributes that made Wit's End.


livingdominica: When we die, I hope we will finally go live on our farm at Wit's End and call it Paradise.

Wit's End Landslide Update

News Flash from up by Wit's End...The Prime Minister visited!

(For those of you arriving late to this party, my beloved husband, Mr. Wizard, and I bought almost five acres of magnificent mountaintop on Dominica, which we aptly named Wit's End. About half of our land has already been lost in landslides following road excavation below our land coupled with Hurricane Dean. Proper stabilization has still not been started, although one life has already been lost and homes are threatened.)

Our nearest neighbor at Wit's End, David, is an elderly gentleman from Britain who is now living with suitcases packed in case his house begins to slide. He has lived in his brand new home less than a month, and the landslide has now progressed to just beneath his house. He reported today that the Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, and Minister of Agriculture all visited up by us. He mentioned to the officials, the lovely American couple who bought next door (That would be the Wizard and I) and the P.M. said he was aware of us.

We have an appointment for Friday with the Minister of Public Works.

livingdominica: My shack is still standing, though.

The Aftermath, part II

Firstly, I would like to apologize for the self absorbed post I wrote yesterday as I blubbered. I realize that some of you are interested in the experience of the hurricane in more detail, so here is a bit more about it.

I don't think we got a direct hit with sustained hurricane winds. It looked like tropical storm to me, with hurricane gusts. But this is totally subjective based on my past hurricane experience. This island was very lucky. Most of the damage I have observed is to crops and trees, and of course the landslides. The only deaths were from landslide, not wind or water. Even a lot of rickety buildings made it through. Our shack is still standing up at Wit's End, that expanse of air which was once our farm!

An American couple visiting on the island as they plan their move to Dominica stayed with us during the storm. It was helpful having a little house party during the blow, particularly since they are doting dog lovers. Chester got so much attention he never required a dose of doggie downers. They were a great help with the initial clearing away after the storm, too. And this hurricane has not changed their minds about Dominica, they still plan to move here.

Everyone is hard at work trying to set things right. We picked up a guy who works for the power company and gave him a ride. He told us he had worked 3 days straight during and after the storm. A fellow who works for the roads department was also near exhaustion when we spoke with him. I suspect these workers are the people hardest hit by the storm, as they try to restore services.

I certainly prefer life with electricity and running water, but we are old camping people who can cope without amenities. We had lots of water stored and we have a solar recharger for batteries, so we have water and light. I suspect our power will come and go for some time yet, but water has stayed on since it was restored.

I spoke with Nick, the one armed beggar yesterday. He and his comrades made it through the storm without difficulty in someone's cellar. He mentioned the Peace Corp people had brought them food. However, he was still hungry and could really use a little something...

A wonderful thing happened yesterday. Several of our closest friends dropped what they were doing with their own storm cleanup and came to give us support. It was an incredible gift, this rallying around the miserable. And that is one of the key difference between here and the real world: people take the time to care for one another, to support one another here. Even Eeyore me has to find a glimmer of hope in that.

livingdominica: may the people of the Yucatan be safe and protected.

The Aftermath

Electric was restored during the night and I wanted to let you know that Roger, Chester and I are ok. Our preparations paid off and we were snug behind boarded windows during the blow. Trees are broken down around us and the roof now leaks in the rental, but we were not injured.

We have, however, experienced a couple of very unfortunate events, including our building land suffering a major landslide. Homes surrounding our land are threatened, our land appears unstable as a building site and we are simply stunned, unsure of what we will do. This land was a major investment for us, since we are not wealthy people. The land collapsed because the road works department did not stabilize a cliff they cut, so we are hoping that the government will help us. We definitely need help, so Roger is going to the ministries seeking assistance this morning.

The other blow was of a more personal nature and involved our off island friends and relatives, so I cannot detail that disappointment. Suffice it to say that we are both very saddened.

Anyway, we are regrouping and licking our wounds. I suspect this blog may grow silent at least for a while. At least until after the tears dry up.

I do want to thank each of you who sent caring and supportive messages. You have no idea how much your encouragement meant to us. Roger and I both thank you for reaching out to us in such a loving way.

Warm regards to each of you,

Jen, Rog, and Chester

I am really, really scared

Most tropical storms go north of Dominica. We like that about living here. We are much less vulnerable to frequent pounding here than the Greater Antilles or the US coast. But it does happen, and now is one of those times. Hurricane Dean is coming to call tomorrow.

Ok, I admit it. I am frightened by the storm coming. I remember too clearly being huddled under a mattress in Corpus Christi during hurricane Celia thinking I was going to die at any moment as the glass from the windows whizzed by. I know we will be ok. I know if we experience losses it will just be our stuff is damaged. But knowing that doesn't change the visceral reaction I have every time I look at the map of Dean heading for us. I guess having gone through a bad blow makes you react differently.

We keep watching the maps, hoping Dean will take a sharp turn north and head away from the islands, but that does not even seem to be a possibility. The Wiz is doing everything he can to reassure me, but I am pretty stuck in this vat of fear. Such an ugly feeling, one of my least favorite.

We are doing everything possible to prepare. Storing food and water, boarding up the windows, securing the gas cylinders. This does not reassure me at all. I know that I am going to have to sit through hours of howling hurricane winds tomorrow, and the thought brings tears to my eyes. I feel like a small child abandoned and unprotected at the thought of this storm.

The good news is we may only see a Cat 1, if current projections are correct. But I am not sure whether the roof on this rental will go through even a category one hurricane.

We cannot really leave the island because of Chester and looting. I could not go off and leave Chester, and after a storm one needs to be present to discourage the "help your self" folks. This is a sad fact following storms everywhere.

Chester, the wonder pug, senses something. He never leaves my side. If he can't see me he starts looking for me, panicked. I have some doggie downers somewhere left from when we flew him to the island, I may give him some for the storm. I wonder if doggie downers work for people? hmm.

It reminds me of the early Carib's ability to predict a hurricane coming. You can read about it in Warnings of Hurricanes and Volcanoes.

livingdominica: please send all your spare courage to me. I will post whenever I can.