Papayas in a Storm

These three papaya trees (they all had fruit, nestled close to the trunk at the base of the leaves) were silhouetted against an approaching storm. During the wet season, a rain would blow up nearly every afternoon. From Grains of Golden Sand:

"There is an unusual rain in the tropics that is legend. This thunderstorm occurs only during daylight hours and begins with dramatic, tall clouds racing forward and darkening the sky to gray-magenta. Magnificently, the wind whips the treetops and shreds the tender new papaya and banana leaves. Ozone stings the nostrils sharply while lightening bolts crash to the ground. Then, moving audibly across the landscape like the thudding of thousands of tiny water bombs, comes a hard, driving downpour so sudden and heavy that all life—in villages, on the bare grassy hillocks, and along the dank trails of the great forests—scramble for cover. The fury roars through the land at antelope speed and rattles the metal roofs so that all conversation stops. In towns, pedestrians take shelter under eves, miserably chilled, backs flattened against the buildings, while the water pours from the roofs like Victoria Falls.

"Raindrops prance in the inch-deep microfloods they create, too fast for the astonished land to absorb. Mercifully, the shower is brief and tapers off abruptly as the storm thunders on. Just as it ends, the sun bursts out and the last of the rain falls through the slanting light that breaks the gloom of departing clouds. The raindrops glisten brightly like a billion beads of quicksilver."

Photo by D. Messinger