We had to take refuge in the area of Cueva del Caballo since the rain swamped the camping area.
Mona Island is a deserted island usually most remebered by hikers for its dryness and its endless vistas of dry fearsomely thorny scrub. Althought the island can have periods of rainlessness that lasts months, from time to time it does gets hit with the great weather systems that make their way from Africa to the Caribbean. In this case the Association of Biology Students was camping in Sardinera beach and decided to go to the other side of the island, to Pajaros Beach, about six miles away as the crow flies. During the night we were camping in Pajaros beach a tropical wave or depression unexpectedly dumped an enormous amount of water over us (I know this is almost beyond belief but at the time we didn't have cellphones or even (gasp) Tweeter). When we woke up the next day there was water everywhere and the astonishing sight of waterfalls falling from the central plateau of the island. The previous day the island had been bone dry and now it everything was soaking wet. We took refuge in a small cave nest to the Cueva del Caballo and made jokes as we shivered and tried to make the best of it. I have gone back to Mona Island many times over the years but I have never again witnessed this spectacle again. |
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