Rain

On the Tuesday of our holiday, we woke up to threatening skies.  We had had a spectacular downpour the evening before.  It didn't last long, but it certainly dropped a lot of rain on us.  Tuesday however, saw an even greater downpour.

Again, it didn't last long and the sky soon cleared allowing us to get out and about once more.  As we walked along the seafront, we were surprised to see a 'line' in the water which separated the blue sea from a pale, brown area closer to shore.  As the sea had been a bit rough, we thought the brown water was from the sand being whipped up.

We soon found out that this was not the case.  As we approached one of the usually dry streams which empty into the sea, it became abundantly clear that the colour in the sea was coming from mud being washed down from the hillsides.

It was clear that the torrent had been much worse at it's height.  Debris covered the promenade, manhole covers had been lifted and rocks and silt had been piled up by the water.  This was where the muddy rain water emptied into the sea, turning it a pale coffee brown.

We were told later that about 11 litres of rain per square metre had fallen in the space of only 10 minutes - about 49,000,000 litres over the town of Costa Teguise alone!  No wonder everywhere was so wet and muddy!