Ll is for Lluvia (Rain)

An extra letter in the Spanish alphabet in my A-Z of the Dominican Republic. Ll is pronounced like a 'y' and lluvia means rain in Spanish.

The Dominican Republic certainly has plenty of rain, which is what keeps it so beautiful and green and leads to the abundance of agricultural products. The average annual rainfall is around 1400mm but it varies across the country, with as little as 500mm at the western border with Haiti and as much as 2500 in the Samana peninsula in the North East. 

The south coast has a definite rainy season which usually runs from May to November, although some years has continued until the end of December. Often there is no rain at all for the months of January through to May. May is usually the wettest month, with Santo Domingo, the capital, having on average 180mm of rain in May, followed by 172mm in September, then tailing off to 110mm in November. The north coast has a lot more rain during the winter months as well as the summer and does not have such a defined wet and dry season.

When it rains here it really rains! Sometimes you cannot see even a few yards in front of you and the rain pours off the roofs filling up the fresh water barrels which many use as their source of drinking water.

And even though you would think the country would be used to coping with large quantities of rain, invariably the roads flood terribly, even in the capital, Santo Domingo mainly due to totally inadequate drainage systems.

And the rain doesn't just stay in the streets - it goes into the houses too.  My friend Nicole sent me this picture of her friend's house in San Pedro de Macoris when heavy rain caused the river to rise and flood a whole neighbourhood.

Many houses are built on river banks or close to the rivers, and so when it rains in the mountains, the rivers rise with the volume of water, and by the time they reach the coast they are torrents, full of all the undergrowth, mud and rubbish which they have collected on the way. They flood all of the low lying areas on the coast and often sweep bridges away with them as they make their way into the ocean. Following heavy rain the sea will often change from a beautiful turquoise colour to the colour of hot chocolate as the less dense fresh, but muddy river water, floats on top of the denser salt water.

You would think in a country with so much rain that the Dominican people would just take it in their stride. Some do and will go out in the rain, but only if it is totally essential. There is one thing that is essential for the ladies and that it under no circumstances must their hair get wet. Anything is used to cover the hair, and it will usually be a plastic bag.  Funnily enough I have never seen plastic rain hats on sale here, although if there is no plastic bag then a shower cap will suffice.

But usually when it rains, nothing happens at all. I would ask the children, "Why aren't you ready for school?" and they would look at me incredulously and say, "It is raining." A little bit of rain means no going to school, no going to work, no doing anything. According to my husband it is for a variety of reasons. Firstly because it is dangerous in that the streets might be flooded, or muddy. If there is wind as well, then electric lines may blow down into flooded streets, zapping everyone in sight.  Plus of course it is colder when it rains, so there is more chance you will catch the flu. Best all round to stay indoors, which is what everyone does and the whole country comes to a standstill once the rain starts. Apart from on the roads that is, where some drive at the same speed as if it were dry, even though they can't see their hand in front of their face, but they put their hazard warning lights on! I love this country!