is it ever going to stop raining? PART 2

Washing finished we returned to our patch in the relentless rain. While I sat in the tent trying to rearrange things for ‘Jabba the Hutt’ to fit in (We would have both bags in with us as well tonight), Ollie went off to see about starting a fire; or trying to. Refusing to buy dry firewood in these weather conditions and as he said 'looking foolish', Ollie tried to find some undergrowth that had not yet been soaked through. Yeah right! I emerged from the tent about ten minutes later to see the fire lighters, a few twigs and some soaking leaves sparking in the fire pit. Ollie was standing over it. Dripping. He managed to get a decent size flame (don’t ask me how) and for one microscopic moment it seemed perhaps all was not lost. Maybe this small fire would be enough to get cooking! But our hope was short lived. As the flames began to die and the only wood left too wet to ever catch, we watched on as our dreams fizzled into nothingness. 

In silence we walked back to our tent. Neither of us dared speak for fear of making the other cry. Squeezing into the space I had created we lay/sat contorted and wet. Before we did anything Ollie needed to put on dry clothes. I won’t go into details but I can assure you a 6ft 2” chunky male changing clothes in a space no bigger than half a telephone box is not a pretty sight. In fact, I think I’m scarred. We both are. Next it was time for dinner! The rain had reached its loudest point yet and was hammering against the tent so hard I thought we would be setting sail soon for sure. Using my calf as a prep table I carefully made plastic cheese and BBQ sauce rolls. They weren’t half bad considering! For desert we had grapes and ‘Teddy Grahams’. All was not lost it seemed. And we did all this in the dark. With only a tiny book light and a head torch for guidance (Thanks Adam you have no idea how that has come in handy!).

After supper there was nothing to be done but sleep. We tried to get comfy but for Ollie it was impossible. I tried my best to lie as thinly as possible but there was so much of Ollie to spread about that at one point I feared suffocation! After being bitten in every place imaginable and in a complete state of itchiness Ollie had sprayed the whole tent for five minutes with repellant so that we almost died of asphixiation. We couldn’t breath for another reason as well. Our failed attempt at a fire had made us stink of smoke and now we had that stuck with us inside the tent too! Add in the fact that it was still so hot outside that our wet clothes and damp bodies had created a ‘steam room’ inside the tent that made the humidity literally unbearable, and you have an outcome that wouldn't result in sleeping! The more uncomfortable it got the more Ollie tossed and turned which just made the whole situation even hotter!

The rain stopped finally and I almost felt sad that we had thrown the burgers and popcorn away in a hurry. Perhaps we could have had a late night fire after all. We were lying down as best we could and trying to sleep but if it wasn’t the rain keeping us awake it was the cacophony of insects making the weirdest sounds we’d ever heard! When I next awoke, what I thought was hours later, I found Ollie trying to roll himself out of the tent in order to go to the toilet. The whole ordeal was another upheaval and before we could settle again the rain started once more. Hard as ever it beat down upon our tent, making sleep impossible for fear that we would miss a possible leak! I looked at my watch and to my horror it was only just past eleven. So many more hours to go! So this was the way we spent the rest of the night. Twisting, steaming, clock watching and listening to the torrents splashing around us.

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We woke at 6A.M. Silence. There wasn’t a rain drop to be heard. In a rush Ollie and I packed up our sleeping bags (well I did the packing while Ollie shone the light) and emptied the tent. Stealthily (well as stealthily as one can be in soggy flip flops) we carried our packs through the woods and past cosy RV’s over to the washing machine shelter. Once there we took turns to have a shower and then as soon as the sun began to rise we headed back to dismantle the tent. All this time the rain held off. Maybe our prayers had been answered! Thankfully we were able to pack the soaking tent away with ease and soon we were back under the shelter, waiting for our bus. While we were waiting we sprayed as much repellant over us as we could and counted each other's bites. Even with the spray we still had over twenty giant ones each, all of them ridiculously itchy. 

By the time the bus arrived the clouds had dissipated and the sun was once again beating down. Ollie was definitely ready to leave James Island County Park. Cursing everything, including the fact that it was my idea to camp, he sat down on the bus and turned his back on the whole nightmare. I didn’t tell him, but secretly, I had enjoyed the experience. It was a writer’s dream...

19/10/11