El Matal – Jama/Manabi/Ecuador
Limbo: “An uncertain situation that you cannot control and in which there is no progress or improvement” (Dictionary/Cambridge.org)
The spring tides usually stop at the height of this rock at Casa Loca. (Southern rough-wing swallows in photo)
Two nights ago, the sound of thundering waves triggered my concern for nearby El Matal; I did not sleep well and was dressed and outside at dawn. The day before, Rio Jama seemed to creep higher than normal.
The rock was completely under water.
A view of the mouth of the river confirmed my suspicions – after a year of good behavior, Mother Ocean was throwing a tantrum.
April 22, 2015 – 6 a.m. – Strong waves leaped across the sandbar at the mouth of Rio Jama
My friends’ father/grandfather, Senor Jose Nestor Cevallos, died three days ago at the age of 103; after the services yesterday, I reached El Matal just before sunset and high tide. Some locals stood in clusters and watched the thundering waves while others watched stoically from their properties. The mood was somber.
No one seems to know the status of the paperwork/request for emergency assistance. There are more successful options than the use of boulders (proven to fail, and they have failed) yet the apathy at governmental levels is discouraging.
(2104) One line of bags below ground level and a second half in and half out…
For a year, the sand bags have served their purpose (buying time) on the upper end, yet they received a battering this past week. The estimated life of the bags is 18 months, and there are two rows of (aging) bags in place. A third fresh line would help all of the homeowners sleep better at night.
None of the tide tables predicted these high tides and strong swells.
Because my trek took longer than planned, I spent the night with friends and will resume the next segment of my beach walk in the morning.
More soon,
Z
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
Yet more evidence that the Oceans are rising. And your government pays no attention, either. So it goes: just pretend it’s not happening.
Heartbreaking but it needs to be shared. Thank you Z
thanks, margo… yes, it reminds us all that it could happen anywhere – even to the riverhouse…. so glad that you know that spot on the river!
Oh my! Devastating! I’m sitting here on pins and needles waiting for the daylight report. I feel like crying.
daylight report was a fairly good one; the upper end isn’t getting hit as hard as the other end. i could see the waves slamming and soaring skyward from wayyyyy afar. am about to walk my way back to the other end and then return to jama… hopefully mother ocean’s had her temper tantrum and will be back in a calm mood…
What a relief.
Z, has a longer range plan been developed with price tags? This will not end well, without one. The government and other funders will need to be approached for investment in shoring up the coastal villages. If money cannot be found to move structures back or increase better levees, the sea will do what it does and people will need to think of where to move. If people can focus on ways to migrate people and some structures now, then that might be a judicious course to do so.
The bad part of impacting climate change is it takes time to become effective, so this sea rise may be already baked in. We will be reaping what we have sown over the next fifteen years. This is an example of what is coming. yet we have to try to fend off the wolves. BTG
si; this was a surprise – the charts didn’t predict these seas… it was ok on the upper end this morning, and i’m about to walk back to the other end and then head back to jama.
I’m sorry to see this happening to such a beautiful and peaceful village. Sad to say, as BTG and Hugh note, this is the result of the rising oceans that our politicians are working so hard to ignore. My thoughts are with you and your wonderful community.
and the ocean temperatures as well… thanks so much for your feedback and support. z
I cannot imagine having to live in fear of the ocean as often as the locals seem to. I will be praying that the tides turn soon.
my heart went out to the owners of a few of the restaurants and homes.. they were sitting there in the twilight and just staring/watching.. gone were the normal poses for photos… they smiled but not with the entire body english at work this time.
It just seems that their struggles with the sea are immense. I know she provides them with nourishment and a way to make a living, but she is one angry gal. My prayers are with you all.
Heart breaking to see the pounding surf and waves coming ashore. Your photographs tell the story, very sorry to see the destruction.
So very sad. The whole town may have to move inland. What a project!
One of the things we have to understand is that human and natural causation interact. There’s no question that the climate is changing, but we also have to acknowledge that, sometimes, there are forces which human intervention cannot change. The past week brought us the volcanic eruption in Chile and the earthquake in Nepal. No one I know of is claiming human causation for those!
On the other hand, when I first moved here to the Galveston Bay area, the water quality was terrible and the air could be unbreathable. That was due entirely to human activity. Today, after a few decades of work, including legislation and community involvement on behalf of the environment, we can eat the fish and breathe without difficulty.
My point is only that figuring out what can be changed and what must be coped with is hard. Usually, human and natural causation are intermingled, and sorting it out takes time. Unfortunately, we sometimes underestimate the time we have available for the sorting. I truly hope there’s time enough for your beloved coastline to be preserved, and the people saved from even more terrible disruption to their lives.
uh oh.. i’ve been totally offline and am now working ‘backwards’ from the comment drop-down menu.. yours is the 2nd to mention nepal.. i moved laterally to the earhquake site and for a news search to see what’s happened.
Wow, the header image really captures the power of the ocean. There are a lot of fabulous photos in this collection. It’s too bad that the subject is such a frightening and heartbreaking event. Mother Nature will have her way with us…at El Matal as well as around the globe in Nepal.
i’ve been offline since around noon on thursday, so the ‘nepal’ news had not broken.. your comment was the first i read, and then i read linda’s from texas, and i thought, ‘uh oh.. better go check the news..
many people caught some great photos of those waves last week. we have a week before the next high tides, though i don’t think they’ll be as high as the ones last week.
Well good luck to you all in the next wave.
I am sorry to learn about this tragedy, amiga.
Spectacular but so potentially devastating, Lisa! Not this time?