Saturday heralds a lie-in for us - it is 10.30am by the time we're showered and dressed. We've made no real plans for today - just as well really with what is about to happen...
Firstly, we go to check on Mrs Dog and pups - this has become our little routine each day. However, today we can hear lots of yelping and whimpering as we approach. I look into the den as I balance precariously on a tree stump, but all seems to be well...as usual, Mrs Dog is feeding the pups, although it's too dark to see right into the den, and she seems contented. We are just about to walk away when Mart spots something moving on the ground out of the corner of his eye - and in that same split second I realise the whimpering is not coming from inside the den. One of the puppies has fallen out and is lying on the ground curled up in a ball. They haven't yet opened their eyes, so this poor little thing just lies there quivering and whimpering. Mart gently picks it up and places it on top of its mother who spontaneously licks it - soon it is feeding from mum again, and seems none the worse for its fall.
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| Feeding once more |
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| So cute, I want one! |
At about 12pm Said comes into the house for a chat and we end up talking about his Muslim faith and our Christian faith, attempting to find the connections and also stumbling across some of the differences. It is a good and worthwhile conversation - and we end up still friendly at the end of it despite some heated debate, thank goodness! It is just as he is leaving that things take a turn for the worse...
As Said looks out across the garden he can see a fire burning in the field next to our house, and the flames seem to be getting out of control. He and Mart go out to investigate whilst I head up to the rooftop terrace of our house to see what I can see from there. The fire is indeed out of control! The flames are licking the branches of the olive trees and getting taller and taller, a thick cloud of smoke is forming and I can hear shouting. I race down the path only to be met by Said running back towards the house - he has phoned the police (apparently that's what you do here in such an event) and he is now running to fetch his long garden hosepipe in the vain hope that it will reach far enough to start putting out the fire. Mart and I help him to unravel it and we are joined by several other men of all ages who also help. However, with all the men tugging it nearer to the fire, the hose comes off the tap, so Said races back to the house to fix it. As he does so, a part of the hose near me begins to spurt water out - there is a largish hole. I quickly plug it with my fingers. Mart is trying to keep two lengths of hose held together, I am plugging this hole and Said is trying to regulate the water so it stays attached to the tap - meanwhile, the men at the other end of the hose are waiting for the water to come through and are shouting at us, unaware of our predicament. It would be funny if it wasn't such a serious situation.
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| The start of the fire as seen from our house |
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| Before long... |
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| People run to help |
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| The fire rages |
The pressure from the water is great and it is a struggle for Mart and I to keep the hose together so the water can pass through, hence we both get soaked at intervals when we just can't maintain our hold. It is at one of these moments that an elderly man decides to comes down the narrow path across which lies the hosepipe, trying to herd about 50 sheep to another field. Both Mart and I have to hold the hosepipe on the ground so the sheep can walk over it, brushing against us as they do so. Following the sheep and the elderly man is a policeman, looking very dapper in his uniform. He politely says 'Bonjour' to me and, as I begin to reply, the hole in the hosepipe begins to spurt water all over me - this time I am drenched! It is a comical scene - an officious policeman, a herd of sheep, an elderly gentleman, a bemused Mart, and me soaked to the skin! I hope the rest of the team are faring better than us!
Seriously though, at one point we panic that the fire may be spreading too quickly and could possibly reach our house...we dash back and collect our passports, throwing laptops, cameras and other valuables into a case - who knows when we might just have to flee?!
Fortunately, after about an hour, the fire is under control, thanks to the teamwork of the village who have also brought buckets to fill with water to quench the fire. Then the fire engine arrives! There is no through road to the field, so we watch from the roof terrace as the fire engine is guided across the uneven field by several villagers...and finally their proper, made-for-the-job hosepipes are unravelled and ready to finish the job, ensuring that the already burnt ground is not still smouldering. Within another hour they are gone, and we go to inspect the damage. Said tells us he has never before seen a bush fire like this, despite years of working in the forest.
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| The aftermath |
We just thank God we are safe...if it had been a sunnier day with more intense heat, if the wind had blown in the opposite direction, if Said and us had not been at home, I dread to think what might have happened.
Omg - im glad ur all ok. It must of been frightening. Love jaime. Ps miss u both.xx
ReplyDeleteHi Jaime, yes it was frightening - especially at first when we couldn't see which way the fire was heading. All I could think of was Mrs Dog and her pups whose den is beside that wall of the house! As they're not domesticated, I couldn't think of a way in the spur of the moment to get them out! I just thank God that Said and us were there, as otherwise there'd have been no water source close enough to the fire available to put it out!
ReplyDeleteHope all's well with you and Tom - we miss you too. Take care x