cloudy with a chance of mangoes

Mango season is getting underway here in Puerto Rico which means the roadsides are beginning to get littered with mounds of the tropical fruit.  Holly and I are not too proud to stop and pick up some of the freshly fallen mangoes right off of the ground.

Most of the mangoes we’re seeing now seem to be a type of atualfo which happen to be my favorite variety.  The large reddish purple mangoes that ripen later in the season are definitely prettier, but I prefer the taste of these yellow ones which seem slightly less acidic to me.

Last Sunday, we spent most of the day snorkeling at Steps Beach with friends until we noticed that an ominous cloud, flickering with lightning, appeared to be headed our way.  We quickly gathered our stuff and loaded our car just before the rain began to fall.  As we drove off, Holly and the boys rolled the windows down, enjoying the fresh air and the sound of the softly falling rain.  This idyllic scene was abruptly interrupted by a bone jarring clap of thunder, instantaneously followed by a possibly even MORE startling, to me, shriek from Holly!  The windows couldn’t go up fast enough as the rain now started coming down in buckets.

By this time, we were on Highway 115 between Rincón and Aguada.  On a normal day, the tropical tree canopy covering parts of this stretch of road are vaguely reminiscent of a fairy tale portal to an enchanted forest.  However, driving home during this particular storm it was more battle of Isengard than tunnel of love.  Strong gusts of winds compelled tree branches to menacingly swing back and forth overhead.  Raging streams of water rushed beside and sometimes right across the road.   Then something NONE of us could’ve expected happened.

Mangoes started falling from the sky!

They pelted our car.  We also saw them hitting the road in front of us, bouncing maniacally in all directions.  Everyone in the car let out a bewildered laugh as this was happening.  It was surreal.

Thankfully, no one got hurt. 😉  Our car didn’t sustain any damage.  Nevertheless, the implausible is the new normal for us this time of year.  On our way to horse class this morning the wind kicked up and we saw a mango strike the road in front of our car.  Looks like we know what the forecast will be for the next several weeks! 🙂