I went for a long walk along the beaches towards the Christo Rei statue recently and was amazed at the amount of rubbish washed up on the sand.  I suspect most of it was flushed out of the Dili city drains after recent rains and later deposited to the east of town.

This area on the east side just happens to be touristy/relaxation side with restaurants and often used for exercise.  It looks bad.

Another related thing is the slowly increasing size of the ad-hoc dump on the top of “Ramos-Horta hill” (as it is often called).  Right at the top of this hill (which has sweeping views of the seaside below) is a small area which is used to dump rubbish.  It is at the top of a natural drainage path, which in heavy rain probably runs like a torrent.

This drain empties into the bay area occupied by Caz Bar, Sol e Mar and as it looks right now, one or two more new establishments in the making.  This is probably the most heavily utilised relaxation spot in Dili.  This area is also behind a reef which at low tide extends a long way out, so any “pollution” entering this area, has a bit of a struggle getting flushed out.

It is my guess that if this situation is left too long, horrible nasties will eventually leach out of this dump into the natural drain and end up in this nice touristy recreation area.  And as it is behind the reef, the nasties will more than likely settle in the area behind the reef.

This situation applies on the Dili side of “Ramos-Horta hill”.  But on the other side, the amount of urban rubbish being dumped is steadily increasing.  Maybe I am too sensitive, but it is becoming a disgrace.  Piles of rubbish dumped on the once pristine areas of the foreshore.  Try to find a clean spot to park near the water amongst the trees and you are more than likely going to find a pile of bottles or cans etc.  Fortunately, the dogs and pigs have snaffled out all the usable organic matter before it arrives on the beach.

Some of the used bottles do get recycled as containers for fuel, tua, and honey.  However, it is a pity that there is no noticeable domestic waste recycling industry here because if there was a return for all the empty glass bottles, plastic bottles and cans, I am sure there are plenty of people who will clear it up.

Having previously bagged the forecasters for predicting rain which never came, it finally did come on Tuesday via an afternoon bucketting.  It really tested the newly constructed drains around town but until I stand out in the rain and watch the water movement in detail, the jury is out on the usefulness of these new works.

The new drains comprise quite a high barrier on the kerb which may annoy low-slung cars no end in the door opening department.  The drain itself seems a little on the small side given rain here usually comes by the container-load when it does come.  And it is noticeable that the drain itself is a bit on the rectangular side making it a bit bumpy for vehicles entering adjoining properties.  The result is that many people have already filled in the drain outside their premises to smooth vehicular entry.  Something tells me this is not going to work.

Nevertheless, during this rare rain event, the roof at home leaked as usual, water hammered in under the back door, the front gate was reduced to a lake and it was business as usual.

A while back I plugged freemeteo.com as the best Dili weather report on the internet.  Up ’til then, all I ever heard was the daily Radio OZ report which told me 30+/-3 degrees every day.  Then it would tell me “cloudy all day” when it wasn’t, “thunderstorms” when there was no rain at all.

I just can’t see the point in telling me the temperature here.  I know it is going to be 27 to 34 degrees every day of the year and the temperature is not going to have any effect on what I wear or do.   The key differentiating features are humidity and whether it is going to bucket down rain or not.

When it comes to predicting rain, Dili is a bit of a forecasters nightmare.  It sits in a little bowl just between the sea and some steep hills.  At this time of the year, the clouds will often creep over the hills after lunch, look ominous then fall back again.  This can go on for weeks and it is the time that the weather reports predict rain over and over again and nothing comes even close.

Just like betting on the Melbourne Cup which had Dili Club, Dili Beach Hotel, One More Bar and others hopping on an otherwise quiet Tuesday afternoon in Dili.