Arroyo, means brook or stream, but in the context of Barranquilla, it means a flash flood in the form of a raging "river" in the streets where apparently there is no meaningful drainage system.
My girlfriend and I was caught in such an arroyo for about 30 minutes after eating at a Chinese Restaurant (I'm pretty sure the meat was chicken). We just sat there in the taxi with the intersection in front of us looking more like a rapids in an Olympics kayaking competition.
That was fine, lots of cuddle time. After much delay, the taxi finally negotiated the flooded streets and got back to the hotel.
Only a moderate amount of rainfall is necessary to turn the streets into raging rivers.
At my lady's home, the street in front of her home floods quickly and the water comes right into her home. It's not so much however that it can't be swept out.
Oh well, I love arroyos because it was raining so hard that night that my girlfriend thought it best that she not go back home.
