Archive for Weather
Cold & Windy
Posted by: | CommentsThe weather here has been unbelievably cold and windy the last week. During the daytime the sun is shining and it’s nice, but once the sun goes down behind Fuego it’s chilly, and late night and early morning it’s downright cold. We’re talking a bone-chilling 43F. Even with my year-round hibernation/draught/famine protective layer I’ve been getting cold.
Today I was out on some business and Santiago’s pants looked a little tight. Then I saw his long underwear peaking out from under his pant cuff. That should give you some idea of just how chilly it can be with the wind blowing.
Moral of the story: When you visit or move here, don’t leave all your warm clothes in the states, because you’re going to need them here occasionally.
November Rain
Posted by: | CommentsI thought of that Guns ‘N Roses song yesterday, then Maryann wrote and introduced herself and her blog, and her most recent post caught my eye:
It has been raining all day. Gray, drizzly rain. This comes after a week of afternoon and evening rainstorms.
What makes it worse is that this is NOT the right season for rain. The rains should have ended a week ago at the latest.
And even worse: During the proper rainy season, there was very little rain, which means most of this agricultural country experienced a horrible drought and is in the midst of a food crisis. (Crisis as in people in rural areas are starving or living on international food aid.) And the late-season rains don’t help the farmers; they just make harvesting whatever’s there more difficult.
I think it has rained every day for a week. And it’s raining at night, in the morning, in the afternoon, just about any time. It’s cold too, we’re talking a bone-chilling 55F kind of cold. Even I have been reduced to long sleeves and the occasional jacket. I think I’m finally going to pickup some firewood.
I’m confused, because it never really rained like this during the ‘rainy’ season, and it’s supposed to be over now. I guess it’s El Nino/La Nina/Global Warming/Global Cooling.
Related: Sometimes when it’s cold and you want a nice warming drink, Amaretto is hard to beat. However, DiSaronno is extremely expensive here and the copycats leave a lot to desire. Well, last time I was at HiperPaiz I came across a brand I’d never tried before. It’s called Luxardo and is only 120Q for a 750ml bottle and is quite good. Mix it in with your morning coffee for a nice treat.
Muy Frio
Posted by: | CommentsDamn, it’s cold! Two days ago I had to take a shower in the evening because I got hot and sweaty walking around Antigua and last night I woke up cold and had to put stretchy pants on. The rain moved in last night about dark (to the great misery of all the fiambre celebrants), and it got downright cold. I’m talking cold as in, 60, maybe even 59 degrees F. If it gets much colder I’m going to have to hire someone to start hauling firewood in here and channel my Boy Scout days (made it to ‘Life Scout’, then discovered females and quit), and build a fire.
It’s 63F now, overcast and I’m still bundled up and freezing. Have I gone native all of a sudden? Will I be wearing a hat and sweaters everywhere from now on, like my other long-time expat friends?
Of course, there is the chance that the combination of Cipro and drying out is causing my body to shut down in advance of death. Wouldn’t that make some people happy?
GuateDrought
Posted by: | CommentsThe Dennetts are reporting that some places in Guatemala haven’t had rain since May. It’s hard to imagine-it has rained almost every day here lately, and even in June and July it rained frequently, but then again if it happens outside of 9×9 blocks in Antigua and it’s not on the internet, I probably don’t know about it.
With many parts of the country reporting no rain since May, Guatemala is facing a food crisis. Several of our projects are in communities that are hardest hit by this. Many important crops have been lost by the drought and people who were struggling to survive are now left without sufficient food to feed their families.
Bizarre Rainy Season Weather
Posted by: | CommentsIf you remember I announced that the rainy season had finally arrived, you might be confused to hear me report that not only has it not been raining daily but that the temperature swings are somewhat unusual.
For example, the last few days have been hot and humid. If you’ve got a breeze, it’s pleasant, but if you’re inside or otherwise sheltered from the wind it’s warm. The crazy thing is that at night it feels almost cold. It’s definitely long sleeve or light jacket kind of weather (for gringos); for locals it’s full-on winter parka temperatures.
I know almost nothing about meteorology (one of my few weak spots), but I thought that high temperatures by day and low temperatures at night are usually caused by cloudless skies; apparently clouds both reflect heat from the sun and keep it in, so not having them gives you the daily swings. However, we have clouds a good deal of the time.
Any of you that are more scientifically oriented, feel free to opine, unless you’re going to tell me it’s all a symptom of Man Made Global Warming, caused by evil profit-seeking US corporations. In that case direct your browser to LaCuadra Online, the online version of Antigua’s far-left expat community.
The Rainy Season Has Arrived
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’re wondering what the rainy season in Antigua is like, I can now tell you. Since May it has rained occasionally, but not daily, and not always with any accumulation. However, the last 48 hours have been quite different.
For starters, it’s been overcast and humid. Not humid as in Houston, but substantially more than what we’ve been accustomed to here in the last 9 months. So much so that, for the first time since moving here, I had to take a shower in the late afternoon just to cool off and get rid of that sticky feeling. Yeah, I’m a wimp, I admit it, but we AZ boys think anything over 10% is high humidity!
Truth be told, if you’re out and about around town, it’s not that bad. A little breeze makes all the difference, but if you’re just sitting at a bar your desk working, it is stifling. The flip side is that at night it gets almost cold; for me that means a long sleeve shirt, but for locals and expats who’ve gone native, it means a parka or a fleece jacket and maybe a scarf to brave temps that have plummeted to the high 50s.
It’s now been raining for almost 24 hours straight, which is a good thing because things are starting to look dry around town. Prices have also gone up on fruits vegetables; I don’t know whether that’s the result of the relative dryness, a cyclical thing, my normal vendors sticking it to me or just the bizarre economics that exist in this bubble. (Fortunately, prices on basics like beer, wine and cigars remain steady.)
As I’ve commented about the relative dryness of this rainy season, long-time expats have said, in so many words, “Just wait ’till September”. Apparently Antigua in September is like Seattle. We’ll know soon enough.
Update: It’s Raining on Charlotte
Muy Frio! Muy Frio!
Posted by: | CommentsMaid #3 & #4 are always scolding the Wife about how cold the children are. This is because the children will strip down to their underwear and run around the yard, spraying each other with the hose (and then come inside shivering), or re-enact scenes from Rocky IV (the one where Rocky fights the entire Soviet Politburo and wins), which of course necessitates going topless.
I’ve witnessed this scenario play out a few times, and it’s pretty funny. Someone will get punched in the face, decide that it was too hard, grab the broomstick, and then beat the snot out of the other ‘boxer’. This results in two people crying, and the Maid will run over, hold them protectively and, pointing to their shirtless-status, tell the Wife they’re cold.
Anyway, I was reminded of this because of a post by Jimmy. Jimmy and Shelley are Christian missionaires in Peten, but they’re not your normal wide-eyed, pie-in-the-sky born again types who can’t see the forest for the trees. They really get it, and are actually working with people who’ve never heard about Jesus before (as opposed to converting all the pagan Catholics). Here’s a story:
A country-wide superstition in Guatemala is that anything cold will kill you. I would imagine this started in the mountains and gradually migrated north to Petén. We were told about this, but our first encounter with it was during the first medical clinic we were a part of:
An old grandmother brought her two granddaughters with this complaint: “My granddaughters wake up early in the morning before I do and drink ice-cold water and now look how skinny they are!” Of course, they were skinny because of the parasites and amoebas in the water, but she wanted the doctor to tell the girls to stop drinking cold water.This irrational fear of anything cold presents itself in conversation several times each month. Parents won’t let their children ride in the cab of the truck because of the air conditioning. When I got Dengue Fever I was cautioned to not turn on the air in the truck, and Shelley was told that she had to open the fridge for me because if I stood in front of the fridge with a fever I would die.
About the Rainy Season
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve been a little disappointed thus far. There have been only a handful of major downpours since the rain started in May. There have been several weeks since where it has only rained a few times, although short, light rain has been more frequent. The weather in general has been warm and humid, although nothing like you might find in Rio Dulce or elsewhere in the region.
Maya Paradise has an explanation:
This year, the start of the rains has been delayed and the country has been subjected to high temperatures. It’s estimated that damage to corn and bean crops is already around 25 to 35 percent. The problem has been especially bad in the areas around Zacapa / Chiquimula.
The cause of the delay is a stationary high that has been stuck over the Gulf of Mexico. Computer models indicate that this high will finally begin to move east tomorrow. With this high out of the way, the normal circulation patterns will set in and the rains should finally begin. The prediction from INSIVUMEH is that the rains will begin on Tuesday.
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