The Old Man Is Snoring

It rained. It is raining. It will rain. Thank goodness for the dab of super glue that sealed the split in my rain boots. I decided to give my leather and fabric Merrells a break from the rot inducing moisture after several days of walking home from school on saturated trails.  Each day over the past two weeks, we have received downpours, maybe one or several per day. I have yet to find official weather data in Costa Rica detailed enough to provide precipitation stats for Monteverde, but I guess that we've had fifteen inches of rainfall in that period. Where is my rain gauge when I need it? Is that spectacular, no, just typical here during rainy season. As a matter of fact, I just discovered that a tropical disturbance, or strong low pressure system in the Caribbean is developing just off the eastern coast of Costa Rica. This is likely to develop into a tropical depression and will linger, sucking moist air from the Pacific over Costa Rica and drop 6-8 inches of rain between tomorrow and Friday. Although Costa Rica does not get directly hit by hurricanes, it can receive road closing rainfalls.   

Life moves on - almost each afternoon, the showers start near the end of the school day. Due to rain beating on a metal roof without any insulation, the sound is deafening in each of the classrooms in which I teach. If I am giving a demonstration or a lesson, I pause, shift gears, use sign language, but do not bother shouting over the roar. After school, soccer practice or informal games fill the field. I watch from my classroom window as adults and children continue to play despite the weather. Sometimes I watch the clouds fall over the trees on either side of the field, enveloping the players in zero visibility fog.  Sometimes, a group of children take advantage of the free waterpark outside. Slide - now waterslide, swingset ruts - now splash pools, loose gutter - now waterfall. Laughing, frolicking, soaked to the bone, pure joy, smiles. 

  

Temperatures range between 60F and 75F, so it doesn't feel cold, but some mornings it can be in the upper 5os and damp. Perfect fleece and warm cup of coffee weather. It is rather funny to see students arriving to school with parka type jackets or knit hats covering their ears. But that's life - some people are more sensitive to the cold than I am. 

Almost time to climb into the wet bed, it feels that way lately. Not uncomfortable, but different. It will be an early AM as I need to review several science journals and check on our treefrogs.  Signed M