Diane: In the Andean towns of Ecuador’s mountains, the weather is rumored to be that of eternal springtime. To be blunt, I have found it to be exceedingly cold. It’s not that the temps drop very low. I doubt it has fallen below 50°F in Cuenca. It’s the cold of interior spaces that creeps into my bones. My daydreams now focus on a big bathtub of warming 100°F water to replace the living room furniture in our cozy apartment.
When I sit still for any length of time, I need my jacket to stay warm. Eventually, if I’m at school, I have to go for a nice long walk to push my nice warm blood out to my extremities. If I’m in the apartment, I make my way into bed to be warmed by its many layers of blankets. This makes for early bedtimes.
Yesterday, I came up with a new technique. I use the laptop as a heater. I sit in a comfy spot with a sleeping bag wrapped around me, the ends resting on my lap. With the laptop on top of the sleeping bag, eventually the heat transfers to the sleeping bag, which then envelopes me in its soft warmth. This morning as I sat inside, wrapped in the cocoon of sleeping bag and laptop, Calliope checked her thermometer; it was 59°F. Needless to say, the fights over who gets to use the laptop and for how long have now intensified.
Speaking of the climate here, we have come to Cuenca during their “dry” season. It could more accurately be labeled the “not-so-wet” season, because it does rain most every day. When it rains, the unpaved streets turn muddy, the beautiful tile sidewalks from Colonial times get a bit slippery, and everybody looks for cover under the eaves and doorways of buildings. Luckily, it is a gentle rain that knows when to stop. And, I am thankful that we are not here in the wet season.
I should note that when the sun comes out there are nice breaks from the rain and cold. I can even take off my jacket. Also of interest is that Tom finds the weather quite pleasant. He lounges around the apartment in a short sleeved shirt most of the time. How do we manage to live in the same house?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment