Rain, rain, go away

Mornings are filled with glorious sunshine and renewed hope for a beautiful day.  Around 10:00 AM, the mountains in the distance look clouded over.  By noon, the sky has turned gray and by 3:00 PM, the thunder is rumbling and crashing, the lightning is flashing in staccato bolts and the rain is pounding on the metal roof like a thousand snare drums.  Raging rivers of water rush down the street and up the sidewalk.  Debris floats and bobs in the turbulent water.  All phone calls and television shows must be postponed until the rains stop and the deafening roar diminishes.  Clothes hung on the line become saturated … again.  Powerful winds force water under doors and roof tiles, creating slippery puddles on ceramic floors and dangerous footing for unsuspecting feet.  Pets hide under beds.  Enough!  Couldn’t we have a gentle rain, for a change?  (Here’s an escape from the rain.)

Rainy season is here

Several days of rain, but very sunny mornings. The grass is coming back and the plants are beginning to grow like weeds again. Who would ever think they’d be complaining of flowers becoming a nuisance and needing to be trimmed (scalped is more like it)? It happens here! When it rains in the afternoon, some main streets are lower than their side streets so they fill up quickly as the side streets drain. You begin to wonder if you shouldn’t have packed a life boat as the water in the main road rises and large, tumbling objects in the rushing water head straight for your car (or your bare legs if you are walking). Just as quickly as the “flooding” begins, it disappears, the sun comes out and the sky fills with rainbows. Mother Nature has a heyday in Costa Rica.