We are leaving the beautiful drier months of September and October behind now, and moving into more of a rainy season here on the Caribbean side. While most of the country experiences a rainy season from May to November, the Caribbean coast is more humid and rains all year. We don't have dry months really. We have less wet months. But, honestly after living for almost 20 years in Southern California and experiencing Santa Ana winds, fire season and hot arrid weather that lasted for weeks at a time...lush green vegetation and rainy weather is fine by me. And my skin really does look younger here, but that's just the vanity talking.
September and October are considered one of the best sweet spots for travel on this coast, not only for the great, sunny weather, but also for the calm, flat turquoise water that beckons as you drive by. The snorkeling is great during this time of year as well, and we have some really beautiful spots right off the beach. But as it goes, the transition has started. Halloween morning dawned to heavy downpour that lasted until about 4 o'clock. And since last week, we have had a good rain almost everyday. As we are transitioning, I am noticing we start beautiful and sunny, with flat seas, and by 3 o'clock, usually when I'm coming up for air from work, chores and errands, we are gray with heavy stormclouds rolling in. It's not all bad, I have managed two good snorkels in the last week.
One of the mainstays of fall, is how early it starts to get dark. Being near the equator, our days and nights stay fairly steady, but as the fall started, our 6:15 sunsets became 5:45 sunsets. And as we've said goodbye to October, it's now more like a 5:30 sunset. My house being under rainforest canopy for the most part, it starts to darken back here by like 2:30ish. But never fear, we make up for it in the mornings, as it gets light about 5:15 am. The jungle wakes with the sun, and not having window glass to shut out the sounds, means that we wake with the jungle. I'm better about tuning it out, but my husband is now a dedicated early bird.
Rain falls heavy and hard often here, with sheets coming down for hours sometimes. I love to listen to it, and it's a good thing I do, because without glass it's so loud that we can't listen to much else. We have one television in the house and at night, we like to relax after dinner and watch something as a family. On rainy days and nights, that's not possible. Even with the television on as loud as it goes, the rain is so loud it drowns it out. On those days, it's incredibly cozy. While it's never cold here, those days I'll put on a long sleeved shirt or even turn off the fan in my bedroom, and snuggle under a blanket. We read quite a bit, my daughter and I...when I can wrangle her into the house. If it's during the day, they just play in the mud, and get soaking wet. Today they even put on bathing suits to jump on the trampoline. If it's the evening, I have a much better chance of convincing her to get in bed with me and we will either read together, play a game on her tablet, or I'll read to her.
It's funny, there's a ritual to rain now that I look forward to. Maybe it's because it's always warm, never seasonal. We don't have cold days here. No autumn, or pumpkin spice. No spiced apple muffins or soup weather. No pumpkins or hayrides. No spooky decorations or stories. I noticed I started doing it in California on rainy days, and it's become more important now that there aren't even any of the seasonal indicators. I make tea, pull a blanket, light candles and make time to read for pleasure. As a family, those days call for a movie and popcorn in the afternoon or as soon as we can when the rain lets up. I love spooky stories and I adore listening to Mr. Ballen or Nightmare Fuel You Tube channels. I used to put them on the earbuds as I worked instacart or walked dogs on the Rover app. Now, they are reserved for those special rainy days when it's so loud that even talking to someone on the other side of the room takes effort. We all get a little quieter and reflective on those days. It's just another side of paradise. When the sun comes out the next time, I'm so grateful to see it and so glad the rain has stopped. But I can't help feel so happy when it starts to pour.
This dark and it was only like 3:30!
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