January 22,2012

This is our first “real” dry season. La Nina kind of cancelled it last year, so the experience is certainly interesting. It poured and poured with rain for four days in December, just prior to Josh arriving. We were somewhat concerned, since all activities we had planned were out of doors. But the day he arrived, the rain just suddenly stopped. That was it. No more rain now for a month and we have 3 to 4 more months to go. This is considered “summer” time in Panama. Daily weather is 70 for a low and a high of 94. Much lower humidity, windy, just a few clouds, and zero rain in the forecast. If you go out in the morning before it gets too sunny or if you venture out around sundown, it is totally amazing. Parks are filled with people, cricket matches, picnics, soccer games, dog walkers, baseball and even an occasional American football game. Pictured are fall-like leaves dropping to the ground and there is no concern of snow just around the corner. The lake across the street from us is now totally dry. The ground is beginning to crack. The luscious green grass is drying up. The jungle starts thinning out. I can’t imagine what it will be like without rain for several more months. I guess, from what I hear is that toward the end of the dry season, there can be large fires in the interior with the winds carrying smoke and ash into the city. Time will tell!