The Green Season Has Arrived

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First, before I get started, let me apologize to friends back in the Yardley area - I’m sorry if we didn’t get to see you. It was a bit of a last minute, whirlwind trip to the area (we actually made last minute changes to plane tickets that had been bought months before only about a week before coming up) and the main purpose of the trip was to see Dara’s parents. We are glad we got to see who we did - we needed to make the most out of the short time we were there. We would have really liked to see everyone, but time just didn't allow.

The big news here in Costa Rica is that with a wave of her wand, Mother Nature has flipped the switch and initiated the “green” season. And it started with a bang. Everyone has been telling us that it would start May 5. Well, they were wrong. It didn’t start until May 7. Must be global warming.

Supposedly during the rainy season most days start out sunny and warm, then there is a hard rain for an hour or two in the middle of the afternoon, then it clears up again. Many people here have told us that they prefer the rainy season - they say nicer temperatures, less dust and pollen, “refreshingness” of rain, yadda, yadda, yadda. I thought the temperatures were just fine and it wasn’t very dusty before, but I was open-minded about giving the green season a chance.

Well, Sunday, the first day of the rainy season was textbook. We woke to a nice sunny day and headed off to a nearby water park with some friends. Unfortunately, the park is now only open to members (for the low, low price of $1000 per year). So after a stop for lunch, we ended up at a local hotel with a swimming pool. They are nice enough to let you use the pool as long as you buy something from the restaurant/bar. Well, after splashing around for a while, the sky quickly darkened. As a warning, for 15 or 20 minutes or so, there were just some sprinkles. Then the serious rain started. It did rain hard - not the crazy, Florida thunderstorm, can’t see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face, kind of downpour, but pretty good. By this time we were on our way home - we took heed of the warning sprinkles (for a change we heeded a warning). Not long after we arrived home, the rain abated and it turned into a nice afternoon.

Well, the next couple days, on the other hand, weren’t so textbook. We’re talking about all day rain. Shoes never drying out, leaking roof, depressing rain. Really dreary. I seriously started thinking that if the green season was going to be like this, we’d be coming home early - even as early as next week. As it turns out, however, there was just a front or storm passing through. It was a rainy aberration in the green season. The last couple of days have been back to textbook - rain not even that hard. Shoes have dried out. There have even been a couple days (like today) with no rain at all - I thought we were guaranteed rain every day! So I am no longer depressed. When it was all-day rain, I thought the people who preferred the rainy season were crazy. Now that it has settled down, maybe they have a point. We’ll see how it goes.

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