After an absence of several months, the rain returned to Las Catalinas last night. A steady rain fell all through the night. This is a wonderful and welcome event each year. Nature's response to this annual event is so rapid and so profound that it tends to amaze people - even though they know to expect it. The greening of the landscape is nearly instantaneous. As our Jim Berry says, "It is like turning a switch". Last week was the hottest week of the year. Today, at 3:00 in the afternoon it is 77 degrees. And within a couple of weeks you'd never know there even was a dry season by looking at the landscape.
One of the things that I've noticed when I spend time in Las Catalinas is how aware I am of the rhythms of nature. Sunrise and sunset. High tide and low tide. Wind. Waves. Sun and shade. All these things really matter and I'm keenly aware of them on a daily or hourly basis in a way that I'm not in other places. I've heard other people exclaim about this as well. It feels good - it is nice to be in touch with the natural world in that way. And certainly *everyone* in Guanacaste is tuned in to annual arrival of the rain each year!
Dry season is high season in Guanacaste - it coincides with nasty winter weather up north and that is when the most visitors come. Bu the wet season seems to be preferred by many of the full time residents. It is nice.