The rains are unforgiving this time of year. I don’t know where you are from, but in my hometown of NY, this would be considered a monsoon. Every day. And if the rain skips a day, watch out. The rain gods don’t forget, they get even. The storms come through as a wall of water, soaking you to the bone just stepping out of the car at school pickup. I don’t even know if my umbrella could hold up that much rain, it would probably just buckle under the pressure. That much rain.
Driving can be fierce – still have not used the 4 wheel drive and David says thats “good” because I don’t want 4 wheels spinning -?!@#$ really? Was that supposed to make me feel Better?! He says 4 wheel drive is for the mud – well honey, take a look at our mud slide, I mean road. I may end up at the mall one day, either waiting for the storm to pass or just riding the wave that took me there! I could spend hours finding things to do just to avoid driving up our dirt roads in it. Though folks do it all the time, in regular cars even! Kids get picked up from school, people go to work, grocery shop – I am still skittish.
Half the drivers here don’t even turn their lights on. THAT drives me nuts. Its like the people who walk right in the street and expect you not to hit them. Hello-o! DO you think I can see anything? It looks like I am driving along at the bottom of the Ocean! One guy was driving past me before I even knew he was there. If this was NYC there would be bodies flyin’ and cars crashin’ all over the roads. It would be like something out of one of those end of the world movies. But not here, NO no no, not here in San Ramon (I have heard they use the sidewalks in San Jose). Here we just drive very slow because Carlos does not use his lights in the rain, and neither does his bother, and we know that. We swerve around Maria who is walking down the middle of the road going to her sisters house, or we wait behind her as a truck is coming the other way because we can’t expect Maria to move to the side of the road for oncoming traffic. But let me tell you, as much as it drives me nuts on a regular day – not in the rain. In the rain, I say Maria can walk wherever she wants, and I will drive 2 miles an hour to make sure I don’t hit her.
Streets become rivers, drains become swirling vortex’s of mud and god knows what else, the windows shake from rolls of thunder that pass through the skies looking for an exit, but there is none. It keeps rolling, getting angrier until it throws down its lightning in a fit of frustration. Over and over and over. Bets go down about the electricity staying on or going off. Just the other day I stood outside my own home, watching the lightning over someone else’s town. How beautiful. The thought of fireworks drew me outside to this amazing sight going off somewhere far west, so far west that we did not even hear the thunder, just saw the lightning crackle across the sky between two storms. Back and forth, back and forth, yet above me, clear skies and stars with a few thin clouds that flew by from the pressures so far away. Gorgeous.
I welcome the rainy season – its a time I am used to – when you are inside, snuggling under a blanket, watching movies and doing puzzles because it is too cold to go outside. Its our winter. Its our downtime, even light a fire, read a book time. Its the reason some houses in San Ramon have a fireplace. And it is also the MOST Beautiful time of year in Costa Rica. Because after the storm… the sun comes out. Everything is clean, fresh. The flowers are in bloom, every one of them – the greenest green is even more so against the whitest white, the reddist red even more crimson against the bluest sky. I love this time of year – i can’t believe how many birds I hear when I close my eyes – it reminds me of a silly nature CD I used to have in college – meant to take you away to the forest or the jungle – well, its my home here now. And the rains bring the flowers and the fruits, and the birds. Sure it brings the challenges as well, but mixed with so much of the rest of this amazing stuff – well, lets just say I am off to brave my new road. See you soon 😉
A Mom's Guide to Costa Rica - Life and Travel 