Rain, rain, gone away?

My routine each morning, for now anyway, is to rise around 6 am, make a cup of coffee and watch CBC's "The National." CBC is an acronym for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's equivalent to Great Britain's BBC.

At the end of "The National's" daily broadcast there is a report on Canada's weather for the next few days. It is at this point that I switch to the Environment Canada website and look at the seven day forecast for Nanaimo, BC, where my son and grandchildren live, and Winnipeg Manitoba, where I spent most of my adult life.

I have a MacBook Pro, which means I have a dashboard. After looking at the weather in Nanaimo and Winnipeg I open my dashboard and look at the forecast for Oaxaca. Oaxaca's weather, compared to Canada's weather, including the mild west coast of the country, could be described as . . .well, consistent. We are in the rainy season, so everyday the forecast was rain with noonday temperatures of 28 C. It was the amount of rain that was so extraordinary.

Rain is necessary to sustain life, I know this, I don't care, I pretty much hate rain. I love sun. Tuesday, September 28 I could no longer stand the frequent torrents of water pouring from the sky, the ceaseless dark unbroken clouds and the drizzle that existed when the torrents broke. I gave in and fell into a state of inertia. Then the rain stopped.

I watched the clouds in the sky during the first week of October, at first numerous and large, now virtually non existent. As for the forecast on my dashboard - sun, sun and more sun with temperatures from 24 C to 28 C. Perhaps the dry season has arrived an early this year, normally November marks the end of the rain. I can only hope.

New Castle Park and Stairs

I'm adjusting to a new way of life.

No need to spend money on a gym membership.  Neighborhood walks to the beach are exercise enough.  

I didn't count the number of stairs on this public access walkway.  Suffice it to say, they are countless.

Until this morning, the week has been very hot  Although the trip over to Newcastle Island was a short jaunt, the coolness of the sea breeze was a welcome diversion.

Nanaimo can be seen in the background.

Because I had to be at work by 6 p,m. my stay on the island was quite short. I will return on another day.

I'm getting use to taking the bus or walking.  The secret to waiting is to always carry a book.

The secret to long walks is to walk at a comfortable pace.

Generally, I'm the only caucasian in the house.  Living with a group of Korean people is a delight.  My host, Erin, brought a wide smile to my face the other day when she said, "Always o-kay," meaning whatever I wanted to do, I had her permission.

Korean people know the meaning of, and practice, respect.