Ride Well

January 31, 2013

It is hot, humid and muggy here now, at least from this desert rat’s perspective.
I’m a big sweat ball as soon as I get out of the shower (almost pointless to bother and take one, actually) and I’m wearing the skimpiest items in my wardrobe.  At my age, this really isn’t a pretty sight.
I don’t look good in halter and tank tops, since my kimono upper arms are essentially lethal weapons if I start swinging them around. This is the time of year when I sometimes think we should live in Cuenca so I can justify wearing long sleeves.

Maybe FLOTUS can pull off the sleeveless look, but not me.

 

It is the sunny season AND the rainy season along our area of the coast (“high” season).  This is a little hard to explain.
Keep in mind that Ecuador is a country with a multitude of micro-climates, and we live in a coastal pocket climate that’s different than the weather approximately 40 miles north or south of us.

Generally, from around mid-December to end of March it is hot and sunny during the day, with a nice breeze off the ocean if you’re close to it, or in the hills.  Towards sunset, the clouds gather over the hills just inland, and then – after dark – the sturdy, all night rains begin. Some years it rains more, but a couple of years ago, it was bone- dry here during “high season”.   This year, the rains are starting often in the late afternoons, and some locals I know are forecasting a mild El Niño.
I’ve given up trying to predict our weather from year to year, because I think it’s just plain weird everywhere on the planet now.

 

 

 

(I took these pictures of some neighbor kids about a week ago, while they were dancing in one of our recent late afternoon, refreshing downpours).

 

I just came back from a quick errand to our local tienda, where I saw the funniest thing.

I see a lot of Ecuadorians wearing tee-shirts emblazoned with English logos, and I ran into an elderly braless neighbor gal (I’m guessing she’s around 70-yrs).  She’s a tiny thing – she comes to about my shoulders, and I’m only 5’3”.

She had a shirt on that said “I See You’ve Met the Girls” written across her chest.  I had to laugh, and I asked her if she knew what it meant. She started laughing too, while pointing out the obvious – that her “girls” weren’t that big.  I love the people here!

I haven’t mentioned our dog Daisy in a while. She is still just the GREATEST dog in the world, and without a doubt, the best and most well-known ambassador for Jardines de Olón (our former neighborhood, and where we will be building this year on the lot we own next to the house we sold). Daisy still hangs out there most of the time when she’s not with us, but that’s okay. She was an independent 7-8 month old beach stray when we adopted her nearly 3 years ago, and she knows how to take care of herself.

Every visitor falls in love with her, and all our neighbors spoil her to pieces – she definitely doesn’t lack for attention. And she loves a party.  The other night, I cruised up to the new “Ojas” bar and restaurant near our park in Olón, which has become a popular hang-out since it opened.  An awesome  kick-ass-traveling-through rhythm and blues band was playing that I wanted to hear.

Who beat me there?  Yep…Daisy was already there hanging out and making friends at the bar.

Todd and I did get sad news a few days ago. We’ve been corresponding for some time with a super neat couple (Denny and Terri Waller of Kauai for the last 30 years), who were scheduled to arrive here later this month. Through those emails, we all developed a special, kindred-spirit bond with one another.
Denny was a Southern California surfing legend who was a gremmie in Newport Beach in the ‘50’s and who also surfed the original BIG WEDNESDAY at Killer Dana in the early ‘60’s, before the harbor was built.
They were coming here to explore the possibility of moving to Ecuador, to escape the now over-built commercialism of Kauai, and find a simpler lifestyle.  All of us were looking forward to their arrival – Denny in particular.  
Denny passed away earlier this week.  Todd and I are heartbroken and we can only imagine Terri’s pain.
Terri, we are with you in spirit.
And Denny….Ride Well, Friend.

We feel honored to have known you.

Aloha.

 

Terri and Denny Waller
Photo
Courtesy of Terri.