News of the "Arctic Vortex" - the punishing winter
weather that most of North America has been struggling under since before
Christmas has even reached as far south as Loreto - albeit courtesy of
satellite TV and, if I do say so myself, it has brought some comfort and
perspective to those of us who spend the winter here in this extreme southern
Temperate climate.
Comfort and perspective, because for Loretanos, living as we
do just north of the Tropic of Cancer, this is our winter season as well -
admittedly a kinder and gentler form of winter than is the case for many of you
living in the Great White North, but relatively speaking - winter none the
less. From about the middle of December
until about the middle of February is the general time frame for our version of
winter this far south, and along with shorter daylight hours come cooler nights
- much cooler nights! 
Most of the homes in Loreto Bay are built around a central
open air courtyard, and for most of the year the doors and windows can be left
open day and night. But at this time of
year I leave interior doors open to the courtyard when I am away during the
day, but after I return home, once the sun has set about 5:30 pm, I close up
the house to keep the daytime warmth in and the cooling evening air out. Likewise, I keep the bedroom closed up during
the evening and overnight to keep the chilly air out.
While this has been a predictable pattern for this time of
year ever since I have been here, I don't think it is my imagination to say
that the cool evenings have been cooler than usual this year - which is perhaps
not surprising, when one considers the impact that the record breaking
"Vortex" effect has been having over much of North America in the
past several weeks. After all, however
far south we may be from where the extreme weather that has been breaking
records further north - we are still connected to the rest of the continent and
our ambient temperatures have to be affected as Arctic air plunges further
south than normal.
Add to that, this is also the time of year when we can get
prevailing North-easterly winds blowing down the length of the Sea of Cortez
which of course moves more of the cooler air further south. Fortunately,
although there has been several windy days in the last few weeks, the winds
don't seem to be as strong or frequent as I have experienced at this time of
year in the past.
However, when the sun rises it doesn't take very long to start
warming air again in the morning, and I notice a big difference in that air
temperature between 8:00 and 9:00 am when I leave my bedroom to walk through
the courtyard to the living area for breakfast, and an hour later when I am
leaving the house for my bicycle commute to the Office. Typically, by about 10 am on a calm day, with
the sun shining out of a usually clear blue sky, we have almost reached our
daytime high in the mid-twenties Celsius or mid-seventies Fahrenheit and all is
forgotten about the chill in the air from the night before.
This cooler weather
also has a noticeable effect on people's wardrobe at this time of year. First of all, for the native Mexicans this is
winter for them, perhaps the only winter they have known, depending on where
they may have lived, and so it is not unusual to see them on these chilly
mornings bundled up in their warmest clothes - down vests, fleece jackets, and
scarves wrapped around their necks.
Because, of course, as acclimated as they are to the extremes of heat
here in the summer, the chilly mornings at this time of year must seem as cold
to them as below zero temperatures do to the inhabitants living with winter in
most of North America.
This also results in some unusual sartorial contrasts
between the local Mexicans and the ex-pat population here in Loreto Bay - when
a quilt jacketed Mexican meets up with a Gringo wearing shorts and a T-shirt it
is obvious that there are two parallel realities happening here! But the differences in clothing can be more subtle
than that. For instance, because I have
been spending more than 8 months of the year here for the past 6 or 7 years, I
too have become somewhat used to this climate and feel the "cold"
here more than someone here for a short visit from up North.
Therefore, it is fairly easy to identify those of us who
spend more time here from those "just visiting", as they are wearing
the shorts and T-shirts that they packed for their Mexican winter getaway -
while we "long timers" are often in long pants, long sleeves and even
light jackets. Also, because most of the
restaurants in town are at least partially outdoors, let alone the more casual
street food vendors set up at the side of most main streets in town during the
evening, when I say that at this time of year we "dress" to go out to
dinner, I mean we wear the warmest clothes we have here, and some of the better
places have patio heaters to make dining "al fresco" more
comfortable.
So, in our own way, we too are dealing with winter - just on
a more comfortable scale. In most homes
that have built-in air conditioning the a/c units can also operate as heat
pumps enough to take the chill out of the air in a room. But, as I have learned, using the system in
heat mode is just as expensive in power consumption as it is cooling in the hot
weather, so Mexican blankets are a popular living room accessory. Also the adobe-style construction of most of
the Loreto Bay homes provides great insulation against the cold air, as well as
holds daytime heat that warms the interior at night.
The purpose of this
week's Blog is not to make those of you who find yourselves enduring record
breaking winter conditions jealous of our milder version of the season (well,
maybe just a little), but instead to point out that we too have different
seasons here as well. And while our
"winter" is much kinder and gentler, it is still a change - and one
that ultimately makes us appreciate even more, the warmer days and milder
evenings that we will be enjoying here in just a few short week's time. Taking a moment to recognize the passing of the
seasons, and be grateful for the near ideal climate that comes with the natural
beauty of this place, helps me realize why I love "Living Loreto".
