Summer is on its way. The temperature is up. The humidity is definitely up. Comments about the weather are starting to change from observations to complaints. But really, its not too bad...yet. And the warmth is far preferable to the butt puckering cold we suffered through in the winter. I think it's still quite pleasant, and anyone who has been here for any amount of time has developed some very good coping mechanisms.

First and foremost is drinking plenty of water. It's such an easy thing to do, and so often overlooked. But drinking water helps your body optimize it's own built-in cooling system. Right now, we are going through a garrafon of water every day and a half for us and the dogs. (yes, they get purified water too.) When August gets here, we'll be going through a garrafon a day.

An unlikely technique for cooling your body is eating more chiles. Yep, that's right. It sounds crazy, but it really works. Okay, it doesn't really help at the moment you are eating the chile, because that makes you sweat, but it will help long-term. Chiles are vasodilators and open up blood vessels, improving your circulation, allowing your body to cool itself better. Even I, possibly the biggest chile wimp you will ever meet, have been eating chiles, and I really have noticed a difference.

Of course, having a breeze really helps too. If we don't have a natural breeze, we create an artificial one. If our house, we have six ceiling fans, two stand fans, three floor fans, and two table fans. And we use them all. Of course, two of the floor fans are for the dogs. Each one has their own fan. And they use them too.

We eat out a lot more for two reasons: it's too hot to cook, and we can go sit at a table next to the ocean and enjoy cool breezes. Although sometimes even at an ocean front restaurant there is no breeze. So what do you do when you are trapped at a restaurant with no airflow? Ask for a fan. Every single restaurant I have been to here has one or two in a back room somewhere that they will bring out and point directly at you. Beware though, because you will get some irritated looks from other diners who were not smart enough to ask for a fan.

Most of the expatriate women who are still in town have already shifted their wardrobe almost exclusively to shapeless cotton sun dresses. The kind that allow for good airflow and don't touch your body too much. Chuck wears silk shirts and shorts exclusively because they are cool and dry fast.

Some people shift to doing more of their shopping at the mega stores because they are air conditioned. I try to avoid those stores however. It's easier to spend more money when you are meandering around in air conditioned comfort, and it just feels that much worse when you leave. I don't use the air conditioner in the car either for that very same reason.

I am not completely anti air conditioning. We do have a window unit that we use at night to sleep. I simply cannot sleep when I am hot. During the day, I am usually busy and don't even notice that I'm hot, but at night, there is nothing to do but feel it. I am not a nice person when I am not well rested, so we use the AC.

The dogs have figured out the AC thing. They know when we go into the bedroom it gets much cooler. So now, whenever I walk into the bedroom during the day, I have two dogs running to join me. Then they discover I'm just putting away laundry or something. They give me a look that says, "I love you and all, but won't you please turn on the Magic Box?"

My biggest and most effective technique is a nice, cold shower. Feeling the water flowing over my body and carrying away the excess heat is divine. We are taking two or three showers a day right now, but that will go up to four or so toward the end of August. Because we are environmentally conscious and know water is a precious, we always make sure to shower together. It's truly odious, but we are willing to go to such lengths for our beloved Mazatlan.