Topic: Life in Mazatlan

I know I complain, so I thought I should mention some of the things I love about all the rain. The field across from the house is in full bloom, which means it is covered with thousands of butterflies in glorious shades of red, orange, yellow, and white. The temperatures have been low enough for cozy socks and soup. And I certainly have had the time to get some pleasure reading done. But the very best thing about the rain has been the sunsets. I took this picture just a few minutes ago from our terrace:

It's been so long since we have talked! It's been a pretty rainy week here. It's been cloudy most of the time, and with the rain cooled air, I actually hunted out a pair of flannel pants, socks, and a robe. It got down to a chilly 78°F in the house. Okay, I also have the flu and was running a fever, but when normal room temperature is 86°F, 78 really is kinda cold.

Around 3:00 this morning, one heck of a thunderstorm blew through. The Spanish word for thunderstorm is one of the best words ever - tormenta. I think that sums it up pretty well. The wind was relentless and oh, the lighting. Not to mention the copious amounts of water that left us with some mop up to do this morning. What a gift the storm was!

When we woke up at 7:30 yesterday morning, we noticed it was really dark for that time of day. It was just starting to rain. It's very unusual for it to rain during the day here. Mazatlan usually abides by the rulebook for Paradise and restricts the rain to the night time hours. No big deal. On the rare occasions it does rain during the day here, absent a hurricane, it is always a gentle rain shower. Did I say always? I guess I should add – until today.

I am sitting here at my desk gazing out at the sun glinting off the deep topaz Pacific, creating diamonds in my vision. The ocean stretches to fill my view, meeting a sky so bright and blue it could have been delivered by Tiffany's. The recent rains have turned the three islands into verdant hills that bisect my view. Up close, the waves gently crash on the shore, creating an impossibly white foam that contrasts with the deep golden sand. A fresh ocean breeze sends the palm fronds to swaying and tickles the hair on my neck. It's another perfect day here in paradise, and I'm sick of it.