Is it hot, pleeeeeeease??

Alli and Reese asked me a question I'm surprised more of you hadn't:  is it hot?  I'll bet a lot of you were possibly dreaming of warm beaches at that time. Your letters are dated January 21, and many of you told me how cold it was at that time.

The short answer?  YES!  It is hot.  Costa Rica is a tropical country.  What does that mean?  What other countries are in the tropics?

From a living standpoint, it means that the weather doesn't change quite as drastically as they do in countries further away from the equator, like the U.S.   Just like in Guinea, there are only two seasons:  dry season and rainy season.  We're in dry season right now, but that still means it can rain.  During rainy season it can rain almost every day of the month!  In Guinea the difference between the seasons was even more drastic.  Conakry, the capital of Guinea, is the rainiest world capital, and it receives all of its 10 feet of water in about three months.  During the other months it's so dry that all the grass dies completely and the earth is taken over  by the colors red and brown.  As soon as the first week of rains return there's an explosion of green as all the trees and plants wake up.  Here, the rain is much more constant, but we still notice a difference between the two seasons.

Have you ever noticed that the days are getting longer right now?  Up until June 21 that will keep happening. (Why so?)  Well, it's true here too, but again it's not nearly as dramatic.  The sun is going down a little later at night, but we barely notice.  All year round you can count on the sun coming up around six in the morning and going down at six. 

A beautiful Pacific sunset, just before 6 p.m.

With all that we know so far about the climate, what can you conclude about the temperatures in Costa Rica?  Take a look at this chart with Mrs. Stonecipher.  It shows the average temperature every month in Puerto Limon, the closest city to where I live.  Does the temperature change much from month to month?