Waterfall Season Around the world we dance, perform lavish ceremonies, and (my favorite) even parade with cats in baskets to becon the rains. What's your ritual to make it rain?
Do you love the rain? I just learned that a person who loves the rain, finds joy and peace of mind during the rain is called a Pluviophile (don't bother remembering that one). I for one love it when it rains here in Panama and it's my favorite time of year. Everything starts growing again, the waterfalls are cranking, the rivers are running and nature shows her true colors.
Many wonder what it's like in Panama this time of year and I wonder actually why it rains this time of year. This little country the size of Ireland or South Carolina has a few different climatic regions which are determined by the amount of rain they receive each year. One thing that is consistent here is that it's always tropically hot and the water is always warm (wetsuit not necessary). In our region of Panama, May is when the much awaited rains arrive following the dry Summer season. They last until the end of November and into December. Now let's dig a little deep (short term memory style) back to January when we talked about how Panama was formed by crashing plates a hot 20 million years ago (like an exciting Greek wedding on slo-mo). Got it? Good. So, when this happened the environment got all sorts of confused and changed everything like when our home entertainment options changed from Blockbuster to Netflix. The creation of this land bridge between North and South America shut down the commingling of water between the Pacific and the Atlantic. You know - like COVID did to our social lives. As you can imagine, the ocean currents were re-routed dramatically and while the land was experiencing a major geo-makeover, this caused a complete shift in the ocean currents and boom shaka-laka the Gulf Stream was created. But still, why does it rain a certain time of year; May to December and dry the rest of the year...
Getting to the point now, this has to do with the tilt of the earth and how the sun heats the earth causing evaporation up into the clouds where expansion cools the air and kicks out the moisture for my flowers below. If you wanna dive deeper, this is a pretty cool explanation.
If you're like me, that explanation will do and now you know why it's awesome here all the time. Rain jacket? Not necessary.
Here's hoping life is treating you well and waterfall shenanigans are on your short list. We know a whole bunch of 'em that we are calling your name.
Your Friends in Morrillo,
Cari and Ryan Mackey
Owners and Hosts
Morrillo Beach Eco Resort