Sunday, July 18, 2010

Las Lluvias- The Rains

I arrived in Mexico the same week the summer rains started in the states of Jalisco and Nayarit. Subtropical climates with their dry and rainy seasons are far different than our weather in Canada where six weeks without rain is a significant drought. Here it rains only in the summertime, from about June to September which coincides with hurricane seasons on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

My parents' home at the start of the rains. Things are much greener now.

The three hour drive from the airport in Guadalajara to the home of my family near Tepic was very wet as we drove up mountains into the clouds and then down in valleys with lightning and rain descending on the slopes above us. The temperatures in Tepic were hot and the humidity very high.

Early morning...This is the same direction as the sunset picture below

Morning mists rose from the ground until they were burned off by the sun. The surrounding sugar cane fields had been harvested and with the rains, the brown landscape became greener every day. My brother has planted hundreds of trees and plants on their five acre property and the flowers were beautiful.


Very early one morning, just as the sun was rising, I walked outside after a thunderstorm and a full rainbow stretched across the valley over the city of Tepic. Ten minutes later it was gone but it was a great way to start a new day.

San Pedro, Coahuila

Our daughter lives in the north of Mexico in the state of Coahuila. The area is part of the Chihuahuan Desert and rain may not fall for a year or more. Dust storms are more common than rainstorms. It was very hot here too, and the air so dry you didn't sweat but just evaporated. One day at noon, while we were at the main town square, a downpour started and most of the children who were gathered for a festival ran for shelter. But a few ran happily in the warm rain which did cool the temperature significantly.


Clouds bring rain and they also create spectacular sunsets. I took far too many pictures of the evening light over the mountains in front of my parents' house but each moment was different and better than the last.

In Canada we often experience dreary, grey, rainy weather for days on end. The rain in Mexico was present each day but the sun always came out when the storms moved away.

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God,
Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

Psalm 147:7-8

12 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing some of your lovely pictures.This is a country i will perhaps never see in person,but do enjoy visiting it virtually.
    BLessings,Ruth

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  2. I live in a subtropical area (Florida) and one of the few things I like about our climate is how short-lived the rains are, just like you described them in Mexico.

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  3. What a beautiful area your family lives in. Gorgeous sunset and absolutely love the sunset.

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  4. That sunset is just spectacular Ruth. Thanks for sharing the beauty of where your family lives.

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  5. nice one of the rainbow. Last week, when i was driving, and I forgot the camera, there was a double rainbow.

    The allamanda flower reminded me of my Australian holidays.

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  6. Great pictures. The weather certainly plays a part in our very diverse world. I would be excited to run through the rain also, if it only arrives once every year. Rain is something we take for granted and often grumble about where in other places it's so precious.

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  7. No doubt the rains are cause for celebration and rejoicing.

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  8. Ruth--I thoroughly enjoyed seeing where your parents live, the general scenes. And I like the sunrise, sunset pairing.

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  9. Loved that rainbow. Just what I needed today.

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  10. That's a great big colorful flower and the sunset is awesome! Sounds like a nice change from Canda but some Candian weather sounds pretty good to me about now.

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  11. What beautiful scenerey and what you say is true. Here in AZ we are experiencing the monsoon also. The humidity is high but I love the thunderstorms and so does the desert!

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  12. Beautiful pictures, Ruth.

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