Feet, bikes, cats and cars.

          

This morning, the temperature was 29°C in the shade, 47°C in the sun. At 8.25 a.m. At the moment, even the cat is flat out on the cool floor tiles. This is the cool season. It doesn't actually bother me when I'm busy doing nothing, but does get in my way when I'm actually trying to get something accomplished.

Hot temperatures start very early in the day here. The sun pours through the windows from roughly 5 in the morning if you leave the shutters open, and as our flat is facing the lagoon, the sun comes straight in. In the afternoon, though, it's shady, which is not so wonderful on the sun-tan front but does mean you can actually live in the flat, which wouldn't be possible otherwise. These temperatures last until the sun goes down at six-ish, then you can breathe again.

In the rainy season, temperatures are supposed to go up to roughly 40°C in the shade. The rainy season should start fairly soon. For a few days now, there have been clouds and the sort of stuffiness which makes you wish for a nice big storm to clear the air. It'll start with what's known as "the mango rain", called that because mangoes are starting to come into season, the rain means people can start gathering them. They eat them green here, chopped up as a vegetable or straight off the tree.

      
Humidity rates are around 60% at the moment. You can just about do nothing, but as soon as you get up, your head starts spinning and you start getting very hot and sweaty... lovely. Never mind actually doing active things such as walking to school or cleaning the floor. Before we arrived in Mayotte, I'd learnt that the flat was roughly 3km away from the school and couldn't see why I shouldn't be able to walk to school or go on a bike. When I got back from France after the October holidays, strikes and general road-blocking made me leave the car at the airport, and I could only go and fetch it a week later. For that week, I walked to and from school every day, the walk is about half an hour. Even at half past six in the morning - school starts at 7.15 - it's hot enough to make you very red once you actually arrive. A bike seemed like a good solution for the first couple of weeks here, but Mayotte is a volcanic region, so it's all ups and downs. Actually worse on a bike than on foot. I now understand why everybody takes the car everywhere, even for very short distances : at least they have air-conditioning.
        

Comments

[Cooper Eve]

hi read your blog, seems hot. Love Mum