Day Four - Weather Report

Unless you´re as web savvy as my wife, Jane, you probably have not been able to determine our weather here in the Solola region of Guatemala. We´ve been told that the temperature stays about the same year round. Remember, the lake is surrounded by volcanic peaks and ridges. Jorge says they´re only about 100 high, but most of us would say it looks more like a mile or more.

Our engineer Dan has an altimeter and he says the lake is right at 5300 feet. You´ll have to go online to find out for sure. Anyway, the basin is complete. The lake itself drains down to feed springs that eventually emerge closer to the coast.

The volcanic guards also protect us from severe winds. While we have a breeze most of the time, the clouds only churn high above us near the peaks. As the moisture they carry calms, they settle upon the lake valley and offer us a gentle rain off and on during the day. So far the rains have only really picked up at night but even then they have not been severe.

Of course there is no snow near us. I´m unsure about the mountain tops, but they too appear lush and green.

All of the homes and businesses that we have visited have been open air. In the right conditions, flies and gnats are a nuisance, but in better maintained homes and stores, you can enjoy the freedom of the unobstructed breeze.

Jorge has served us well and we have enjoyed "no fumar"4 accommodations and dining where ever we have been. Some people do smoke, but I suspect that when you have to carry your own firewood and food up nearly vertical hills, you tend to respect your lungs.

In a few day, we will be helping HHI inspect some O´Neal ovens that they are promoting. More on that later (I hope), but just so you know, they burn less wood (less hauling, less money) and less smoke. Surprising, many here suffer from lung aliments due to enclosed open fire smoke inhalation. Flume technology has not been well adopted.

Enough for now. Off to breakfast and today´s sprint. We´ll try to provide more video, but may have to be satisfied with photos of the moment.

Paz