Cold and rainy

It’s a cold and rainy Saturday in Santa Rosa de Copán. A mist covers the town at 11 am, with a 54^o temperature that feels worse since the dampness goes right through me. And just a few minutes a go the electricity went off.

11:30 am on my street in Santa Rosa de Copán

Electricity going off is common here, at least two times a month, sometime for an hour or so, sometimes for the whole day.

And it does get cold here – not below freezing, but often in the low fifties, usually between October and early February.

Though this is a subtropical region, we are in the mountains. And when it’s rainy or misty, it feels all the worse. Santa Rosa de Copán is cooler than many places, but earlier this week I was in Esperanza, Intibucá, which is the highest city in the country and where it is even colder.

But today as I walked to the market, I remembered that it is coffee harvest season. Many families are out in the cold, wet coffee fields picking, hoping to get some cash to help pay for expenses for the year. If they don’t get enough, they may suffer serious hunger later this year.

I also saw a partially crippled beggar walking on his crutches – in bare feet.

And so I wait in my cold house for the electricity to return so that I can make some soup in the crockpot I have.

But I need to remember those who are even more affected by the rain, the mist, and the cold, like the kids going down the street with their donkeys.