Costa Rica rain

The sudden downpour soaked me to the skin and thoroughly wet my leather purse through to my passport, which was in an inner pocket. A local woman described this as a mild and welcome shower, the first in about five months.

The rainy season here can brings about more drastic conditions. When the rain is heavy, there is nowhere for the rainwater to go during the four hours of high tide. Nobody walks or attempts to drive during heavy rainstorms, which usually hit in October and November.

Fortunately,  for the last two years, the rains around Playa Guiones have been relatively mild. The year before, though, brought a strong rainy season that flooded houses and shops, washed away bridges, and obliterated the highway through Nosara, replacing it with a raging river. Costa Rica's roads are bumpy; now I know this is due to the dried and packed mud from the latest rains.

I was also told that a few weeks ago the area experienced a heavy windstorm that blew a lot of unripe mangoes and other fruit from the trees, diminishing the year's supply.