Day 82 - Santa Cruz Winter

Santa Cruz Winter

Now that winter is ending I guess I should talk about the Bolivian winter, or at least the winter in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.  I’m writing this on a Saturday morning in mid-September.  The night was cool, but the weather forecast is saying 95.

Santa Cruz is in the tropical lowlands of South America.  About half of Bolivia is in the Andes Mountains and remains cooler, or colder, all year round.  Santa Cruz is warm year round, and often hot.  If you look at statistics on the weather here, it shows that the hottest day on record was 100 in November.  When I tell Bolivians that the summer in Dallas is usually around 100 (38 Celsius) they are shocked, because it rarely gets above 34 or 35 Celsius, in the mid-90s.  In Dallas you feel the heat when you go outside, but in Santa Cruz, you stick to the shady side of the street or sit under a tree, it doesn’t feel so bad.

The winter here is at the same time as Texas summer.  We are below the Equator, so there are opposite seasons.  Most days of the winter months are like those beautiful Dallas sunny days in January.  You want to be outside!  Some trees lose their leaves, but many more are in bloom.  It is a beautiful time of year.

Then you are hit with a surazo, a cold wind from the south, blowing up from Antarctica and picking up speed in the vast plains of Argentina.  There is nothing to stop it!  Temperatures will drop to the low 50s at night and maybe not quite 70 during the day.  The wind bites into you when you are outside.  No, it is not freezing, but it feels like it.  The houses here are not built for months of cold, so even with every window and door shut tight, it feels cold, much like the day I visited Minneapolis in January.  Inside the wind blows so hard that at times you can’t open the door, and closing windows can be difficult.

My North Window

My apartment is situated with one window facing south.  When a surazo is blowing in, I notice it right away.  The living room curtains are blowing.  A surazo usually lasts for three days.  The third day is mild, usually sunny.  There is little if any breeze.  It is a great day to get outside!

My South Window

My bedroom window faces north.  The day after the surazo the wind changes direction; it blows from the north.  Last night the wind changed direction.  I wrapped myself in my blankets and enjoyed the wind blowing in my window.  This is not a gentle breeze, but wind that can blow you down.  It is a day to do laundry, because it is windy and dry.  In minutes your shirts are dry.  In an hour your towels, and a bit longer for jeans.  As I write this, it is 11:00 am and I can feel the beginnings of heat.  By noon my windows will be shut and the air conditioning will be on for the first time in three days.

Winter is ending.  Spring in Santa Cruz is the hot and dry time of the year.  Enjoy your fall weather while I bake.