Rainy Season is Officially Upon Us!

I wake just before 8 am to the sound of steady rain. The house is slightly darker than usual and the air in the room is cool and fresh. I check the thermometer which shows an outdoor temperature of 25.8 degrees Celcius; inside the temperature reads 27.8 degrees.

With the fan blowing on me from the foot of the bed I’m very comfortable snuggled up under a light blanket.

The treetops outside of our bedroom window are a brilliant color of green. They are lush and full of life.

Rainy season is officially upon us!

One month ago this scene looked a lot different.

The hills surrounding our home were dried up and brown. When Gordon and I woke at six or seven in the morning the air was already thick, hot and humid.

In Nicaragua April and May are the hottest, driest months of the year. This time of year is our least favorite.

In the last couple of months we’ve seen daytime temperatures reach as high as 38 degrees Celsius. Many nights when we were ready to go to bed the temperature inside the house was still 31 degrees Celcius.

This heat, with no wind, day after day was becoming oppressive.

It’s during this time of year that we are extremely grateful to have air conditioning and we’re not bothered by the added electricity costs. To have relief from the heat and get a restful night’s sleep is well worth the extra $20 or $30 USD per month we have to spend.

WHAT TO EXPECT WITH A NICARAGUAN RAINY SEASON

Before moving to Nicaragua we had no idea what to expect of rainy season. We had visions of of heavy rainfall all day every day for months.

“Do we need to pack rain coats?”

“Should I buy rubber boots?”

Regardless of whether you’re moving here or just planning a visit we can now tell you from experience that rain coats and rubber boots aren’t necessary. A large umbrella might be a good idea though. And you’ll most definitely want to have a pair of waterproof flip flops or sandals.

An average day in rainy season starts a little cooler and overcast at dawn. By mid morning the clouds have usually burned off and the rest of the day is sunny and beach worthy until at least late afternoon.

When the rains do come it’s usually at night with real intensity. Sometimes the storm ends as quickly as it began; but other times the rain continues to fall all night long.

The first month of rainy season (June) and last month (October) are the rainiest months of the season. During these months rains may come daily and occasionally continue all day long. Typically during the months of July and August it only rains every three or four days and again, mainly in the evening.

BOTTOM LINE

We really like rainy season. After going five or six months without a single drop of rain there is nothing better than that first rainfall.

It’s amazing to witness the transformation as the landscape goes from an ugly brown to beautiful green in just a couple weeks.

There are however, a few minor downsides that come with rainy season.

For starters power outages are quite common at the beginning of rainy season. They usually happen at night. No power means no fan or air conditioning, which makes for a very uncomfortable night’s sleep.

We also see an increase in the amount of bugs, mosquitoes and house flies during this time.

Another slight annoyance that comes with rainy season is the mud, that evidently gets tracked into the house.

Without a dryer keeping up on laundry during rainy season can challenging.

Overall, the few annoyances that come with rainy season are definitely outweighed by the good. 

Bottom line, when I surveyed the members of the San Juan del Sur Friends & Neighbours Facebook group asking if they liked rainy season the results did not surprise me.

Every single person that answered gave a thumbs up to rainy season.