Rain

The rainy season has started. Local mangoes are finished and now I'm stuffing myself with the larger, grafted varieties. They're more fun to eat because they're often full of worms and they therefore give you a greater protein kick if you don't always see them right away.

It also means that on nights I sleep outside I am risking an inadvertent shower. Last night, for example: I've been sleeping on the roof here in Conakry in my mosquito tent. It's basically a mesh on poles - no protection from the rain. That's what the roof is for. But last night the wind was so strong I had to dig around for thirty minutes to find ear plugs and it blew my tent horizontal - I had the mesh pressed onto my face until I was able to put heavy things all around the edges to weigh them down. Life is good, though - it was much cooler with all the wind and rain.

Here Amy and I are trying to collect rainwater to use later for whatever - bathing for example. After Adam finished he came out and asked me if he'd just used leftover rain water I'd brought in to use. I told him yes and he was relieved he didn't just randomly have twigs and leaves stuck in his hair after a shower.

That said, the best bucket baths I've had in country were all during heavy downpours. One of those downpours caught me while I was out jogging and as it continued until after I'd finished my shower, I never even had to worry about sweat breaking out after just having showered. Instead I put on long pants and a fleece jacket. I tell you, 70 degrees is cold!