Sure is windy around these parts right now.

The beach was spectacular this morning-- wind swept, perfectly clean and neat, hardly a footprint to be seen.  At low tide we stood with our feet in the cold (for us) water and felt the sting of the sand on our back while playing with a deliriously happy dog.  Funny how sometimes a beach trip will make her happy, but other days it makes her HAPPY.  I suppose that we all do the same sort of thing, at some point.

I was frustrated to see people watering the street this morning.  For those of you who don't live in dusty 3rd world countries, around these parts some folks waste a bunch of (evermore precious) water by spraying it onto the gravel/dust road in front of their home or business.  The thought process appears to be that by wetting the ground, one reduces the dust created by cars driving by.   I'm sure it works.  Absolutely certain.  For the first hour or so, I'll bet that almost no dust is created in the area thus wetted.

But most folks only wet the area right in front of "their" space.   So dust is still kicking up from either side of the moist patch.  And it is WIIIINDY right now, like up to 50mph gusts.   The wind is kickind up dust from all over the province and moving it kilometers in various directions.  How much does 10 meters of road matter?   Finally- the same wind and the tropical sun dry out the moist patch within an hour...

I suggest that these same folks would get a lot more relief by planting a hedge or some trees in their area and watering those instead of the street.  It would lend some shade and knock down the wind a little, as well as providing a host of other aesthetic and environmental benefits.

Some day, when I'm supreme ruler of of everything, this watering the road business is going to stop, dangit.

Till then, I'll just try to enjoy the wind storm for its howling fury and hope that nothing big falls on anything expensive around here.

Labels: Costa Rica, tamarindo, weather