Wow! Some smoking hot weather, and summer doesn’t even start until June 20th, yet I’ve already heard people complain that “it’s too hot”. Really? The funny thing is, I noticed that a lot of these are the same people that complain about the cold in the winter time. There’s just no pleasing some people.
I have lived in Saskatchewan all my life. In that time I’ve managed to get away to a warm winter destination eleven times, and I have now been bitten by the winter getaway bug. I feel lucky every time I go, because I detest cold weather, and I feel sorry for everyone being left behind in the frozen wasteland. Sure, I’ll make due in the snow, but only because I have to. Given the choice, I’d choose warm weather every time.
Now I’ve heard the argument that it’s easier to dress for cold weather because you can always put on another sweater, but I’d rather not. I’d rather wear shorts and sandals and not have to deal with layers of clothes. My laundry doubles in the winter because of socks, sweaters, mitts, jackets etc. so I’m going to say that argument is invalid. There’s not many days where a pair of shorts and a t-shirt is “too many clothes” for Saskatchewan.
Each year, people pay good money to travel to places where it gets warm like this, so just think of the money you’re saving by having warm weather like this right here at home.
However, there is one thing about warm weather that I have changed my mind on, and that’s the level of hot that I can tolerate. Prior to my trips to places like Jamaica and Mexico, I used to say “It can never be too hot for me”, but it turns out that was a lie, because I had no idea what ‘hot’ felt like.
In the Caribbean, you’re lulled into a false sense of security because there’s always a nice wind to cool you off, as long as you stay near the shoreline. Once you get in the jungle though, it’s just plain hot. Real hot.
And, as it turns out, the closer you get to the equator the hotter it gets. You’d think I knew that from school, but I figured Mexico weather is Mexico weather… until I went to Huatulco… TWICE!
Huatulco is on the Pacific Ocean side, and further south than other places that I have been. By the time we got to the resort each time, it was suppertime, so the weather was warm but enjoyable… very misleading. But I’ll never forget my first trip there. At 7am in the shade on my deck, I was drenched in sweat. By the time we had breakfast and were ready to head out for the day, it was already 32 degrees at 9am. I clearly remember walking out of the lobby into the sun and feeling like I got hit by a truck, then retreating back to the cool shade of the lobby for most of the first day. The cooling breeze that I was expecting felt more like an oven fan with the oven on broil. By midday, the temps were around anywhere from 36 to40 degrees. It was then that I recanted about saying it could never be too hot. I surrendered.
Others I know have gone even further south to places like Panama, where it’s even hotter. While they scoffed at me for saying it was too hot in Huatulco, Panama was their breaking point. It goes to show that everyone has a different tolerance level, but I think in the big scheme of things, saying that you’re too hot in a place where just 90 days earlier there was -50 windchills seems silly to me.
We only get a few days like this each year, so grab a cold drink, put on some shorts (and plenty of sunscreen) and enjoy it. And if you still can’t deal with the heat, take heart in the fact that the cold weather will be back before you know it. (Just typing that last part made me sad.)
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