HOT Summer Nights

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Hey There Hi There Ho There, Talleyho'ers

How are you handling our medium warm summer after midnight's?

I am a big believer in commenting on stuff even things that have warts which more the most part enlighten folks as to the reality of the tropics.

In August it will actually cool down a little. Some of it is just plain meteorological normal while part of it is more common afternoon thunderstorms. The girls go nuts in the sixty degree down drafts. They'll dance in the rain then squeal and shiver when those microbursts bring on goose bumps.

There is a comfortable grade of open weave cheese cloth that can be folded four times on top of mattress linen. Wrap pillows in giant beach microfiber towels and it will keep them dry. Circulating outdoor air inside is key as is futzing with fans until you get it just right.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

The bigger Endless Breeze may indeed be too much in a small rig. But when things get really warm and humid the only thing that helps us is to have a solid stiff breeze pass over us. There has to be similar summer days in Mississippi and Florida. At 87F today we had a cloudburst. It's only 83 at 7:30 but the humidity is in the seventies.

Nectarines, Oranges, Apples, grapes, sandia (watermelon), and tunas (prickly pear cactus fruit) cut up and smothered in sour cream for dinner. Yummy! A person has not lived until they have gone through summer in Mexico. In urban areas iced-tea and even iced coffee is not uncommon.

Most common comment I heard when I had the hotel. "We have been coming for -x- years in the winter. God I never realized just how beautiful coastal Mexico is in the summer!"

[bighatnohorse]

I've added the Endless Breeze to my wish list.
For the occasional situation where we get into heat and need only a small breeze in our tiny RV bedroom we use the self-contained o2Cool fan:

[MEXICOWANDERER]

The Fantastic Fan, model Endless Breeze is the box fan that sits on a table. 12-volts of course and one of the most energy efficient fans ever made. Use a 4-amp (minimum) 12 volt power brick for plugging into an outlet. Over the course of a total power failure of 12 hours, the Endless Breeze on 3 (high) will consume a tad more than 30 ampere hours. A group 31 AGM battery will laugh this off. Go to eBay and search CREE LIGHT BAR

Search for the 18 watt rectangular 6 chip lamp. Look for flood beam. It really uses ELEVEN WATTS which is less then one amp. And this little lamp puts out perhaps the most efficient lighting I have ever seen. With a power outage I dolly the battery to the kitchen, make a fruit salad, then to the bathroom for evening duties including that splendid shower, then off to the bedroom for a reading light. The intense light beam I point to the ceiling and even with my horrible weak eyes, I read just fine. I have a Kindle and a Nook both with back lighting. When it comes time to sleep I play the fan over the bed, strap on the Bi-Pap and it's Good Night Irene. What inconveniences...?

A genuine vacuum Thermos bottle rather than foam insulated will keep an ice rich cold drink really cold on the night table. Plus the insulation prevents water condensation rings.

If I am fortunate I wake up to the hammering of a night time downpour on the aluminum porch roofing. Then I go outside and wait for the inevitable micro burst downdrafts that bring chilly air. After the cell passes back to bed.

Never have a "porch light" next to a door or window, because that's just plain nuts. From short distance have a light play on the door. This keeps bugs at bay.







No need to get fancy with the lights just flop one down pointing straight up. I am one over the table then futz it around with my foot. Three of four feet of lamp cord and a couple of clips connect it to the battery. Connections reversed? Big deal, reverse them and the light will light up. I have a series of four, kitchen, bathroom, dining room and bedroom, the lamps are tiny.

A tad over five bucks each and they are waterproof and damned hard to break. No tax no shipping. These lamps are genuine CREE and the light never varies from 10 volts to 30 volts. Their light output is insane.

In an RV rig, a 20' tiny 20 gauge wire won't come close to being too small. This saves your batteries and you can stretch it outside. Place it FAR AWAY from where you are sitting and enjoy bug free relaxing.

[Talleyho69]

We treated ourselves to rain shower shower heads. OMG. What a treat! Several a day are fabulous!

Yes, when we had to return to So Cal to relocate, we all, 2 dogs and one long haired cat suffered in the "cold" and it was April and May!

[MEXICOWANDERER]

When the climate in Michoacan turns rain-forest grade in late August and September, for me and the family, dousing in the shower every hour followed by constant high intensity fan air is the really single effective way to handle things. Some transplants give up. The first hot summer is not the crucial one. It's after spending several summers down here that norte-norte americanos throw in the towel. After acclimatizing it is cruel to go north and freeze while locals stare. I can barely handle a night where the temperature drops into the fifties. And that is with a mattress pad heater. Colder means, more blankets and twist the mattress pad dial way up. It's tougher on us older folks.

[pianotuna]

It is rare for it not to cool down where I live. High yesterday was 33 c (92 f) and low was about 19 c (68 f). Humidity was 51% in the RV at 6 a.m. and temperature was 23 c (73.4)

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
4:49 AM and 81F. The city water is w a y colder here. I found that out at 0215

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Warm for this area of Mexico. The weather is chasing me. Thunderstorms predicted all next week. How hot? 105F 55% R/H in the Volaris waiting room in Tijuana. When a man heard me speak espanol he asked me where I came from in Mexico...

(Tierra Caliente)

A bunch of people chuckled. I suggested going across the lobby and buying a supersize cup from Burger King with pure ice to the brim. Then suck a mouthful of ice. A bunch of people got up but at that moment Pablo arrived and I have no idea how many people tried the suggestion.

NOTE...

There is "ice" at 20F then there is "ice" at -10F The difference in effects with a 30F Delta T (differential) is astonishing. I have spent many a canicula* day in Michocan, sipping from a frozen 1.5 liter bottle.

*Canicula Summer hurricane season when a tropical storm pushes a bubble of ten degree hotter air far in front of it. This is when Mexicans grumble "Hace Calor!"

4:49 AM and 81F. The city water is w a y colder here. I found that out at 0215

[pianotuna]

Have a safe trip Mex.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I think travelers miss a lot by automatically barring Mexico May to November. Navegator can comment about the air being significantly less polluted in the big Enchilada. Elevations of 5,000 ft or higher are significantly cooler and drier.

The big difference on the coast is that washed-out winter green scenery becomes vibrant green. There is less threat of an actual hurricane strike than on the Baja peninsula. In Las Penas August temps for surface seawater commonly reaches 86F.

Stores are just jam packed with tropical fruit. And I'll bet the Talleyho Family are just loving that. Many times zapote borrachos become available in the MEGA. Another fruit to try is the YACA or LLACA. Tomorrow I'll be in an area where I speak Spanish and they answer in English. Goodbye tropics for two weeks 😞

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Zihuatanejo has a southwest facing bay so that helps. We have utterly open ocean. The neat part about this area is Mex 14-D. In an car the tolls to Patzcuaro and Morelia are not expensive. 0 to 7,000 ft altitude in two and a half hours.

The region is unsurpassed for agriculture. I bring fruits, vegetables, nuts and other items back, prep them and into the freezer they go. Avocados. Gigantic black avocados that belong on the cover of a gourmand's magazine .50 EACH. That 40 pounds of berries I mentioned earlier cost thirty dollars. Carnero (lamb) a dollar eights cents a pound. Having a chest freezer for this is a must. And while some pooh-pooh the idea, I have the stuff and they don't plus I go to the store one-fourth as often.

When we arrive in Patzcuaro around noon, the girls immediately pass-out. The adults yawn. I doubt if anyone sleeps worth a damb when sunrise means 80+ degrees and 90% humidity. Everyone in the pueblo gets testy during hot spells.

Mexicans endure it stoically. But when new transplants claim "Mexicans are used to it" I smirk.

Savvy gringos make a small windowless room, punch a hole in a wall opposite the afternoon sun, for a small window A/C stick a couple of recliners in there with laptops and hole-up from 1:00 - 6:00 PM

A high velocity fan upon exiting the shower is a treat.

My special hours of the day are 0500 to 0700

[navegator]

There is a huacan out in the Pacific "Fabio" so surf will be messed up for a few days more.

navegator

[MEXICOWANDERER]

The family is headed to Guanajuato, for a week's vacacciones. Surf's been up too long and I've scared the girls for years about the museo de las momias. I'm headed for a head-to-head with a neurosurgeon. Guanajuato is a young person's paradise. Hills, tunnels, shops, and most of all that ambiance of being a university town. Music in many parques. Like Taxco, walk a block and gain or lose dozens of feet altitude. The vacaccionistas won't arrive in Las Penas for another couple of weeks and the surf is definitely ooooogly.

[Talleyho69]

Ah, mosquitoes. We have them now, and are trying the Therapiks that another member recommended. The jury is still out.

Heat? We installed our weather station in December. So far, we went as cool as 70.3 degrees in January. The high? 94.2. So far, since we have been back, it's running between 75 and 90. Soon we'll get the data logger installed and our numbers will be posted, assuming it works, on weatherunderground as Casa 4 Vientos.

Humidity runs between 100 and 86% right now. It's great! Sweat is just a part of life and everyone does it a LOT!

We drink a lot of water, and always have the ceiling fans on in the room we are in. On three floors, we have 9 of them. We even have one we still need to install on the covered roof deck and are looking forward to it.

We eat a lot of salads and vegetables, and fish and meat that are usually done on the BBQ. For now, all we have is the outdoor kitchen which we love, but we are currently shopping for granite for the indoor kitchen on the second floor.

The beach and water were great this morning, we swam with the dogs, but couldn't paddle-the surf was up and ugly. Posiblemente manana!

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I picked up stuff about making life more comfortable down here via the Live and Learn way School of Hard Knocks.

Such as mosquitoes are territorial
If you have a mosquito problem the problem is like within 50 feet of where you are standing.

A standing bottle-cap of water can support a hatch. Any sink drain or toilet in the house left unused can hatch hundreds of mosquitoes in a week. Use bleach, Don't forget the tank.

Check planter bases, crumpled plastic bags for gatherings of water no matter how tiny. An almost empty glass of water can make life miserable so can a pool of air conditioner condensation. Flat roofs with concave area puddles are an often overlooked monster hatchery, and I use cooking oil which floats and lasts for months.

Hey Russ!
Is the air dry enough up there to make a swamp cooler worthwhile early in the season?