The Weather

There is a saying that the weather in Loja is “variable como las mujeres”, which loosely translated means that it is unpredictable and constantly changing its mood, supposedly just like a woman. It is true that the weather is unpredictable in Loja. Sometimes it exhibits a typical tropical weather pattern; the sun comes out in the morning and draws the moisture up into the atmosphere, producing rain in the afternoon. The stronger the sun’s intensity, the more rain is produced, so on some days there are lots of black clouds and thunderstorms in the afternoon and on other days it is just a light rain. Some days, though, we don’t get the hot sun in the morning with thunderstorms in the afternoon. Some days it rains in the morning and is sunny in the afternoon. Some days it rains all day. Some days it is sunny all day. When the sun comes out it is usually accompanied by lots of fluffy white clouds, the air is fresh and the temperature is perfect. Even though we are near the equator, Loja is located about 6,000 feet above sea level so it never gets really hot, like in the Amazon rainforest or on the coast. I’ve never measured the temperature but when the sun shines it feels about 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the intensity) and when it rains it feels about 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Often there will be a very light rain that comes and goes, alternating with the sunshine. When this happens you can almost always see a rainbow somewhere. The upshot is that you never know what the weather is going to be like, but no matter what you can probably expect a little sun, a little rain and maybe a rainbow. Therefore, in my mind, if being unpredictable and changeable results in something as beautiful as a rainbow, I’ll take full credit for the comparison between women and Loja weather.