Sunglasses and a raincoat

Fernando laughed when we asked if there were a good website for weather. "What do you need that for? The climate is always the same here. You bring a raincoat and when it starts raining you take it out and put it on, when it stops, you put it away."

Later as we headed out on an excursion in his car when he needed heat. "En la mañana, y en la noche." But of course. So we leave the house prepared to weave through the seasons in a day. In the morning I emerge from the shower shivering and pull on almost all the clothes I´ve brought: a long sleeve shirt, wool sweater, down vest and winter hat. By mid day I´ve shed my outer layers, pulled up my sleeves and put on my sunglasses.

Leaving school, I wait out the first raindrops and glance up to Cotacachi to see what is in store for us. Torrential rains are not uncommon in the afternoon, but neither are lingering showers that share the sky with sun. By late afternoon I slid back into first sweater then vest. Getting ready for bed, I regularly find my sunglasses still perched on my head riddled with raindrops. And each evening we retreat under the three blankets on our bed and sleep out the winter of night.

And so we`ve learned. We`ve discovered that morning sun (or clouds, or rain) is no indication of the day`s weather. We`ve learned to put on sunscreen when we get up and to pack our raincoat. We`ve learned to duck under an overhanging roof when the sky opens. And we`ve learned to fill our eyes with the mountains when they emerge.