The weather

It’s been almost a month since we arrived in Peru and we’re finally beginning to feel settled down. I had never been to Peru until last July when we came for about a week. July was in the middle of the austral winter and Lima was cold indeed. The temperature and the weather felt very much like San Francisco which I dread to visit because of its cold and dampness. I admit that I’m a cold-weather wimp, but usually if I’m bundled up I can “weather” anything. However, in Lima you couldn’t escape the cold because no one uses heaters and if you ask anyone about heaters they usually smile or laugh out loud. So, you’re exposed the cold 24 hours a day and it’s often colder indoors (because of the dampness) than out. Humidity is very high in Lima, often approaching 100% making the cold feel worse and laundry very difficult to dry! Back in July they told us that when we came back in early October, it would be much warmer as it would be “spring.” Unfortunately, that didn’t turn out to be the case. It was still cold though not as bad as in July. The temperature then was in the 50s, which might not sound bad, unless you’re continuously exposed to it with no way to escape it. When we returned in early October, the highs were in the low 60s. My ideal temperature is in the high 70s, so this was very far from it. The low temperatures in Lima puzzled me since the city is only 12° south of the equator (about the same latitude as Rio de Janeiro) and at sea level. You would expect a warm (if not hot) tropical climate.