harveyc

We're going to Nicaragua in March to visit one of our sponsored children for her quinceanera. I look forward to the warm weather.

When we first met her on a group Mission Awareness trip she and other sponsored children traveled with us a couple of days and we spent the nights in the town of Diriamba where there is a retreat house. It's at 500 meters above sea level and a bit cooler than the capital of Managua and especially cooler than areas like Leon or the town she's from, El Sauce (even though the elevation there is a little higher). I'd guess that El Sauce is about 10 degrees cooler than Diriamba. On the first evening at the retreat house our sponsored child was having a difficult time dealing with the cool weather in the evening. I'd guess it was about 74F with no wind and it felt very pleasant to us but she was "freezing". Linda got a sweater for her and we rubbed her hands which were, indeed, very cold. Later in the trip one of the social workers from Managua warned be about the hot climate in Chinandega which we were going to be visiting. It was pretty warm there, probably in the low 90s with moderate humidity. When I told the social worker that I thought it was hot but not "that" hot, he was quite amazed.

A friend of mine told me that people who live in tropical climates have a less active thyroid and are less able to cope with temperature changes. I'm not sure if this is accurate or not, but it might explain why these folks in LA are having such a hard time dealing with the bitter cold.

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