By Freda Rumford from the July 2012 Edition
Summer, from May until the end of October, is always known as the “rainy season” or “Hurricane season”. Normally, apart from a little drizzle in the evenings, the rain is slow to materialise but the general humidity rises, many times uncomfortably so.
This year, so far, we have had three named storms, (Aletta, Bud, Carlotta) plus several numbered tropical storms making me wonder what is in store for us this season. The weather now is generally bad everywhere in North America with temperatures lower than the normal average. In British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, it has been positively cold and any thoughts of sun bathing or getting a good summer color or even camping whilst there, were far from my mind.
In the past, the weather in Manzanillo right through to the end of August has been delightful with the rain coming spasmodically and mostly in the evenings. The beautiful warm weather allowed us to swim daily in the ocean in the mornings and enjoy the incredible sunsets whilst sitting on the beach on a balmy evening. Our then 18 year old grandson, visiting for the first time several years ago, said that he at last understood why we felt that Manzanillo was the perfect retirement place for us. With both the warm ocean, and the seldom rain he found it comfortable and delightful to body-surf on Miramar. In the afternoons, the waters are inclined to get a little rougher as the wind increases and it can then be difficult to get out of the ocean. But at least the rain is warm, the wind is warm and light clothing is still the rigour of the day!
Most of the travellers journeying to Mexico avoid the summer as much as they can, believing that the temperature will be out of sight and they will burn to a crisp, but that really is not the case. Early summer is delightful and midsummer can be lovely too, if here are not too many storms galloping up the coast. The month I personally do not like is September. That is because there is a great deal of alteration of highs and lows in the barometric pressure. This is what affects me mostly and my illness (fibromyalgia) kicks in.
Manzanillo’s visitors from the north have generally exited the town by Easter as that is when the population of the interior Mexican cities descend on the coast like lemmings to the sea. After Easter, when every one goes home, the town is quiet, there are lots of parking spaces to be had everywhere and many of the restaurants that cater mainly to the “Gringos”, close.
From now on (this is the end of June,) we can expect; the rains to intensify daily, the trees and shrubs to shine with constantly being washed with rain water then dried by the sun; water holes and puddles to increase along with the mosquito population. In September when the barometric pressure goes up and down like a yo-yo, and the humidity increases 100 fold, it is very desirable to live in a bathing suit and spend hours in the swimming pool. I have to admit though, having been subjected to the cold winds and rain of the Pacific Northwest for “summer”, the thought of living in a swimming pool doesn’t seem half bad!
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Most knew her as Freda Rumford. Freda Anne Vickery was a founder, editor, and contributor of the Manzanillo Sun magazine. She was one of the founders and, took over being President of the Manzamigos, when her husband Nigel, died. When she first came to Manzanillo, she got a job writing for the Guadalajara Reporter and used that as a foundation for her later humanities work. Freda was born in the East side of London in 1934 but grew up in Norwich. Freda’s early life was one of overcoming things. As an example, she was born with a lisp but one of her first jobs was being a telephone operator after some extensive elocution lessons. She met and married a young military man and, like so many others, they and their children moved to Canada for his employment opportunities and she ended up working for the Hudson’s Bay Company in cosmetic sales in Calgary. They moved to BC and then to Manzanillo, for her health, which flourished in the tropical weather. After Nigel died, she later married Kirby Vickery. She later became ill and finally lost the battle with cancer on the 27th of February 2016.
