A walk with Layla.

One of the American families that has made their home here is currently in Greece at a conference. They asked me to look after their dog, Layla, until they come back.


Taking the dog for a walk is pretty thrilling when this is the view from the road:

We walked a path through the corn and cassava fields as the clouds gathered overhead.  It is just the beginning of the rainy season here.  Lush is really the only word I can find to describe the foliage.  I'm told that you can't kill a flower here in the rainy season and that if you throw out your seeds (from your lemon, mango, papaya, whatever) you will have a tree by the next season).  

The rain comes nearly every afternoon this time of year - in a torrential down pour - usually in the afternoon.  One of the American families I visited (originally from Eastern MA, with incredible accents, and seemingly always dressed in Patriot's gear) has a rain gauge and they tell me that two days ago it rained 4 inches in 6 hours.  She says that when rainy season really sets in, that amount of rain will fall in about 1 hour.    

Layla was a pretty good walking partner, though she seemed to be frustrated by my slow pace.  She would run up ahead of me, realize that I wasn't with her then come racing back.  The children along the path were alternately delighted and terrified of her.  

There is a school for the deaf along the road about a half mile from where I am staying, and each time I've walked Layla 10 or so kids come out in force - they wave and sign at me and then pantomime what they want me to do.  Since all they really want is photos, this is pretty easy.