HOT cold HOT cold HOT...

On my walk this morning I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw "39C" on the digital temp display in front of a bank. (OK, for the US folks, that translates to 102F... aka. HOT). And it was only 8:45am! It was a lllooooonnnngggg hot walk to work this morning. With the 50+ humidity sweat was dripping into my eyes (not pleasant!) after only 1 mile. At one point when passing a local car wash I was tempted to go in and beg them to turn the hose on me (like the guy on the front page of the local paper).... I resisted, though, and then walked through a sprinkler by "accident".

The news reports that a cold front with temps in the 20s (70s) and high winds should hit today. As I walked to work you could feel the turmoil in the air as the leading edge of it had already arrived. Even though it was hot I'd inexplicably find myself hitting a pocket of cooler air on occasion. The breeze too was another mixed bag as it would carry at times warm stale air and then later be edged with a chill. The local papers headline really described it well, "The weather's playing games with you: Hot-Cold!"

It's now some four hours after I started writing this blog and the wind has picked up significantly, dropping the temp a good 20F (6C). Ahhhh. It's supposed to be much cooler today and tomorrow before heating up again by the weekend. ::::chuckle:::: One thing's for sure: I'll never get bored with the weather here--such variety. I'm glad I'm packing my umbrella for that walk home today! :)

When it does get hot here in the city it's nice to know there are drinking fountains available at various points all over town. This is something I've always appreciated about Skopje's city plan and have gratefully quenched my thirst on several occasions. Uh, that is until this morning when I saw this sweet-looking stray with paws resting on the brim and mouth planted right on top of the water-source lapping up as much as she could. (Poor thing was hot and very thirsty!) I just may make sure to carry a bottle of water from home from now on!

Thank you for taking this walk with me.

Day 10: $33.41 and counting