For the last 2 days we’ve had an extremely warm south wind blowing, the Notiás as it is known locally. During such days most people complain about bodily inconveniences such as lack of energy, headaches, tearing eyes, and a whole lot more. We are probably not integrated enough to experience this. Give us a few more years and we’ll be fine.
Tonight we had Pauline, Paul, Joëlle and Bram over for diner. All the balcony doors were wide open all evening, so that we could enjoy the warm breeze flowing through the house. Shortly before midnight, when the company left, it started to rain, or drizzle rather. It always does at the end of the Notiás. We also know what that means: cleaning all day next day. With the rain the superfine dust of sand that was carried with the wind from the Libyan shores will come down on the island. Everything will be covered in a thin layer of dust, ranging in color from a dark orange to a licht purple. Sometimes, when it hasn’t rained after a couple of days of Notiás the sky will be completely orange. It’s like in one of those science fiction movies where you’re stranded on an outer-galaxian planet with two and a half suns and five moons and the sky is yellow instead of blue. It’s a weird feeling, living in an orange world, I can tell you that.