Shade Catchers

It’s quite easy to get the feeling of Spain in your own home.  Simply walk into the bathroom, pull out the hairdryer, turn it on and point towards any bare patch of skin – about five inches away from an arm or a leg will do. That right there is what your entire body would feel like if you were in Madrid right now.

The city is a dry heat, with temperatures rising to 100+ (37 Celsius) and not taking a downward turn, oddly enough, until around 6pm. Thus, any relief from the sun during the day will do.

Waiting to cross the street in Madrid is amusing for a number of reasons; and in the summer particularly so. Pedestrians seem to place themselves at the oddest locations while waiting for the light to turn. As if they have no real intention of crossing the street, they stand off to the side or meters back (that's x3 feet).  Groups of friends and colleagues suddenly act like strangers, splitting themselves from one another to stand solitary and silent.

Upon closer inspection, though, you realize a dramatic difference between you and everyone else.  While you stand in broad daylight sweating -- shifting from foot to foot as if that could prevent clothes from sticking to skin -- everyone else is remarkably at ease, both cool and dry.

Trees provide lovely pastoral shade, of course.  But let’s leave that for the picnics.  In Madrid’s summer, even the most inconceivable bit of shadow serves a purpose.  Store awnings are a goldmine, but even the reprieve cast from a skinny streetlamp or crosswalk sign will do.

In Madrid, you can be resourceful, or you can sweat it out.  Buying a traditional hand fan can't hurt either.