How do you measure heat? I measure it with the banana index.

The usual ways to measure and relate the temperature is in Fahrenheit, Celsius, or a combination of heat and humidity which is called the heat index. That is the combination of the actual temperature in Fahrenheit with the humidity calculated in. This summer the temperature usually was between 95 and 105 degrees but the heat index usually has hovered around 115. To this end we planned our days to be able to do nothing during the middle of the day. When we were at marina Palmira we went to the pool to just sit in the cool water. At anchor we would hang off the side of the dingy in the water. If the current was light enough in the La Paz Bay, I would have the kids swim laps around the boat. That got us exercise and cooled us off at the same times. This was good for us but it did not help the temperature inside the boat. The heat just soaked into everything. The deck, the floors, and the beds were just plain hot. The refrigerator ran almost all of the time.

One day I went to the grocery store to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables. Mother Hubbard's cupboard was empty of the good stuff like apples, bananas, and tortillas. The store was air conditioned so it was like an oasis in the desert. I walked up and down the aisles a few times to enjoy the atmosphere and the coolness. Among other things, I picked up a beautiful bunch of bananas. After I got back to the boat, I hung them up on our net that we put produce in and the kids and I went to the pool. I did not give much thought to them until the next morning. As I got ready to make breakfast I noticed that some of the bananas had swollen, split and oozed all over the counter. This was not caused from any malady of the bananas but the heat.

I began to think of the heat in regards to the bananas. They soon began to live in the refrigerator--if there was room. If there was no room then I had a gauge of the heat for the day. One banana splitting meant it was fairly hot, but if a whole bunch split it meant that school would be postponed until the evening. We ended up eating a lot of pancakes with bananas cooked in brown sugar and vanilla as that is the only way to salvage the tasty treats once they got too hot.

Lately it has cooled off and the bananas can now once again live safely on the net without splitting. That is a nice thing as I bought 2 bunches yesterday. We shall see if we have any spikes in temperature as my gauge is up and hanging.