The hottest day of my life.

If someone were to ask me about the coldest moment in my life, I would know my answer without a moment's hesitation. I was eleven or twelve years old, playing a State cup soccer game in a town nearby and it was not only freezing cold, but sleeting. I was wearing shorts, a t-shirt with long sleeves underneath and my entire team was on the verge of crying in the middle of the soccer field because we were unable to move. The game was called off at halftime and it took about a week to regain feeling in my fingers and toes.

Before this weekend if someone asked me about the hottest moment in my life, I would be unsure of my reply. There have been plenty of heat advisory days in New York where I would choose to go for a run, or times at the beach when I have thought that I could form a pool with my own sweat.

But after this weekend, I know my answer: a Friday in October in Pantanal, Brazil.

Typically when I am hot, I know that there is some way to escape. In college, I could look forward to arriving back to my air conditioned room. I could go to the mall, the library or just any old store to escape the heat. In Pantanal things are different. For the first time in my life there was no escape. The heat took over my entire body transforming me into a lazy mute, unable to move and requiring too much energy to even speak. I am not sure what temperature Pantanal reached midday, but judging from the 99 degree reading at 11pm later that night, I can only imagine it was somewhere around 106 degrees.

And yes, it is spring here. I can't even imagine what the summer has in store...