Earthquake in Costa Rica

Yes, we felt it - everybody did in the Central Valley.
From inside the house, I could see Armando cleaning the swimming pool. He yelled up at me to look at the water - it was chopping all over like a very restive Lake Michigan. The ground was moving too, and Armando was crouching low, always in balance with any situation.

Inside the house, we didn’t actually feel the earthquake, so much as HEAR it. Months ago, our architect - Luis Flores, affectionately called, El Profesor (UCR) - told us that, in event of earth tremors, the steel in our house would kind of ‘sing to us’. Well, sing it did! Three of us stood at the bottom of the stairwell together throughout the entire event: me, housekeeper Yaneth, and our head construction guy, Carlos. We stood together, stunned, as the entire steel structure moaned, rang and vibrated from the force coming up through the mountain below. About mid-way through the event, Carlos abruptly turned around and went over to open a door that was banging. Then we went through a few aftershocks, although the house didn’t sing as much with those as during the main event.

For me, the vibrating, singing house reminded me of my spinal column after taking a bad fall a few months back. It was like a second shock wave going through me…

After about 10 minutes of waiting - without saying a lot, I must admit - I heard Jose restart the chopping machine to process sugar cane for the horses. Armando went back to cleaning the swimming pool and, inside the house, we went back to hanging some pictures. Normal life resumed. Then the phone calls started coming in - first from mom, then from others. Thank you all so much for your concern. We’re sorry that the phone service didn’t work all that well though. Phone service is spotty at El Tigre even during the best of times!

So, everything remained in perfect ‘estado’ at the Finca, Thank God. But then, Finca El Tigre is located a fair way south of the earthquake epicenter, which was just east of the Poas Volcano. Those located anywhere near the epicenter, however, suffered horribly!
Remember La Paz Waterfall Gardens? We know it well, and have visited the magical place many times over the years, with mom and friends. Even if clouds obscured a viewing of Poas Volcano, we could always count on a wonderful time over at the waterfalls! One time, while touring in Sarapiqui, a friend started having a major allergic reaction to something. En route, taking her to the hospital, I decided to stop at the actual La Paz Waterfall. As soon as we walked behind the waterfall overlooking the bridge, the cool water spray and ‘positive energy’ of the place completely revived my friend, and we were able to avoid the emergency room for her later - though we did need to buy her an inhaler!
Over the years, I have so many wonderful memories of the waterfalls there, and so enjoyed sharing the magic with visiting friends. A little while ago, the Waterfall Gardens built an amazing steel structure, at huge cost, so that tourists can safely scale the mountain and view all the waterfalls. What a magical place…

The whole terrain up there at Poas is so different from the rest of the country - a fresh, green, pastoral setting, like the Swiss or Austrian countryside. However, there is so much suffering there now, and utter heartbreak. We also live on a mountain, and are very much aware that an earthquake could also overwhelm us, no matter how good the construction engineering is.

Now, on a more positive, lighter note:
Our exceedingly long-awaited kitchen and ‘vestidor’ are scheduled to be installed by January 28, (yes, 2009). What a joyous New Year gift that will be…