Tuesday 30 October 2012

5th September- 1st day shakes!




A slight rumble...

 ‘oh it must be the underground’ I thought and merrily carried on eating.

Not so!       (there is no underground in Alajuela)

I sat at the table in disbelief as my plate started rattling and my coffee sloshed out of my mug onto the floor. I looked up to see if anyone was around, for some sign, some point of reference. I heard the housekeeper shouting, panicked. I stood and staggered round the corner where I found the housekeeper praying and holding onto the walls! All I could do was watch her and wonder if I was doing the right thing by taking her cue in being where I was in that moment. I was lost. My brain shut down all of it’s common sense and order as we stood there with the walls swaying around us, plates and cups flying of shelves and smashing to the floor. 30 seconds to 1 minute later I was still standing there, my thoughts racing when it stopped, the housekeeper crossed herself, came over to me and gave me a hug. 

'It's ok, it’s normal to have earthquakes in Costa Rica!'

Back in the kitchen I sat with a guy from California and chatted while finishing my breakfast, and everything seemed to go back to normal around us.  15 mins later, I saw the news and went on the internet, with my friends emailing me to find out if I was ok that I started to realise that perhaps it was a big deal. 7.6 on the richter scale!!! That sounded serious!
The world already knew that it had happened. I called mum and cried and cried with a mix of relief and tiredness. After I calmed down and put my phone away my eyes came to rest on this and I smiled.