A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. — George Bernard Shaw
Wednesday, September 5, 2012 (DAY 185)
Laying stretched out in bed, grasping to those last few minutes of sleep, when all of a sudden my entire bunk begins shaking. Half-awake and half-asleep, I remember that there is no one above me and the harsh movement of my bed is not ceasing. Opening my eyes expecting Stephen to be sly in his methods of rousing me out of bed, there is no one, and I realize what is happening. Earthquake! Rushing out of the dorm I notice that the water in the pool is still sloshing around spilling up and over the sidewalls as the ground becomes calm. Standing and staring at this sight, my eyes begin to look upward and I catch the other faces as we are all looking one another speechless with the expression on our faces as if to ask, ‘did that really just happen?’ The look of shock quickly changes to smiles and laughter as none of us can contain ourselves and the chatter begins. Apparently, a powerful, magnitude 7.9 quake struck about 80km (50 miles) off the coast of the town of Liberia, Costa Rica at 8:52am, and caused the shockwave to reach us in SJDS. What a wake up call! And of course this would occur on the anniversary of completing 6 months of travel on this amazing journey.
Laying stretched out in bed, grasping to those last few minutes of sleep, when all of a sudden my entire bunk begins shaking. Half-awake and half-asleep, I remember that there is no one above me and the harsh movement of my bed is not ceasing. Opening my eyes expecting Stephen to be sly in his methods of rousing me out of bed, there is no one, and I realize what is happening. Earthquake! Rushing out of the dorm I notice that the water in the pool is still sloshing around spilling up and over the sidewalls as the ground becomes calm. Standing and staring at this sight, my eyes begin to look upward and I catch the other faces as we are all looking one another speechless with the expression on our faces as if to ask, ‘did that really just happen?’ The look of shock quickly changes to smiles and laughter as none of us can contain ourselves and the chatter begins. Apparently, a powerful, magnitude 7.9 quake struck about 80km (50 miles) off the coast of the town of Liberia, Costa Rica at 8:52am, and caused the shockwave to reach us in SJDS. What a wake up call! And of course this would occur on the anniversary of completing 6 months of travel on this amazing journey.
There is a flurry of movement in the hostel as people are grabbing smartphones, laptops, even running upstairs to the tv lounge for more information. Within minutes of the event, tsunami warnings are issued for much of the Pacific coastline of Central America, which was expected. Standing on the second-floor terrace staring out to the ocean watching and waiting for a quick recession of the shoreline before a massive tidal wave hits, when suddenly there is a barrage of green military helicopters that begin swarming the hillside. Overcome with excitement as the four of us stand glancing at the ocean to our left, aircraft movement in front of us, and the news on the television to our right, feelings of being over-stimulated grasp us. Omeed suggests climbing to higher ground near the rocky cliffs of the harbor and watching for a tsunami. Brilliant! Stephen, Alix, and I are in as we grab our cameras and begin walking up the hill hoping for a great view of the bay. The end of the cobblestone road leads to the construction of a large home where the workers seem to be unconcerned with the morning’s excitement. Giving brief holas, we walk past the wheelbarrow and stacks of concrete bags before finding a path among the tall grass where we continue walking uphill that leads to what appears to be an abandoned home. I know what you’re thinking…isn’t this the scenario for how many scary movies begin? Since it’s not even 10am and there are four of us trolling the sparse hillside of Nicaragua walking up to abandoned homes with wooden shutters that are locked air-tight, my answer would have to be yes. But, after a quick inspection of the property we come to the conclusion that no one is here and so we each take up a piece of real estate on the concrete balcony with a spectacular view.
Settling in to our spots as we stare out in silence over the calm waters, we notice that the beach has been deserted and most businesses have closed for the day. Alix continues to spot areas in the water constantly yelling out, “here it comes!” And, “I think I see the ocean rising in the distance.” Of course, our MBA Harvard grad, Omeed, has to be the one to burst her bubble as he lists off a tirade of scientific facts regarding the elementary movement of the water beneath the surface after a quake and the physics necessary for a possible 100 foot tidal wave. Whatever nerd. That’s the look that Stephen and I give to one another after Professor Brainiac has finished his lecture of symposium electrolytes that create 1.21 jiggawatts of power causing a disruption in the flux capacitor. Like I said, whatever nerd. Oh the sarcastic comments that are flung between the four of us as we spend our Wednesday morning waiting a tsunami, while Stephen mentions what everyone else may be doing back home–confined to their cubicle offices working, sitting in meetings, checking emails, building spreadsheets, hiding out in the bathroom playing Angry Birds on their iPhones, while we have the safety of front row seats to what we can only imagine to be a tidal wave as large and angry as the one from Deep Impact. Pass the popcorn.
Tsunami watch 2012 is a bust, as we are relatively disappointed with the results of a calm and indifferent change in the sea level, but the excitement of the morning has mixed things up in SJDS. Gazing out over the Pacific, I cannot get over the incredible view as a part of the many things I have been fortunate enough to have witnessed with my own eyes these past six months, and I cannot be more thankful for the ability to do something with my life that is more than just playing it safe. Our small group of Americans, that leaves me as the minority being the only person not from California even though the OC crew would argue differently, our varying topics of conversation help elapse the morning minutes until hunger becomes a posing threat. Our decision to have a tsunami BBQ feast is created from pure ingenuity. After climbing down from our bird’s eye perch, we split up into two teams and begin the process of divvying up duties. Yes, I just said doo-dees. Embracing immaturity, for me, has always been a way of life and I refuse to let it disappear. After Alix and I formulate the grocery list, which takes about ten seconds, we send out team suckas, Stephen and Omeed, to walk around in the heat gathering the grocery list of items while we reward ourselves with such fine delegating skills with a dip in the pool.
Burgers, hot dogs, guacamole, chips and salsa, even coleslaw, make up our late afternoon feast, and before anyone can prepare for it, there are six food babies occupying the bamboo patio furniture struggling to breathe. The remaining pace of the afternoon is a direct reflection of our gluttony, but thankfully we have a large flat screen and a flash drive loaded up with movies. Settling in to one of the hammocks there is a slight change in plans as Marcus, the manager of the hostel, is feeling ill and has asked me to cover his shift from 3pm-11pm. Thinking there is little else to do with most businesses being closed, even surf trips cancelled for the day, the decision to help out was an easy one. Plus, sitting around watching movies and talking with people is not what I would consider excessive work. As the night begins to cool off the heat of the day just slightly, I am beginning to look forward to crawling into bed after an exciting day. Debating whether or not I should consider packing up some of my things in case there is a need for a hasty getaway, I fall asleep to the thought of speeding off with Stephen and Alix in their Honda as we race for higher ground.
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