Unbelievable. We just experienced a 7.7—yes, 7.7—earthquake yesterday in southern Costa Rica. Our house is just 383 km from the epicenter in Panama. Over 40 aftershocks have hit since it struck, and they issued a tsunami warning for the coastal area below us. When we bought our house, K, ever the icon of preparedness, was adamant we live above the flood zone, just in case. Never thought that day would ever come. And here we are.
It’s almost like a string of disasters is playing out from some perverted psychopath’s bucket list. Just a few days ago, lightning hit one of our structures during a wicked thunderstorm, the first strike of the year for us. And the power outages? Crazy stupid. Two weeks ago, we lost power for 91.5 hours over 10 days, and after the earthquake, we lost power again for 14.5 hours straight, coming back at 3 am this morning. Gracias a Dios, K had us covered with solar backup batteries. But still…
If I were a wee bit more paranoid, I’d think we were in the epic throes of Armageddon. Or some facsimile thereof. Based on the state of the world, as seen through the lens of corruption and depravity playing out in the US, it is no surprise. Greed and oil sit at the epicenter of so many of the world’s catastrophes, with no clear path laid out for humanity’s and the planet’s survival. I’m digging deep to protect myself from the desperation and hopelessness blossoming around me like quickweed, a prolific plant here that can produce 7,000 seeds from a single plant, smothering everything in its path. Suddenly I can’t breathe.
I have to believe there is a silver lining in every life crisis. K and I have lived through a lot of disasters together, and we’ve done our best to cope and adjust without sacrificing who we are. We rely on the people around us whom we trust as we strive to be compassionate without losing our power or abandoning our principles. Our own brand of Pura Vida…
And contrary to what we’ve just been through, we love Costa Rica and would never leave. We have found our forever home.
