Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Lightning

Waking with the bed rolling to and fro, Fred and I spouted the word in unison: EARTHQUAKE. For 15 seconds or so, the bed rolled sideways, just as if it were lying on a series of logs and being rocked from one direction then the other. Earthquakes come in many forms. With some you’re a cork floating on earthwaves, others are the shakes, sometimes a single impacting jolt. And sometimes you just roll.

This was our treat after visiting a volcanic area the day before. It was all the talk the next day, but as soon as we said we were from California, people just waved their hands and said – oh, well, you wouldn’t worry then. They must all have seen the movie (was it called LA Story???) with Steve Martin.

Costa Rica’s spine is tipped with volcanoes; Arenal, Poas, Irazu are the most famous. The day before the pre-dawn earthquake, Fred and I visited the area known as Rincon de la Vieja. The Rincon is in a chain of 5 volcanoes, with destructive flows from the most active Von Seebach as recent as 1991. Here and now, the evidence of volcanism is not lava, but bubbling mud and hot stinking vapors. The circular hike is quite beautiful at first, forest and creatures, with alpine streams. It graduates to pools of burping with liquid mud, terminating in the sere ponds of acidic liquid. Kind of hell on earth without flames.

The most exciting wildlife here was a tame coati that emerged, requesting snacks from the tourists. He had the most beautiful brushy tail. We also saw these cool lizards!

The final mother nature event of the day was as we drive up the hills above San Jose. The city was lit up below us and the sky ignited with sheets of lightning. Quite a combination for one day!