Tropical Storm Nate - Virginia's Perspective
Pura vida! We have been in Costa Rica for two and a half weeks and survived our first tropical storm, Storm Nate. This blog was going to be about my journey to acquire yoga work but these last three days have just been crazy so the yoga work blog will wait another week.
Storm Nate - roads turned into rivers
We went to bed around 10 p.m. on Wednesday and I was still up reading when the power went out. It had been raining heavily all day. But I just thought it was “the rainy season.” That this was our new life for the next 30-ish days. October is the worst month for rain and was part of our timing for the move - to see if we could manage life and moral during the worst of the worst. There was a huge ‘boom’ from outside and everything turned off. So we decided to go to sleep. No biggie.
When we woke up Thursday morning we still didn’t have any power. We have an electric stove so we can’t cook anything. Our water is pumped into the house with electricity too so we have no running water. And Dario has a fever. And Zac has his first work deadline. But we think, okay, power goes out here during the rainy season, this is something that we need to learn to work around. Zac decides to go further into town to find WiFi. Our house is basically the furthest house into the jungle. Also, its only 15 minutes to walk to the beach so even though we’re “super far away” everything is relative. But Zac’s back in 30 minutes with news that the entire town of Tamarindo is without electricity. Even my Costa Rican cell doesn’t have service. Everything is down. We can’t communicate with anyone. Radio silence.
Our AirBnB host brings us extra water for washing dishes and flushing the toilet. She brings us a gas grill to cook food and heat water. So we’re camping with a roof. And its raining, a lot, nonstop. The roads are rivers and people are scooping water out of their shops with dustpans. People that are here on vacation are hanging out in unlit restaurants drinking beer and eating food that isn’t going to keep without refrigeration. We’re not out and about though, Dario has a fever and we’re working to keep him hydrated and in good spirits. *Dario is all better now. We think it was roseola, definitely not Dengue fever as we originally feared.
Thursday we eat all our produce and other foods that won’t keep. We think the power will be back on anytime. I go downtown just to see if I’m teaching yoga and of course not, no one has power. But I visit the angry, brown ocean and my cell reception pops back on and ‘ding, ding, ding’ goes my phone. I’m able to reach Zac’s work to tell them we’re not dead, just without power. I also find out there is a massive tree that has toppled power lines at the beginning of town that will take another 24 - 48 hours to fix. Ugh.
Dario gets a spit bath, we all get spit baths, and go to sleep with the windows open listening to the sound of the torential downpour happening outside. Thank goodness for a roof.
Having no power for three days was a luxury compared to the devastation happened to others. Hero Academy, here in Tamarindo, is hosting a family whose home was literally washed away in the flood. If you feel moved to help financially you could donate directly to Hero Academy Costa Rica. They are on Facebook, they don't have a website.
Friday we still don’t have power and we’re running out of food. But the rain isn’t so bad. And by not bad I mean, it’s super raining, non-stop, but it's not howling. Zac goes into town to work and I head to the yoga studio to teach. The studio is packed, everyone needs something new to do. Some folks have had power since the early morning and I am jealous. Right before Savasana, the power goes out. Ugh. But then it comes back on. Yay! And then it goes out again. Etc etc etc. Zac has found a restaurant with WiFi regardless of electricity so he works while I feed Dario lunch and wait for the rain to subside to trek home the 15 minutes to put Dario down for a nap. The rain is relentless, it's not going to let up. I put on a rain jacket, I cover Dario with Zac’s and head home in the rain. Along the way a 4x4 stops and offers us a lift home. Amazing! She’s on vacation and has been stuck in her hostel without power since the moment she arrived. She’s out and about just because she can’t take it anymore and she’s going surfing in the rain. The ocean is angry and it's not a safe thing to do but she just doesn't know when the weather will pass, none of us do. At the beginning, the locals were saying, 'Welcome to October.' Now everyone is shocked like us, saying they have never seen it this bad before and don't know when it's going to let up. Let alone how long it will take for things to get back to normal and restore electricity and roads.
Around 4 p.m. our power comes back on! I turn on the A/C, I download new shows for Dario on the iPad, I was the dishes, the hope is restored until its shattered 45 minutes later. A huge ‘pop’ from outside and everything is dark again. But I can see the apartment building across the street - and they have power - and we don’t. And I cry. We eat pasta - plain - and avocado for dinner. The town has power but we don’t. Theoretically, I could go to town and get food and bring it home but its pouring to fill an ocean outside. I am not uncomfortable with rain but its just coming down in sheets. Not even sheets, more than sheets - blankets, it's coming down in comforters and your grandma’s quilts. There is so much rain. So pasta and avocado. I boil water four times on the grill to make Dario a real bath. By the time we go to bed, there’s no rain which means no breeze and everything feels just a little bit wet, it's so humid. Ugh. I am sad and sticky and tired and we don’t have any power but other people do and I’m so sad.
When we wake up Saturday morning we have no more food but the sun is shining! We’re out of the house before 7 a.m. to get some breakfast. I bring everything to charge - my cell, the iPad, our backup battery. The town is buzzing. People are out and about. Places are buzzing. Also, it turns out that we’re not the only ones still without power. On the walk into town, I had it burning up in me that the entire town was back to normal except us and we were just forgotten and would never have power again. Ever. But it's not true. Everyone a bit further from downtown was still waiting for trees to be moved and lines to be fixed. It’s a bummer that people are still without power but it makes my bummer hurt a little less knowing that we’re not alone.
Breakfast is great, we go to the beach, pick up a couple necessary provisions at the store and head back to the house. The sun is out, it's not raining, things are looking up. We still don’t have power but I’ve purchased laundry soap and am excited about hand washing some clothes. At home, the power flickers on and I turn on the A/Cs, wash the dishes, take a shower. Of course, the power goes off again, but around 1 p.m. Saturday the electricity came back on and we’ve had it ever since. Huzzah!
Knowing what I know now - every time we finish a yogurt or anything in a recyclable container, we’ll fill it with water and put it in the freezer, that way if the power goes out our freezer will become our icebox. We’ll stock up on big candles so we don’t go through 30 tea lights every night. We won’t wait until we’re wearing swimsuits to do laundry. I will download more than Little Baby Bum to watch on Netflix. The list goes on and on. But that’s how it always goes. You do your best until you know better and then you do better. Welcome to the rainy season with a tropical storm on top! Pura vida!