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| Although this area on the veranda where we sit most days has a roof over it, the cushions on the furniture are soaked after blowing around in the high winds. |
“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”
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| Generally, pools have a system in place to avoid overflow due to heavy rains, which appears to be the case of the pool in the villa. But, unfortunately, it’s been raining non-stop for days! |
At 12:30 am the power went out as Tropical Storm Nate made itself known to Costa Rica. It had been escalating over several days with heavy rains that prevented us from going out to shop.
We’d hoped to head out today, but it wasn’t possible with most stores closed due to power outages, mudslides, heavy rain, and relentless winds. As Tropical Storm Nate (soon to be Hurricane Nate) wreaks havoc in the Caribbean, Costa Rica quickly falls into the path of this storm.
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| This separate plunge pool becomes one with the main pool as the water level rose due to the pouring rain. |
After the power went out, I awoke, aware the ceiling fan had stopped working and barely returned to sleep. Tom was the same, tossing and turning all night, often getting out of bed to check to make sure nothing was leaking into the house.
With this property newly remodeled in the past few years, everything seemed to be in order other than water leaking into the laundry room from an impossible-to-reach high window.
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| Fallen tree in the yard as a result of the storm. We went outside with a golf umbrella to get this photo. |
This morning Marian (property manager) called on my phone (loaded with a local SIM card) to see how we’re doing. After she and her husband AaD have lived here for 10 years, she explained they’d never seen a storm like this. They lived across the valley and had been without power since 9:30 last night. So at least our power outage hadn’t occurred until after we’d both gone to bed last night.
As always, during power outages, our biggest concern is the safety of our food in the refrigerator and freezer. But, lately, Tom had been storing extra ice in a large plastic bag at the bottom of the freezer. So, this morning, we loaded the large cooler with ice and the items in the fridge of the most concern. But, unfortunately, everything in the freezer was still frozen solid.
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| The tree behind this smaller tree toppled during the continuing tropical depression. We heard it fall earlier today. |
Of course, our second most significant concern is being unable to post here. Luckily, I still had 60% of my phone’s battery left and would have been able to post a short blurb explaining the power outage and our inability to post.
As Tom and I sat in the living room chatting over recent worldwide events (a common source of conversation between us), the power came back on. Quickly we got to work taking care of the food, the wet pool towels we’d brought in from the veranda, the towels we’d used to mop up the floor in the laundry room, and our bath towels.
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| This photo can’t possibly illustrate how fast the rainwater is running down the slope of the driveway. |
Generally, to save on wear and tear and costs for the owner, we use bath towels three times, leaving them to hang in the bathroom to dry for the next day’s use. However, recently, with the humidity at 90 to 100%, they wouldn’t dry. So, as a result, we’ve been washing them every day over these past few days.
The storm is expected to continue over the weekend. With shops closed, roads closed, and many mudslides, we’ll have to make do with the food we have on hand until it settles down enough for the shops to re-open.
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| A fallen banana tree also as a result of the storm. |
For now, we’re hunkered down, safe indoors, and grateful we have power for the moment. However, it won’t surprise us if we have another outage over these next several days. So, if you don’t see us here at our usual time, please know we are thinking of you and be back online as soon as possible.
Have a dry, safe day filled with sunshine!
Photo from one year ago today, October 4, 2016:
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| A pig, pink and dirty, we encountered on a walk in Sumbersari, Bali. For more photos, please click here. |