Flying Above The Earthquake in Costa Rica
Yesterday started out like a typical weekday for me, waking up, making breakfast for the kids and taking them to school. After that, my day was not so typical.
I went to the Tamarindo airport to go flying in a gyrocopter. The owner of Eloy America Latina, the company who installed the wastewater treatment system in my new home invited me to take a ride.
Yves Deweer is also a partner in Frame Projects, the construction company building our house. He thought it’d be a great opportunity to take some aerial photos of the home and then we would do a short coastal tour and come back.
I also thought it would be fun as I’ve never flown in one of these before and seeing the house and coast from this view would be exciting. I didn’t know just how exciting it would be.
Taking off was great! Once in the air, it felt like being on a scooter, but in the air.
You were not enclosed like in a plane and I can see why people love doing this so much. It was awesome! Shortly after takeoff from Tamarindo, we flew over the estuary in Playa Grande and followed the coast. As we were passing some beautiful private beaches, we saw the side of the mountain slide into the ocean!
I immediately stated taking photos. It was crazy. Yves said he had never seen anything like that. Then we started seeing what looked like mushroom clouds of mud coming up in different spots all over the ocean, almost like it was boiling up from the depths below.
We knew there must have been a tremor or something but had no idea of the intensity it was until we made our way over Playa Conchal and started noticing all the roof damage to the condos and homes.
We kept going north through Brasilito and Flamingo and saw the same kinds of stuff. Lots of missing/broken roof tiles. We also flew over my sons school and noticed they had all the kids out in a field.
It was an incredible sight, but at the same time, I was becoming anxious to land as we were quickly becoming aware of the severity of the situation. Upon landing, the first thing Yves noticed was the condition of the hanger he keeps his machine in. All the locker doors were open and stuff had fallen off the wall onto the floor.
I immediately called my wife, who was a little hysterical at the time. She had been talking to a client outside our office. When they first felt the quake they took off across the street to an open field. Good thing they did as the next thing to happen was all the glass from the second floor of the commercial center began to break and come crashing down. Our client was holding her 10 month old baby at the time as well.
Costa Rica Earthquake.
My wife picked up our kids and we regrouped at our house. Once everyone was safe I began assessing any damage at our various properties.
Our business manages over 40 vacation and long term rentals in Playas Flamingo, Brasilito, Conchal and Tamarindo. The first property I visited was the home we are building. It was still standing when we flew over, but I wanted to check for any major damage.
The contractors tell me is was moving like “a figure 8” during the quake. I was amazed (and relieved) only to find a crack in the drywall where the drywall met the concrete of the stairwell.
The biggest problem we encountered with our rentals was hot water tanks breaking away from the piping and water spewing all over. This was only in three properties. Not bad considering how many we manage.
The rest of the damages were mainly broken items falling from walls, out of cabinets and of course roof tiles.
Overall, I feel very lucky that nobody was injured and that there were no major property losses for any of our clients or myself.
I don’t know what it was like to be on the ground during the quake, but everyone tells me it’s the strongest they’ve felt here in Guanacaste. At the same time, I guess not very many other people know what it’s like to have a “birds eye view” of an earthquake either?
Flying Above The Earthquake in Costa Rica
Article/Property ID Number 3805
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Andrew Makarik
to@welovecostarica.comAndrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.
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