Today has been an incredibly eventful day in Costa Rica.
First, it’s Mother’s Day. Feliz día de la madre! Most families gather around and spend quality time together while eating delicious food. For some, it’s even a holiday and they are gifted the day off from work.
Second, there were FOUR earthquakes this morning! FOUR! No damages reported, so they just added a little extra jiggle in the bed to those living on the Pacific coast. Perhaps a Mother’s Day gift from Mother Nature?
#1 3.6 at 12:11 am near Osa Peninsula, #2 4.3 at 1:47 am in Guanacaste, #3 3.6 at 2:43 in Pavones, and #4 3.6 at 4:10 in Manuel Antonio. Those weren’t aftershocks. Those were four. separate. earthquakes. Wowsers!
Third, the heavy rainy season officially started. It’s rainy like crazy right now!
In Costa Rica, the rainy season starts around May and lasts through the end of October, but there is a break from the rain every year called Veranillo de San Juan which runs from about July 15 to August 15. After August 15th, the rain increases in strength until it lets up rather rapidly in the beginning of November.
I don’t know why people don’t talk more about Veranillo de San Juan. It’s the perfect time to come and visit Costa Rica because everything is green from the start of the rainy season, but you don’t have to deal with rain everyday on your vacation. It does get hot, but not as hot as it is in the middle of the dry season and it’s technically the low season, so prices are drastically reduced. Great time for a bargain holiday!
Maybe people aren’t talking about it because it’s like a secret Spring Break for Costa Ricans. Most of the tourists are gone, so Ticos can afford to take off from work and visit the beaches and volcanos themselves while benefitting from the reduced prices. Or maybe the North American and European tourists prefer to visit Costa Rica while it’s cold at home?
So it’s storming right now and I’m writing this on battery power because we unplug everything from the wall when we are having a crazy storm with wild lightning, even if it’s plugged into a surge protector. A major thunderstorm starts and it’s like a mad dash to prepare the house: close the windows, secure the gate, bring in the laundry, unplug everything… batten down the hatches!
When the storms get unusually wild, everyone will stop what they are doing and watch the awesome power of mother nature, silent in awe as she screams and rages around us.
And if it’s a storm cloud passing us by, saving her rain for another town, I sometimes have the sense to grab my camera and record that moment in time.
4.3 you cannot call an earthquake..;-)
3.6 and 4.3 – you are correct, but did you miss the fact that there were FOUR?! 🙂
Storms are scary, but they definitely lend to some gorgeous photos – like that last one! What’s behind the rain covered window in the second pic? Looks cool, whatever it is! 🙂
Sara
Thanks re the last photo.
As for the 1st one of the raindrops I’m not sure. The description on Flickr says it was taken from inside a car. The shapes and colors are awesome, aren’t they?
Happy Mother’s day!! Wow, this was truly an eventful mother’s day in Costa Rica, with 4 earthquakes and heavy rain.
I think I saw some of the worst rains while at La Fortuna during the months of June. Every morning was sunny and beautiful, then after 2 pm everything was dark, thunders, and heavy rains… every single day.
I didn’t know about Veranillo de San Juan… now I’ll keep it in mind for when I go back.
The rain is usually predictable in that respect, sunny and hot until about 2, then dark and stormy through the night. Heaviest rain is in September and October (for everywhere except the Caribbean) – it rains like CRAZY, sometimes for days without stopping. If you thought June was heavy, you should come for a visit in Sept or Oct just to experience it. Last year was one of the heaviest in their history and this year is suppose to be even worse. We’ll see…
But yeah, Veranillo de San Juan is great time to come to Costa Rica!
Maybe you should start to really plug Costa Rica in the mid-rainy season – sounds like the perfect time to visit. Would love to see all the lush greenery when prices are low…hmmm, or maybe you should keep it to yourself. 😉
Julia
You know, I deleted that part and added it back a couple times before publishing. Veranillo de San Juan is like a Spring Break for Ticos, they can enjoy the beaches and volcanos without all the tourists. They get time off of work for a short vacation if they have a nice boss, whereas in the high season it’s almost impossible. So on the one hand, I wanted to keep it a secret, but on the other hand Costa Rica needs tourists to fuel the economy, so my final decision was to go for it. But I went for it very subtly. I think. 😛 I’m still conflicted.
Between the earthquakes, storms, and Kim Kardashians wedding….it’s the end of days for sure.
bwahahaha! That’s awesome, thanks for the laugh 🙂
Hilarious!
You are taking a chance with the lightning if you don’t have a whole house surge protector. There can be strikes you are not even aware of on the power lines that will blow right past those puny outlet strips that claim to have surge protection (they are next to useless). You don’t have to spend a lot for a whole house model. The Sycom 120 (http://www.fencesupplyinc.com/sycom-syc120240tc-residential-surge-protector-p-5102.html) does a great job. If they won’t ship it here, have a friend bring back 1 or two. They are a snap to install. You can tell when it’s working as the lights will very briefly dim. We haven’t had a blown computer since we installed one of these.
Thank you for the tip, Casey. I really appreciate it!
I know it’s stormy weather but I still find those pictures beautiful – Maybe it’s the Brit in me that feels comfortable around bad weather. Heh.
Four earthquakes in one day? Wow, that’s amazing. Thank god they weren’t bigger and didn’t do any damage.
Yeah, the storms can be really beautiful. We had hail here the other day (in Santa Ana). Hail and a tornado – it was a 20 minute storm, with bright sun before and after. Crazy!
Hi Erin,
I found your website via Twitter, when @MillivrsTravels RT’d your welcome message. This is a wonderful site — gorgeous design, great photos, lots of information and insight.
My partner and I are here for a three-month exploratory stay and we arrived on August 15th! Had no idea there were 4 earthquakes that morning, but we were witness to the awesome storm that rolled in — and the resulting loss of our Internet for 3 days. Welcome to Costa Rica. 😉
I’ve signed up for your feed and look forward to reading more of your posts!
Saludos y pura vida,
Lisa
Hi Lisa! Thank you so much!! I hope you enjoyed your 3 months here even if you decide it’s not for you. There certainly is enough adventure here to fill up 3 months 🙂