A continuation from my post #2. My time during the Peruvian Earthquake:
@Lady
Sitting in an empty restaurant with my friend, we watched our beers vibrating in their glasses and wondered what to do after an earthquake. My thoughts turned to the young woman who had served us and was now nowhere to be seen. Would the restaurant owner dock her pay if we left without paying, as everyone else seemed to have done? We remained seated, watching people running aimlessly outside.
After about ten minutes, the server returned to the restaurant and smiled when she saw us still there. We approached her and I explained why we hadn't left yet, then asked for the bill. As she prepared it, a police officer or security personnel entered the restaurant and exclaimed, "Get out now! We've heard there may be aftershocks."
We quickly left the restaurant without paying the bill and made our way up the steps leading to the Cliffside green space. As we walked, our server went off in a different direction. We walked onto a grassy area where crowds were gathering. More people were coming out of the tall buildings across the street, and the sky was growing darker.
As we moved onto the grass and stopped, I spoke to my friend about my escapade in the restroom cubicle during the earthquake, with my trousers around my ankles. My friend listened intently, but as I glanced to the side, I noticed a small audience with amused expressions on their faces. I stopped talking, thinking it was for the best!
Then the ground started to move under my feet. Not excessively, but enough to see my feet moving. I couldn’t focus on the blades of grass as they were shimmering. This seemed to go on for a couple of minutes then stop, and then started again. By this time there were people everywhere. Cars could hardly move because of people in the road. The ground then stopped moving, and we stood there for another 1O minutes or so. My thoughts then went back to our sever, and the sense that I needed to give her some money, so I suggested we go back down to the restaurant to find her.
Then the ground began to move beneath my feet, not excessively, but enough to see my shoes moving. I couldn't focus on the blades of grass anymore as they were shimmering. This continued for a couple of minutes, then stopped and started again. By this time people were everywhere, and cars could hardly move because of people in the road. We stood there for another 10 minutes or so. My thoughts then went back to our server, and the sense that I needed to give her some money, so I suggested we go back down to the restaurant to find her.
We walked back to the restaurant and found our server inside; she was the only person there, and she was surprised to see us. She smiled at us both as I was settling the bill. We then set off again, all three of us back up the steps and back onto the grass. I turned around but our server was already walking off in a different direction. My thoughts then went to how we are going to get back to the airport.
We saw a line of taxis at the side of the road, with an even longer line of people at each taxi, so we walked over and queued at the back. The taxi driver saw us and beckoned us forward. We eventually moved forward to see what he wanted. He wanted us to get into the taxi; we said no as there were people in front of us. He insisted again, we said no again. Then the other people, the locals, started walking off. We reluctantly got into the taxi, and we slowly drove of. The taxi driver trying to find somewhere to turn around. We saw our sever at the side of the road, ahead of the crowed. She gave a huge wave, so we waved back.
Heading back in the very slow moving traffic, our driver made a call. He said he was checking on his family. It was only then that it dawned on me. He had invited us to his taxi because we were European, and he was going to charge us significantly more to get to the airport than when we left there earlier. We got to the airport and the fare was about ten times more than the earlier fare. I wasn’t in the mood to have another confrontation with a taxi driver, so I paid. In the whole scheme of things, with the exchange rate, it wasn’t that expensive.
There was a huge crowd in front of the departure building; it had been evacuated! We got as close to the doors as we could and heard the security staff say part of the roof has fallen in. They were only letting people in who could show their passports and plane tickets for each flight as it was about to leave. My friend slowly turned towards me, as I slowly turned to him. I got the impressions I wasn’t his best mate anymore. Earlier I’d had the brainwave of leaving our cases locked up in the airport, and that’s where our passport and tickets were.
We needed a plan. I suggested that I keep an eye on one group of security staff while my friend monitored the other. When each group was distracted by the commotion, we would give the signal by saying 'Now.' After a few attempts, we were both able to say it at the same time, and we made our way into the terminal. We retrieved our luggage, got our tickets, and finally boarded the American Airlines plane. As we ascended into the sky, we shared a sense of unease. It felt as though we were abandoning the place.
In the air my thoughts went to the coca leaves I had bought. Some Peruvians use it to make a tea for reducing the unwanted symptoms of altitude sickness. I had been using it for the same thing earlier in our trip around Peru. I remember being told these leaves are illegal in the US. They were still in my luggage, which was now on the plane. My American Airlines flight was heading straight for Miami airport!
When suddenly the cubicle started shaking. Now this didn’t faze me in the slightest. I wondered if some drunk has wondered in and was having some difficulties next door. The shaking then got worse. My thoughts then went to the structure I was on, on the cliffside. Not being too sure of the structure, as it was dark outside, I wondered if a boat or ship was hitting it. My thoughts then went to my location, on the west coast of South America. Now I know I can be a bit slow at times, but it was only when I heard crashing coming from the restaurant area that I realised I was in the middle of an earthquake, and a big one!
