Birthday Tremor

I survived the 2010 earthquake in Chile. The epicenter was in Concepcion only 200 kms from Santiago and measured 8.8 there and 8.5 in Santiago where we were spending the winter.

Today, Tuesday March 21, 2023 I woke up early and watched the sun rise over the Andes from my bedroom in Curacavi, Chile. Utter bliss. I am staying with friends. My birthday comes after an Antarctic cruise and before a wedding on Friday.

After breakfast we are going to pick up my friend’s daughter who is flying in from Barcelona where she lives. I have not seen her in almost 12 years. She was no longer a teenager but now an architect and though looking more grown up and more sophisticated seemed the same young girl I knew and loved.  It was the same feeling I had when I met her brother and his wife a few days earlier. The years fell away in a long exuberant hug.

Now here we were at grandmother’s home to welcome her and to celebrate my birthday.  There were 10 of us, members of what I call my Chilean family. We had demolished the laden table of food in the living room, the appetizers, and were now seated at the dining table also laden with food and making fast work of that too.

Now it was time to sing the birthday song. Of course, we had to have both versions sung in two languages. First up Cumpleaños feliz then Happy Birthday sung loudly and somewhat slightly off key under the influence of a variety of the ever flowing wonderful Chilean wines. Salud!

I smiled my thanks, raised my glass and as I lowered it to the table there was a slight shake. Then another followed which was just a tad harder. Puzzled, I looked up and saw the flowers in a large vase do a slow waltz. OMG an earthquake! Shades of 2010! I grabbed on to the table as if I could stop it from shaking. Please, I do not want to go through another 8.5 earthquake in Chile or anywhere else for that matter, I prayed. A third bigger shake rattled the dishes though not a drop of wine spilled.

I was terrified but aware enough to look around.  Hard to believe but here was what registered. One lovely woman used her fork to delicately stab another quail egg and pop it into her mouth. The men were muttering something about ‘only a small tremor, no problem’.  I was pleased that my Spanish was working enough to understand it all.

Then another speared a cherry tomato and reached for the crudités with the salmon coloured dip. My beef empanada was cooling on my plate as I refused to let go of the table.

Two men and a woman went to the balcony to see what was happening to the water in the swimming pool. Don’t ask. I didn’t. Grandma stretched out her hand gently stroked my hand.

My dear friend was watching the other vase of flowers doing a lazy dip and fall back salsa routine. Another calmly, nonchalantly sipped his sparkling wine savouring it with obvious pleasure. I looked up at the chandelier and silently begged it not to come tumbling down as the crystals played a tinkling tune as it swayed and shimmied. Then with a last shudder things stopped moving.

It’s over, only a little tremor. No problem. That was the general consensus. They checked into the earthquake website or whatever it is called. The report said an earthquake measuring 5.1 occurred in Santiago and environs.

By that time everyone, except me, was back to eating and drinking. Still tremulous I picked up my empanada again. I was not yet quite back to normal but laughed, perhaps with a bit of hysteria when one suggested that Bert had come to visit and the little tremor was his special birthday greeting to me. That was what I needed to be calmed, helped along in a large part by my third or fourth glass of wine. As the talk turned to Bert I reflected on the many amazing birthdays I have had: bonding with elephants in Sri Lanka; celebrating Nyepi in Bali; going over the Andes from Santiago to Mendoza, Argentina, and so many more!

This little birthday tremor will join the crowd as being very special. I was surrounded by friends, enjoying Chilean wine, eating food that was prepared with love, being serenaded in both Spanish and English versions of the birthday song, and a visit by Bert in the form of an earthquake which somehow was typical and fitting. With a sigh of relief and in serenity I went back to my empanada.

The Meander: The entire trip was a celebration of LIFE.

“For everything that lives is Holy, Life delights in Life”.             William Blake