11pm Earthquake!!!

With all the news of Haiti and Chile everybody living near plate activity has thought about their own well being. It turns out that Costa Rica was reminded of their position above the Coco and Carribean plates last Friday night at around 11pm.

My day was a great day for me. I was invited by some former clients to go deep-sea fishing out of the famous Los Suenos Resort. I have to say I am not a big fisherman I am more the river rafting, long hikes, and birding type of tourist but I was interested to see what all the fuss was about in fishing so I accepted the invitation and was on my way. I took the new highway which got me to the Resort in just over an hour. We boarded the boat and we spent a full day fishing. We caught 4 sailfish which made it a successful day. I happen to be one of the people who eat fish and meat but when I see a hook through the mouth of a beautiful fish I cant help feel bad for him. Today was a little different. We had the chance to fish these beautiful creatures, get them into the boat, and then immediately release them. I found it interesting that they were so beautiful bouncing in and out of the water and then when you get them in the boat they are almost brown looking. I think that is their way of saying they belong in the water. It was an interesting feeling to have this creature sitting on my lap, inviting him into our world, and him allowing us to get a glimpse of his world from below. After the picture it is a quick toss back into the water and the fish is on its happy way. So if you are a fan of fishing or not if you go into it with the idea of the chance to develope some respect of the world below it can be quite a magical experience.

When I got home from the fishing trip I was in my room getting ready for bed and I noticed everything starting to shake. I just assumed that is what its like after being on a boat for 8 hours. Then I went down stairs and noticed that my parents had felt the same things and that it must have been an earthquake. Sure enought it was a 4.7 quake that hit the central valley which what has happened in the last few months was enough to give everyone a good scare.

Costa Rica's plate activity is caused by the Coco and the Carribean plates which involve a subduction process. Costa Rica's largest recent quake was in January of 2009 when a 6.8 earthquake hit the area near the Poas Volcano.