We had driven from Kaikoura back to Picton Sunday night to catch the ferry to Wellington and had just finished dinner at the Toot & Whistle. Since we had some time before we boarded, we were standing in the restaurant's parking lot debating whether we should go for a walk (Elena's idea) or have dessert at a different restaurant up on the High Street (my idea) when the earth started trembling and then began shaking.
Cars in the parking lot, including our little Suzuki, began bouncing up and down as the shaking got more violent and then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.
I think we've become honorary Kiwis because instead of panicking or yelling we just looked at one another and shrugged.
"Earthquake," I said.
"Yes," Elena said.
"I vote for dessert," Josep said.
Elena, however, opted for a walk.
A little while later we drove to the terminal and learned that the ferry was going to be delayed for at least 30 minutes.
"I vote for dessert," Josep said again.
This time, rather than sit in the car, Elena gave in and we walked to a small place in the center of town where Josep and I shared a massive ice cream sundae and the two Elena's shared some kind of tart thing.
No one in the restaurant even mentioned the earthquake.
We learned later, while watching the news on the ferry, that the 'quake had measured 6.5 on the Richter scale, had shut down the Wellington airport, damaged a hotel and broken some water mains so there were some flooded streets in the capital. The 'quake also disrupted train service, stopping some of them dead in their tracks, as it were. According to the news, four people wound up in the hospital including one poor guy who had a television set fall on his head.
Because she's a psychiatrist working with a crisis team, I expected Elena to come home Monday night after a long day dealing with hordes of panicky, anxious people.
I was wrong about that. Even though the earthquake was the strongest to ever hit Wellington - a fact she learned from talking to other nurses and doctors - there was apparently very little anxiety about it.
Kiwis, as they always seem to, simply kept calm and carried on.
 |
| Cormorants by the hundreds gather daily on this big rock that once served as a lookout post for whalers. |
 |
| Side view of a sperm whale diving. |
 |
| The cormorants share that big rock with fur seals. |
It seems remarkable but these giant whales don't make much more than a ripple on the water when they dive.
 |
| Sometimes, all you want out of life is a nice warm rock to lie on so you can catch a few rays. |
No comments:
Post a Comment