The leaves are falling, the pumpkins are out, I’ve had a glass of apple cider … the air isn’t as crisp as I’d like, but it’s safe to say: it’s FALL in NJ!

The last week of September was “business as usual” in the Fajardo condo. Noah and I would have class, go for walks, go to the pool, and enjoy life. In the middle of that week I caught a cold that seemed to be floating around, so I spent a lot of time napping and taking medicine. We did go out for dinner while I was feeling sick, I definitely wasn’t cooking. And, let’s be honest, I can’t cook as well as Soda Mediterranea.

On Friday, September 29th I flew back home to NJ. I had promised my cousin that I would be around to celebrate all aspects of her engagement/wedding, and I keep my promises. So Ken and I cashed in some points, I got a ticket, and I landed in NJ at 1am on Saturday morning. I was able to see a handful of family and celebrate Caitlin and Ross in their engagement.

Although I called it a night earlier than usual because of my cold, I was happy to be there. I laid low on Sunday and enjoyed football, but was back on a plane 5am on Monday.

Landing in Costa Rica was like coming “home”. My boys were there to meet me (well, actually, they were late, but whatever). I was still feeling sick, so on the way to the condo we stopped for lunch and freshly squeezed orange juice.

I napped; I relaxed; I laid low. Noah and I didn’t do a lot of school the first week of October. It was just nice to be home with my boys.

Not only was I recuperating, but we had a something called a tropical storm / hurricane.

While most of the US had heard about Hurricane Nate coming up the gulf, my family was living in ignorant bliss. We rarely turned on the TV or listened to the news. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. On Tuesday night I went to sleep with a healthy dose of NyQuil. When I was woken up by Ken at 6:30am, I was disoriented and still feeling the NyQuil in my system. So when Ken said, “Momma, be careful, we have water on the floor,” things didn’t really compute. It wasn’t until I stepped off the bed into an inch of water that I woke up – a little. It turns out the rooftop terrace wasn’t draining, a problem Ken and I were aware of, but again without knowledge of the storm, we didn’t consider this would be an issue. Without proper draining, the water was rushing down and under the door. In addition to the roof draining onto the second floor of the condo, Noah’s bedroom sliding door had leaking issues. We were letting in water from two sides. Ken was quick to act; I, on the other hand, stood holding a soggy bedspread just watching. Eventually Ken suggested I go downstairs with Noah and get out of his way. I obliged, and promptly fell asleep on the couch.

I woke up around 11am. Ken had cleaned everything. We had sopping wet towels, but no more water. Our master bedroom had water damage on the ceiling, with bubbling paint and dripping walls. It was around this time that Ken received a phone call from my dad. For those of you who know him, you’re aware he is somewhat of a worrier. For good reason, most of the time, but he is a worrier none the less. He asked us how we were doing because of the “hurricane and storm”. This was our first knowledge of what was happening around us. We told dad we were fine, and proceeded to head out to the store just to be sure of our supplies. We also called the maintenance guys who told us about the flooding in town and how all the schools were closed. Wednesday was an interesting day, but we also knew that the storm wasn’t over. It would continue until Friday. We would have a long night of wringing towels and watching for floods.

Around 6pm on Wednesday we finally lost power. We had just finished dinner and had plenty of provisions, so we were ok. We played games, colored, and entertained ourselves. Ken woke up every couple of hours to check on the flooding, but Noah and I slept peacefully.

Thursday was quiet. People stayed inside, no workers were around. In our condo we were in a bubble of safety. We really had no idea how bad things were. In the afternoon we donned our ponchos and went for a walk. We needed to get out. On our walk we saw the downed trees, clues of flooding, and damaged signs. We walked to the beach and the ocean was brown, churned up from the storm. Boats had broken free and were thrashed about in the swells. There were numerous boats on the beach, destroyed. Portions of the path had collapsed and eroded. Our water damage and loss of power was only a sliver of what had happened in town.

We were lucky to get power back on later that afternoon, and on Friday we expected to see the office open and the return of the workers. Again, we were wrong. People didn’t come back to work until Sunday. Ken, Noah, and I lived up in a condo on a hill. Safely above all of the issues. Misael, our security guard and friend, told us about the rushing water that engulfed his home and caused him to sleep on his roof. This was only one of the stories we heard. The devastation across Costa Rica was indescribable.

To give you an idea…

Here is a bridge we cross to get to the airport:

 

Here is a video of the flooding:

 

This is the main street in Coco:

 

We were lucky. Others not so much. Thanks, Dad, for worrying and keeping us informed!

The days following the storm were some of the most beautiful days we had in Coco. Sun shining all day, not a drop of rain. I was feeling better, the community started to move around again, so Noah, Ken, and I were out and about taking pictures and visiting the people we had started to get to know over the last three months.

We frequented some of our favorite restaurants and drove into Liberia (via the once flooded bridge) to eat at Tierra Mar.

Noah gave Misael a small gift as a “thank you” for not only taking care of us, but for also his friendship. Misael would visit Noah every day at the pool, talking to him in Spanish so Noah could practice. They would go iguana hunting around the area, and Misael took extra care in ensuring we were safe and happy. We also gave small gifts to Jonathan and Anisley who work in the office. They saw to our every need, keeping our condo in working order, giving us insider information on places to visit, and they were always excited to listen to Noah’s tales about animals. They, in turn, got Noah such thoughtful gifts. Two amazing coloring books for animals, bugs, and flowers, as well as chocolate. The proceeds from the chocolate went to conservation efforts in Costa Rica for the animals. They knew it would be something Noah would not only enjoy eating, but also be glad for the animals.

We packed up our condo, leaving some things behind (because my son grew out of half of his clothes), and bringing home with us some of the best memories we’ll ever have. We did get to the pool one last time, and then out to dinner for our last sunset of the season.

Ken, Noah, and I flew out of Costa Rica on Thursday afternoon and landed in Newark (after a 3hr layover in Houston) at 1am Friday morning.

Since then, we’ve unpacked, relaxed, and started to visit with family.

So, here we are on Sunday, October 15th. Noah is playing Ticket to Ride with his Aunt Kiki and Uncle Craig, Ken is packing for his work trip to Barcelona, and I am drinking my first Dunkin’ Donuts coffee in about 4 months. October 26th will find Ken, Noah, and I on a secret trip before we’re officially home for the holidays. Our next long-term trip will find us once again in Costa Rica. After much consideration, Ken and I decided we just loved it too much. The people are great, the weather is beautiful, and Noah just loves the animals. We were able to leave a box of stuff behind in storage for when we return. And we can’t wait.