Back home... safe and sound

A few days before I left for Canada, there was a storm and the rivers rose. This is why we really do need a new, solid, concrete bridge in our little village. Most days, the man-made bridge does the trick, but when the rains come, our little bridge gets clogged up with debris and becomes a waterfall -- making it impossible to cross safely. And so much mud!!

The good news is that while I was away, the workers finally finished the bridge!! Check it out... there's even a separate lane for pedestrians.

While I was in Canada, our good friend Geoff came for a visit... and apparently Bobbie made a new friend (as she does). Kevin and Geoff had a great time from all accounts. Next time, we'll make sure the whole family comes to visit and I won't make any plans to be away!!

I landed in San Jose last Monday (Sept 19) at 12:09 pm. Kevin was waiting for me with arms wide open. Such a nice welcome home! We drove through the city, through Cartago and up the mountain as we always do. Nothing unusual to report. When I got home, I received a note from a friend asking me if I had any trouble landing at the airport. I had no idea what she was talking about. I checked the news and I read that at 11:30 am, Turrialba volcano had erupted. Turrialba is located about 30 km northeast of the San Jose airport. The wind carried the ash westward and the airport was shut down at 1:30 pm, with many flights being cancelled or diverted to other airports. The airport reopened late Tuesday morning. Kevin and I saw no evidence of any of this happening, which is odd considering it spewed ash 4 km into the air!! You would think we'd see something from San Jose.

Photo borrowed from the internet. I take no credit.

We had to go back into San Jose on Thursday to meet with our immigration lawyer. It's time to apply for our permanent residency status. We thought we would have seen the ash residue on the road and on cars, but nothing. Our lawyer said because it rained the day before, the ash had washed away. The rain also eliminates the smell of sulfur, too.

This is one of those stories where people in other countries get the news first and may worry, but the people living in the country are going about their business without a clue of what's happening around them. Life goes on... and often it's so much less dramatic as one might imagine.

I had a superb time in Canada. Seeing my family and a handful of friends was wonderful. Good for the soul. Wish I could have seen more people, but I'm glad I didn't overload my schedule. Spending most of my time with family was the point... so mission accomplished! I didn't bring my camera and I don't own a smart phone for easy 'selfies' so I have no pictures of my trip, except for this one of Jude and me. I have lots of recent pictures of Phoenix and me from when she came to visit in May, but no recent ones of Jude (it had been two years). So, I'm very happy we took a minute to capture this one on his cell phone.