6.03.2005
The Fragility of Life
My blogging has been light due to my vacation these 8 days - I am on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Right now I am writing this from an internet cafe in sweltering Puerto Viejo de Limon.
My three friends and I arrived here today from Cahuita, a smaller town 15 km west of here. We arrived at Playa Cocles this afternoon and noticed a crowd gathered in front of the ocean. At first we thought that someone was giving a surf lesson on the sand. However, we looked closer and we noticed that a lifeguard was administering CPR. A local surfer told us that the lifeguards had rescued an older overweight man who had gone under after getting pulled out by the riptide. Apparently he had already swallowed a lot of water and he had not regained consciousness.
We stood in silence, watching this unfold with the other onlookers. Within a few minutes an ambulance had arrived and the man was carried away on a stretcher.
I had read about several drownings in my time living in Costa Rica, yet viewing it firsthand really hit home. As we sat down on the beach, we all felt humbled by what we had just witnessed. Hours before, this man had been enjoying his vacation with his wife and daughter, just like the four of us. Now, their lives had been shattered in a matter of minutes.
As someone who often feels invincible, this event was quite sobering. I am a big believer in the power of constantly altering my environment in order to keep perspective on life. It seems like quite a selfish way of looking at such an unfortunate tragedy, but hopefully it is something I can take away from this self-indulgent vacation.
My three friends and I arrived here today from Cahuita, a smaller town 15 km west of here. We arrived at Playa Cocles this afternoon and noticed a crowd gathered in front of the ocean. At first we thought that someone was giving a surf lesson on the sand. However, we looked closer and we noticed that a lifeguard was administering CPR. A local surfer told us that the lifeguards had rescued an older overweight man who had gone under after getting pulled out by the riptide. Apparently he had already swallowed a lot of water and he had not regained consciousness.
We stood in silence, watching this unfold with the other onlookers. Within a few minutes an ambulance had arrived and the man was carried away on a stretcher.
I had read about several drownings in my time living in Costa Rica, yet viewing it firsthand really hit home. As we sat down on the beach, we all felt humbled by what we had just witnessed. Hours before, this man had been enjoying his vacation with his wife and daughter, just like the four of us. Now, their lives had been shattered in a matter of minutes.
As someone who often feels invincible, this event was quite sobering. I am a big believer in the power of constantly altering my environment in order to keep perspective on life. It seems like quite a selfish way of looking at such an unfortunate tragedy, but hopefully it is something I can take away from this self-indulgent vacation.
# posted by Juanson : 11:22 PM
