#23 - SLEEPING WITH AN EARTHQUAKE IN LORCA

LORCA / SPAIN

#23

From:           Orange - France

To:                Lorca - Spain

Distance:       1500km /1000m
Time:             14 hours

Climate:        7C/18C= 45/65F

END OF PART 1

SLEEPING WITH AN EARTHQUAKE

Lorca, Spain

BACK TO SPAIN


Orange France to Marbella Spain 
1500 km/1000 miles 
15 hours drive time


You must think by now we are near Switzerland or Germany or lost somewhere in France... but.... the sharp turn I wrote about a few posts ago was back to Spain.


Unfortunately we had to cut our trip short and head quickly back to Spain to take care of an urgent issue with our place. The trip of small roads, lost roads, single lanes and undiscovered adventure was quickly replaced by, highways, radar control, traffic and 1500km or 1000miles and 15 hours of rush time.

After 9 hours of road travel we were both tired and needed to rest. If you look at the map you can see the  route we took turned off towards Murcia. Little did we know what lay ahead.

UNEXPECTED EARTHQUAKE




The road from Alicante to Malaga is a very dark single lane road. There is nothing on that road... no hotels on the side, no stops... nothing. I was driving ( because I drive faster than Bob) we had to stop and rest. We pulled over at the first town we saw and ten minutes later found a hotel.

NO ONE ON THE STREETS
It was very dark - no one on the streets and usually quiet for a lively country as Spain. We thought perhaps there was a football (soccer) game running late to keep the Spanish off the streets and quiet.


HOTEL:
As we pulled into this remote hotel, Bob commented as how busy the parking lot was and why and how it could be so full. The man at the front desk said he had only 1 room left so we felt lucky and took it.

NO WIFI
Five minutes later I was back downstairs complaining the WIFI in our room didn't work.
The man gave me a funny look and said in Spanish "Haven't you heard? We just had a major Earthquake here a few hours ago. 10 people are dead."

My jaw dropped! "Where I asked".
His reply. "Here. Very close"

I thought - no way - of all the stops we could make. We stopped in Lorca Murcia directly where the Earthquake just happened!!!! How in the world could we have a good night sleep worrying about "after shocks".

5.1 EARTHQUAKE
Quickly we turned on the TV and saw every channel covering the news and the horrific damages, deaths and daily events.

Thousands of people were displaced and instructed not to return to their homes. They slept on the streets. 10 people were dead. Cars crushed most of the people.


How lucky were we to get a room?????



PAST & FUTURE
Just earlier that morning we were casually walking around an Amphitheater 2000 years old in France and now we are in the middle of an Earthquake zone.

FEARS


For anyone who lives or was in an earthquake the biggest fear is the after shock. The Earthquake in Lorca hit the town twice. Once at 5pm and the 2nd at 8pm. We were lucky enough to miss the direct hit by 3 hours. But the tremors were felt for 350km/220 miles around including our drive. However if you are driving or moving you don't feel the tremors as much as standing still.

So we were clueless - listening to music, talking and driving in the dark. How were we to know we were driving directly into a dangerous earthquake area.

THE NEXT DAY


As you can only imagine - the next morning we awoke quite early after a restless night sleep. By 7 30 am we were back on the road to quickly drive away from this danger zone.

The area hit was blocked off but I did take some photos for you to give you an idea of the area and events of the morning.

We saw helicopters circling around, fire engines coming from all directions, military vehicles and equipment forming a long line, police everywhere, and of course most roads all blocked.

EMERGENCY STATE 

As you can see by the photos - the main highway leading out of the area was blocked with detours and heavy traffic even at this early morning.

Police were everywhere rushing with sirens. It was a solemn feeling to be accidentally near such a catastrophic and historical event. My thoughts went to the people who were innocently going about their daily activities only to be suddenly facing death and fear from the dangers of natures powerful reaching arms.

It did make us both think very hard at how lucky we are but at the same time to realize the fragility of life. We all must really work hard at trying to live each day as if it is our last and not think of it as just a "nice" saying. 

Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today! 

LORCA BACKGROUND

Population:    @100,000

Border:          Ancient border between Christians and Moslems

Economy:      Agriculture and export of pork products

Capital:          Lorca is the capital of Community of Murcia

Bronze Age:   Town dates back to the Bronze Age (is the Stone Age & Iron Age)

The LORCA CASTLE, a historical site, built in the 9th century by the Moors was damaged in the quake.

DANGEROUS TUNNEL 

only way out

As you can see in the photos there were originally two tunnels. One entering the town and one exiting the town. The one exiting was damaged from the Earthquake and was shut down. We had to pass single lane through the Tunnel into town. 

Sometimes I find myself feeling a bit claustrophobic if the situation is odd or tight. This time I was completely uncomfortable to pass through a tunnel only hours after an Earthquake.

I kept asking Bob.. how can they be sure it is safe? How can we be sure it doesn't get hit in an aftershock and we are in the tunnel. So I closed my eyes, put the IPOD in my ears and waited till we passed the 2 mile tunnel to safety.

The medieval historical church was damaged as well as many historic sites located in the area.

The arrival of the Military

BBC VIDEO - Click to view

Views just passed Lorca 
Natural beauty surrounds this now damaged and ever changed town!

Time stands still for the endless Olive Orchards found along the area.

We were were both quite disappointed our trip was unexpectedly put on temporary hold. But the good news is that we will be back on the road to pick up where we left off......soon....

In the meantime, let our hearts go out to the victims of Lorca and all those who have suffered from this violent earthquake.

TIDBIT: Did you know there are about 500,000 earthquakes a year and with over 100,000 of these felt. 

Thanks! I wanted to say thanks to everyone taking the time to look at the "Travel Along" blog. To date there are over 2200 page views from as far as Russia, South America, Asia .... so thank you for joining us on this adventure.

In the meantime, please feel free to share this link ( Twitter, Facebook, email) with all your friends and family who would like to see and read about these special places we found, the food, history and culture along the less traveled roads of Europe.

Get some rest - we will be picking you up again to hop in the back seat - very soon. 

night night...

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