We feel very blessed that harm did not befall us. We could have been far less fortunate. In early February we stayed with friends on their family's blueberry farm near Santa Barbara about 140 miles from the epicenter. The brick and adobe guesthouse where we slept for a week was completely destroyed in the earthquake. In the second week of February we stayed in a small, single-story hotel near the beach in Dichato, while our jeep was being repaired in Concepción. Dichato was almost completely destroyed by a tsunami, and Concepcion, Chile's second largest city and only 100 miles from the epicenter, was among the hardest hit. One 15-story apartment building was reduced to 5 floors, and another was lifted from its foundation and fell over on its side. Miraculously, many residents walked away from it uninjured. The Concepción area suffered a triple blow, not only from the earthquake and the tsunami, but also from uncontrolled looting. Initially we, and perhaps the police, were shocked by the looting in Chile, a conservative country we have come to know and respect. But we have come to realize that many looters in the most affected areas were driven by fear, anger, and frustration after everything they owned, including their homes and their jobs, were suddenly ripped away from them. We don't know if the repair shop that did a great job fixing our jeep is still standing or not, but all the bridges out of Concepción were destroyed. So we were very relieved to see army caravans of all terrain vehicles and bridge reconstruction crews headed into the hardest hit areas.
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