During that earthquake and maremoto (tsunami) in 1960, some friends of our family were in their cabin at a beach not far from Valdivia, the epicenter.

Since it was a Sunday, they were preparing to go back to the city that afternoon. To do that they have to load their boat, navigate up the river to where their car was parked, load the car and then drive to their home.

That morning was grey and felt really strange. The sea obviously was receding and some kids ran to pick up clams from the beach. The priest was preparing for the mass when he saw the sea dangerously going back. Realizing what that meant, right there he decided to improvise a procession up the hill. So all the people attending mass that morning had an unexpected walk up the hill that saved their lives.

The high wave that fell on that little fishing village that day left only the 3 cement steps at the entrance of the convent.

Don Pedro and his grandson were taken in their small wooden house from one end of the bay, far into the sea, and returned to the other end of the bay with no damage.

Our friends, two adults and two young teenagers loaded their motorized boat and departed around 2:45 pm going up the river. They were puzzled seeing the sea so far back the beach showing clams, mussels and other sea shells exposed. Something bad was coming.

Around 15 to 20 minutes later they heard a terrifying sound and saw an enormous wave coming up the river behind them. Their boat was picked up by the wave and taken about 30 feet up the hill. Thankfully, they had loaded food in the boat because they were stranded for 3 days in a totally isolated area. The father finally decided to leave the family and go for help.

Scientists say that the 1960 earthquake in Chile shifted the “figure axis” of the earth by 3 inches. I don’t know what the “figure axis” of the earth is, but I clearly remember that the entrance to the cave with indian paintings inside we had found one summer was a mere crevice the next summer and we could not go in again.