By Wendy Anders

When Costa Ricans are tired of washing their cars, you know it’s bad!

After days of ash from the Turrialba Volcano settling over most of San José, Costa Rica’s greater metropolitan area, one Facebook user said he was fed up, and was giving up trying to keep his car clean.

The last time San José and its environs experienced regular ash-fall was during the prolonged Irazú Volcano eruption that lasted from 1963- 1965, said the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (Ovsicori-UNA). With each volcano following the unique dictates of its inner turmoil, there is no predictable pattern for such natural a phenomena.

Last Sunday night, the Turrialba kicked back into action, and had calmed down by Monday the 26th in the morning, leaving a coating of ash in its wake, only to start belching ash and gas at 12:42 Monday afternoon.

Ovsicori-UNA researchers say that since then, the volcano has basically been in a constant eruptive state, with some lower and some more intense levels of activity.

Currently the colossus appears to be diminishing its activity, but there is no way to predict what is coming.

Rains earlier in the week helped to diminish the spread of ash to some areas, but windy conditions yesterday and today estimated by Ovsicori-UNA at between 40 and 50 kms per hour have aided in the westerly and northwesterly spread of ash and sulfur smells far and wide.

Areas that have reported strong sulfur odors and ash-fall include: Santa Ana, Pavas, Ciudad Colón, Barrio Cuba, Desamparados, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Zapote, Tibás, Coronado, Ipís, San Isidro de Heredia, San Rafael de Heredia, Belén, Barva, Heredia Centro, Guadalupe de Alajuela, and San Ramón de Tres Ríos.

So, in the meantime, be kind to the ones who clean your floors and windows, and if that person is you, try to find ways to enjoy the added chores, as it’s anyone’s guess how long we will be sweeping up grit.