1
1 J.
_an4s, Schloss&
s
luring the first leg of
her trip In Antarctica
"1 an fiery nervous about this. 1Ve are
going 4nto the 'eye of the storm.' I'm
lvorried about aftershoas or even another
earthquake, but they say Santiago is safe."
.
—Cindy Schlussel
Trouble in Paradise
Adventure traveler stranded on an island following Chile's earthquake.
Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News
R
elaxation and adventure were no
doubt on the agenda when Cindy
Schlussel of White Lake set out
on what family members call "a vacation
of a lifetime:' She traveled to Antarctica
(the last continent she had yet to visit),
then moved on to a remote Polynesian
island where she recently celebrated her
40th birthday. But the itinerary took an
unexpected turn.
Saturday, a devastating earthquake
rocked Chile killing more than 700 people.
The 8.8 magnitude quake, one of the larg-
est ever recorded, destroyed roads, toppled
buildings and triggered widespread tsu-
nami warnings. Schlussel, who's traveling
with a group of Jewish singles from vari-
ous cities through the Pittsburgh-based
travel agency Amazing Journeys, found
herself stranded on Easter Island in the
southeast Pacific Ocean. The remote desti-
nation, considered one of the world's most
10 March 4 2010
isolated inhabited islands, is about 2,300
miles off the west coast of Chile.
"Have never been so scared in my
life; awoken at 6 a.m. by frantic pound-
ing on the door and someone scream-
ing, 'Earthquake, tsunami, evacuate!"'
Schlussel wrote on her Facebook page Feb.
27 after the massive earthquake struck.
She later posted a message to tell
friends and family members she has no
cell phone service. The social network-
ing Web site has been her only consistent
means of communicating with loved ones.
"We were taken to high ground and just
given the all clear. Tsunami hit two smaller
islands near us, but we are all safe and
okay',' Schlussel wrote in another status
update. "We have food, water and shelter
and we're not suffering on this beautiful
Polynesian island:'
Cindy also said the group's Shabbat and
Havdalah services were especially moving
in the wake of the earthquake; everyone
was just thankful they were not in harm's
way.
At press time, the group of 16 managed
to catch a flight off Easter Island. They
landed safely at the partially damaged
Santiago, Chile, airport — which Schlussel
called a "very emotional moment" They
were headed for a hotel in the city, but
beyond that, there were no plans in place
to get them back to the United States.
"I am very nervous about this',' Schlussel
wrote via Facebook. "We are going into the
`eye of the storm: I'm worried about after-
shocks or even another earthquake, but
they say Santiago is safe. We have no idea
how or when we will get home from there:'
While the regular online messages
and updates provided some sense of
relief, Cindy's parents, Mike Schlussel of
Walled Lake and Nancy Schneider of West
Bloomfield, were still worried and anxious
for her safe return. Mike Schlussel was
interviewed by several local television
stations and at times was seen choking
back tears. Cindy's co-workers at Shuman
Chrysler Jeep in Walled Lake, where she
sells new and used cars, were also watch-
ing developments closely.
"The part that scares me is that the
death toll keeps getting higher and higher;'
said Cindy's dad. "When you don't hear
anything, you start thinking the worst."
Those fears were punctuated by chaotic
scenes captured by news crews in the
earthquake zone showing looters being
arrested on the streets, mass destruction,
and the search for survivors in the rubble.
Schneider was busy making calls to the
State Department, the U.S. Embassy in
Chile, the Chilean Earthquake task force
and other agencies.
"We just want to make sure they have
accommodations in an area that's safe
and secure said Schneider. "We don't
know how long they're going to be there
[in Santiago], where they're going to be or
anything. They're one step closer. But we'll
be a lot more relieved when she's finally
headed back home"
American Jewish World Service is directing
supporters to www.alertnet.org .