Loads of Fun While Burning in the Sun

I'm very lucky to be writing on such a great day! Our day started off with an extra half hour of sleep. Breakfast started at 7, and we had a healthy helping of rice and beans, an omelet and some orange juice. Unlike most other days, instead of being driven to Centro de Fe in Lester's van, we were picked up at the Nehemiah Center by a bus from the school with the students. This meant that today we went straight from the Nehemiah Center to our destination for the day, Hostel Real. The place was like an abandoned resort right on to the beach. It was very beautiful, with multiple pools, (although only one was sorta filled) a nice area for us to chill out, and a very clean and large beach. Since the resort was abandoned, we were practically the only ones there, sans a few staff and an older couple who were swimming in the ocean.

Upon our arrival, we placed our bags in a sitting area under a thatched roof, with stone tables and benches, along with a few hammocks to lay in. As we applied our sunscreen, we noticed what seemed to be a bird flying over head under the roof. But upon closer inspection, we had found out that a few bats had decided to make the their sleeping area the underside of the roof for the day. Although a few members of our team wanted nothing to do with the nocturnal creatures, a few others (including myself) found them rather adorable and simply admired them from the distance. Since the pool we were supposed to swim in wasn't filled up yet, we decided to explore the beach with the students. The water was fairly cold when we first walked in. Once we got used to it, the waves were calm

and very soothing.

After a short time longer at the beach, the pool had filled up a fair amount and we migrated ourselves away from the beach. Although the water was only up to our thighs, it was perfect for some rough-housing, playing piggy in the middle, volleyball and other games. Both Canadian students and Nicaraguan students were able to enjoy each others company without a care in the world and there were a ton of smiles.

There was also a time when a large group decided to go down to the beach once more. F our second visit, the tide had become incredibly low, revealing rugged rocks that we were able to walk on. Amongst these rocks we discovered multiple sea-creatures, including hermit crabs, sea urchins, moon snails, and sculpins. We took many pictures with the students and wrote our names and other designs in the sand as well. Lunch was provided to us by our awesome driver, Lester, and our translator, Nilda. Today we had something that reminded us of home: sandwiches, including egg salad, tuna, peanut butter and jelly, and turkey.

As 3:30 came around, our day at the beachside resort came to an end and we reluctantly boarded the bus to made our way back to the Nehemiah Center. The bus ride was fairly peaceful as multiple people fell asleep, while others listened to music out loud, casually singing the lyrics. Upon returning to the Nehemiah Center, we followed our regular routine of eating dinner at 6, consisting of rice, beans, chicken, and vegetables. After our debrief we simply dispersed, playing a few card games and just relaxing as we prepared for our next day.