Let me tell you that today, the second to last full day we have here in Jinotega, was definitely a fun day, and I had a great experience being el lider del dia.

We started the day off waking up dark and early at 4:30AM and were ready in half an hour to go on our three hour bus ride to Somoto. We went on the Cañon de Somoto tour, and we stayed there for about six hours.

The canyon was stunningly beautiful and a sight I doubt I’ll ever be able to see again. In our tour, we hiked a path full of rocks and water, and for some parts of the tour, we had to swim to get to our next destination. (Don’t worry: we all wore lifejackets and there were Red Cross people with us to help those who couldn’t swim.) I remember laying on my back in the water and looking at the scenery all around me. We were all swimming with smiles in the river, and there were mountains over one hundred feet high to the sides of us. Did I mention this river separated Honduras from Nicaragua? The rocks to the side of us were really tall, and they made small coves, caves, and ledges.

In fact, we even got to jump off two ledges, the second one being a bit over twenty feet high. In addition, we got to ride a rowboat in an area of water that would take too long to swim in. It was nice to enjoy just the view and water without having to catch our breath every few seconds.

One of the rowboats we took to get across a stretch of water

I still can’t get over how amazing the scenery looked; I wish I could’ve taken pictures while we were swimming, but no one’s cameras were waterproof. I was extremely proud of how everyone pushed through; we were all tired but still stayed positive and had lots of fun. The tour through the canyon is one that I wish everyone could have the opportunity to take someday.

Sorry for the long post, but hope you enjoyed reading it!