Hello friends and family, this is Devin and Kelsey writing about our Fun Day visiting Somoto Canyon.

The day started with an early 5:30 wakeup call. We loaded onto a bus and picked up some local firefighters to make sure we were safe on our adventure. On the bus, we enjoyed bananas, ham sandwiches, and juice while listening to Selena (courtesy of Alfredo). We arrived in the closest town to the canyon where we met the tour guides and were fitted into our life jackets. We arrived at the canyon 15 minutes later and oddly saw a bull with a hanging rope around its body to restrict its movement due to a broken back.

We all had different expectations, but upon arriving at the entrance, we were all surprised to see we were in for quite a hike. We waded through mud and crossed a river hand in hand (and in our socks and shoes!). After a few slips and falls on the rocks, we finally made it to the boats that took us up the river toward the canyon. The scenery was much more beautiful than any of us expected. There was tall lush greenery surrounding us, beautiful mountains on both sides that narrowed as we approached, and a steady fog and mist that kept things interesting. When we arrived to the white water where the boats could not pass, we waited patiently on the rocks for the guides to pull rope through the water ahead of us. Despite the help from our guides, the task still proved to be very difficult.

After two hours, we made it to the waterfall, and although we didn’t get to see it because it was too dangerous to approach, we watched as our guides jumped from the rocks high above the group. One even did a backflip! The ascent back down toward the boats was much easier as we only had to float with the current. We stopped to take a half hour break on the rocks to rest and eat snacks. Thankfully, we all made it back safely to the bus despite many close calls. Back at the bus, we immediately changed out of our sopping wet clothing. The hike, swim, and climb experience was challenging but very enjoyable.

Obviously, the Glimpsers were very hungry so we enjoyed a gut busting meal at at a Somoto buffet called, “Carne Asada: El Buen Gusto.” They served us heaping plates of BBQ chicken, pork, and beef. They also had fried potatoes with cheese, tacos, gigantic fried enchiladas and many other things. The plates were certainly American portions, and our eyes were probably bigger than our stomachs. We all left content with our meals and buckled in for an even longer trip back to Estelí. We arrived at Hostel Tomabu at 4:30 where some of us stayed to have a much needed rest while others left to call home for Father’s Day. We returned to the hostel at 6:30 to prepare for tutoring tomorrow as well as to take a survey to improve future Global Glimpse trips. At 7:00, we made our way to Buffet Estelí to enjoy yuca and pork rinds even though many of us were too full from lunch to finish the delicious meal. We returned to the hostel to conclude with our reflection and daily nightly meeting and pass the torch to tomorrows LDDs Jackie and Adrianna.  There was a nice “energizer” moment for the group as well when we traded turns answering uplifting questions about each other by tapping the shoulders of those that inspire us. Big love.