Hi everyone ! Luckily I got to be leader of the day on beach day which was a day filled with fun activities. The day began with me pounding on everyone’s doors and getting them ready for a nice breakfast at Imabite. We had a quick breakfast and then headed back to our hostel so that everyone could make sure they slathered on a thick layer of sunscreen and bug spray. The bus ride consisted of Nicaragua’s beautiful landscape and the entire group singing along to Justin Bieber’s “sorry” song. Once we got to our destination ,which was a small beach town along the coast of Nicaragua, we then split up into three groups and took a private boat tour of Isla Juan Venado, a huge natural reserve and island with an abundance of wildlife.

Once our tour ended we got to walk through Isla Juan Venado to our own private beach which was pretty amazing. The beaches in Nicaragua are beautiful but can also be dangerous to the unprepared beach goer due to strong waves. Thanks to Global Glimpse, we had a lifeguard, Gustavo Rodrigo, a triathlon Olympian who has volunteered at the Red Cross for over fifteen years now. As a lifeguard, he was good at making sure no one went too far out and that we were safe while playing in the wave breaks.

After spending about an hour at the island we got a boat ride back to where our bus was and headed out to lunch at a restaurant right on a beach called Playa Roca. Playa Roca was filled with many European tourist that were also enjoying the warm waters of Nicaragua. Everyone was very happy to be at a beach that had water warmer then 60 degrees Fahrenheit like that back home in the Bay Area. We stayed at Playa Roca for about three hours. In Nicaragua it is custom for the locals to wear clothes to the beach so keeping to tradition we kept on shorts and shirts to blend in with the locals.

At 3:30 we headed back to the bus for a short trip to the hostel. Everyone took a quick shower and then we walked to Imabite for a fulfilling dinner. We moved our nightly meeting to 6:00 so that we could go to the movies to watch Ghostbusters at 7:20. Going to the movies felt like being back home and made me and a couple of others homesick but it was still a lot of fun and we all enjoyed the movie. After our program manger and site manager took us to a special festival celebrating the 128th anniversary of Ruben Dario’s book Azul. Ruben Dario is known most for his poems but he was also an ambassador for the country of Nicaragua. It was a very special and unforgettable experience for all of us.