At six am we began the day off to a rough start waking late, leading to a thrown off schedule. We had a quick nutritious breakfast consisting of pancakes, watermelon, and pineapple finished with an authentic  strawberry-lime horchata.  After breakfast, we jumped on the bus to Juan Venado.   At 8:06 am we arrived at the desolate beach front, where we were met by the lifeguards. We walked to the boats, sand squeezing into our shoes with every step. After splitting into three groups, we went on a boat through a channel at 8:32 am. Mangroves flanked our sides as we sped towards the beautiful isolated beach.  The tour guide pointed out native trees, birds, and spiders along the channel.  We learned three different types of mangroves and how they dropped seeds into the dirt to grow more trees.

The sun’s rays shine through the clouds onto the sand reflecting glimmering shards of light in every direction. The salty smell consumed the air, as we trudged through the scorching sand. At 9:10, we finally arrived at the breathtaking beach.  It was fun to jump in the refreshing waves and cool off.  The constant UV rays forced everyone to put layers of sunscreen on while swarms of mosquitos made the place smell like bug spray.  Many glimpsers walked along the beach in search of pretty sea shells to take home as souvenirs.  At 11:24 am we headed back to the boats tired and hungry.

We sat down to eat lunch at parquet de oro where we had chicken fingers, pasta, and fish.  The LDDs’ for the next day met with the GGLs’ while the rest of the glimpsers played pool and ate ice cream.  During the mental warm-up, the weather changed from hot to pouring rain in five minutes ending the meeting early.  Everyone ran to the bus that took us to Taller Xuchialt.

At 1:32. we arrived at Taller so we could learn the Sutiaba tradition of sawdust carpets.  Our instructor Alan showed us the technique to the art.  Together, the group created a beautiful blanket of color with handprints, letters and flags.  The main caption written in the sawdust was “Tuani 17.” Tuan, our team name, meaning awesome. The sawdust project, for us, represents the bridge connection of culture from Leon to America.

We came back to the hostel at around four and took a good twenty minute break. Afterwards we sat eagerly for our English tutoring prep, where we learned how to teach a class and manage it. It was utterly amazing and wicked to see the perspective of  the teacher for once.  The helpful tricks and tips from Matthew and Kiki shaped our lesson plans for the next day.

Kiki and Summer picked up dinner for us which was nice because everyone was exhausted from the beach.  The last meal of the day went by quick because we had to start the nightly meeting. We summarized the day and passed on the torch to Diana and Chelsea.  Best of luck to them tomorrow and goodnight.