Hello friends and family!
So today was a very adventurous, beautiful, tiring day. We had our second fun day! We started off by waking up earlier than normal at 5:30. We headed off on an hour and a half drive to Cañón de Somoto, having breakfast sandwiches on the bus. When we finally arrived we took a small hike with amazing greenery surrounding us. When we got to the river, we slowly got in by walking along a rock wall, and it was pretty cold at first. But then we got to go swimming and it was nice. A lot of people just floated along taking in the beautiful view of the green canyon walls. It was so breathtaking, everyone wished they had their cameras to take lots of pictures. This was a first for many of the glimpsers, and definitely one to remember. Especially when we got to jump off the rocks into the river and go down the river “water slide”, but of course we were safe being directed by our tour guides. Everyone had fun, even those who are not as good as swimming. They took longer, but got to take lots of pictures. I even had fun after I was scared of our tour guide picking up a HUGE spider. It was pretty terrifying. I really wish it could have lasted longer just to see the green vines drape down from the canyon walls with the river running through it. The view was definitely what surprised me the most. When I think of canyon, I think of the Grand Canyon and how it’s so dry, but this was the complete opposite. Everyone was amazed with the view, I could stare at it all day long.

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After this journey through the river running through Cañón de Somoto, some of us got changed into dry clothes since we wore regular clothes into the water to be covered up for safety. We went to lunch at Carne Asada Buen Gusto where we had chicken, gallo pinto, and tajadas. It was so delicious and very filling. It tasted like heaven after our long hike and swim through the canyon.

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On the ride back to Estelí, we got time to work on our English tutoring prep, and others like me took a nap because we were TIRED. When we got back, we had time to take a shower, nap, or just hang out. We had Nicaraguan enchiladas, which are really good, but tonight a lot of people were still full from our big lunch. We then took, pretty much, our nightly walk to tutor our students. Everyone is preparing for the Talent Show tomorrow night, and I have to say my class is looking really good for a bunch of adorable little kids. I can’t wait to see what everyone’s class does 🙂

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We all love and miss everyone! We are almost home, so be ready to hear all of the stories about this incredible once in a lifetime trip! We have learned so much and are ready to share our experience with you 🙂

“Peace out from Estelí 1A, later”
Love, Samantha Taylor 🙂