Nicaragua July 30, 2010

Friday

Didn't have to start the coffee, but woke up at 4am anyway. Oh well. So tired this morning. I had a big bowl of instant oatmeal for my breakfast. My stomach is doing so much better.

Mike gave me the money for the hotel rooms, gas for the vans, meals for the drivers and translators. We set off for our fun day.

We stopped at On the Run one last time for the team to get snacks from 'their' store. Bethany got locked in the bathroom stall. I was starting to worry about her and then she made it out. whew! I bought a bag of cheetos and other snacks to share with the drivers and translators.

Oscar rode up front in my van and we had a nice chat. The middle seat seems to make the rider very sleepy. We took turns 'praying' and I would have loved a longer nap, myself.

The vans stopped at an overlook and took a group picture with the lake and volcanoes behind us. Then we drove to the hotel and dropped off the luggage and confirmed our rooms. Then on to the zipline. Kaylie and I opted to sit out of the zipline and Juan sat with us in one of the vans. Fabio was so gracious to keep the a/c on, but I didn't want to use up the gas. We were parked in the shade with the doors open, so it wasn't unbearable. Juan and I talked a lot about Spanish lessons and such. The time went by so fast.

We headed to Narcy's for lunch. It was great. But it seemed to take forever. Kearsten had ordered a kid's pizza that had a smile on it. When I took it's picture, it seemed to be grimmacing at me...

We arrived at the gringo market just before 4pm. We had just a little over an hour to shop. I was looking for a few things that Beth and Sherry were wanting to find. I did get some things for me. I had to buy a bag so I could carry all the little things. We gathered at the vans and the translators said goodbye to the team and took the bus back to León.

By the time we got back to the hotel, I was soooo exhausted. We took care of the room 'issues' and everyone got their luggage and left to find their rooms. I turned around to go with the girls to find our 2 rooms. Ooops, no Bethany or Kaylie. They had left their luggage with Kearsten and went to find their room. I was so tired and wanted so badly to go to my own room. I have to admit I was pretty grumpy when they finally showed back up. It turns out that the room they got was way out in the boonies of the rows of cabins. They had asked a porter to change their room. That was what was taking so long. They didn't like the second room either, but came back to find Kearsten and me. I was going to change their room for them, but a HUGE group was checking in. So, I gave them mine and Kearsten's room and she and I took the one in the boonies.

Kearsten and I got lost looking for the girls room. (the hotel is like a pac-man game of going back and forth between buildings) When we finally found the girl's room, the door had no handle and a guy was there working on it. They had actaully gotten locked inside their room and the key was stuck in the door. The windows were bolted shut and they couldn't figure out how to use the phone to call my room (which I was not in anyway, since I was lost in the maze of hallways). Finally, they got someone's attention and he went to the front desk for help. Turns out that they have to move the girls to a 4th room, which ends up right next to ours and it's an adjoining room!! woohoo! Oh thank You Lord! You knew we needed to be together and to be away from the team and everyone else for our last hours.

The team had reserved tables for themselves and us for 7:30pm. We didn't really want anything to eat, but felt obligated by ettiquette to go. We ended up eating little. I was so tired I didn't want to chew meat, so I got mushroom ravioli. The girls all shared one meal. Most of the time we listened to some of the team make fun or complain about things. Not my favorite way to spend the last evening with the girls. Finally, we went to our rooms and talked for a little while. I wish I could have had more time and energy to tell the girls just how much I love and appreciate them. We went to bed about 11pm. We had to get up about 4am for them to catch their plane. I went to sleep late and slept like a log!!

I was so proud of the girls and the way they handled themselves in many different situations. They were truly a blessing to me (and to Mary and Beth).