WF Nicaragua Travel

We arrived in San Juan del Sur Friday and since then have been hanging out at the beach and exploring the town!! Yesterday Lisa and I rented an ATV and attempted to drive to a beach just north of San Juan del Sur, but didn’t quite make it due to some navigational problems. However, it was quite the adventure between almost getting stuck in mud, the bumpy “roads” and seeing some local towns and people up close. It was a beautiful drive through a more forested area and felt exhilarating to floor it!! (Not to mention the adrenalinerush from trying to drive on Nicaraguan roads with other vehicles. . . . oh and that bus that apparently had the right of way!) It all made for a wonderful adventure and unforgettable memory!!

Today our adventures continued with surfing lessons on a beach just south of San Juan del Sur. It was a beautiful beach and a perfect day for learning how to surf! Fortunately there where no wipeouts for me and everyone managed to get up . . . although not everyone can say the same (Stephen). It was definitely another great experience added to the list and hopefully will only be the start of my surfing this summer!

San Juan del Sur has been one of my favorite destinations I have visited and has many fun things to offer! I am so glad I got the opportunity to come to Nicaragua and am looking forward to visiting some local medical clinics the next two days! See you soon family!!! I love you!!

<3 Courtney

After the fun and rejuvenating adventures of ziplining (once right into the tree) and hiking this weekend, I was ready to do some hands on work. Today we walked through the dump in Managua and I was amazed by the amount of people living side by side with the toxins and waste. The piles of trash went on for miles and is made of over 50 years worth of compacted trash. One thing that really caught my eye was the amount of used medical supplies such as syringes and IV’s that were scattered throughout the dump. They were not safely disposed of and instead were laying sprawled out providing many hazards to those who walked though the dump daily. Despite the condition of living there, the people were very friendly and open to talking with us. It was definitley one of the most eye opening experiences I have had on this trip and it makes me feel very fortunate to live a neighborhood as safe as mine. Later we went to a local school and painted a building then mixed and poured a concrete pathway to the computer lab. Although mixing the concrete was tough, seeing the progression of the pathway was a great feeling. The pathway was constructed to prevent dust from blowing into the classroom, which causes them to close the windows and thus end class early due to heat exhaustion. It was so amazing to see the end result of our labor and know that it will be appreciated and improve the student’s environment for learning.