Nicaragua!!! Day 5

The next morning we got up around 7:30 AM to head to the beach!  We took a taxi out to what's called Poneloya.  Oh my gosh that beach was amazing.  We got there early so we were almost the only ones there.  Bet you can't say you've spent January 1st on a hot and sunny beach!  Hahaha, it was amazing.  I felt like I was in a dream.  The ocean water was warm and beautiful, and there was nothing but soft sand for miles along it.  There was no seaweed or rocks to get all over your feet.  Just sand.  And I laid out in the sun, basking in the beautiful humid warmth and listening to the huge waves.  It was an amazing morning.  We went for a walk, collected some sea shells, played in the ocean and....  my flip flop broke.  Yup.  The Nicaraguan Ocean broke my flip flop.  Don't you hate that?

So as we were heading back I felt so silly...  Trying to walk when your flip flop isn't attached is virtually impossible.  And as if I didn't get enough stares as it is!  Hahaha but the people were friendly and just smiled at me as I walked.... really really slowly....  with my broken shoe :)  It was pretty funny.  Our ride home was pretty funny too.  Have you ever seen those big trucks that just have open backs with a tarp covering it?  Well in Nicaragua, they pack those full of people and give them rides for cheap prices.  So we got to ride in one!  Luckily it was pretty early in the morning still so we were pretty much the only ones riding it back from the Beach.  It was a windy ride!  But fun.  And I was so happy after that beautiful beach day :)

So then we went back and showered and got ready to head out to Chinandega!  We took a taxi to the bus terminal (isn't it funny that they call it a terminal?) and caught a bus to Chinandega.  As we got off at our destination, Brock pointed out to me a place called "On the Run."  He said he loved this place for two reasons.  One- it had Americanized food that was pretty tasty.  Two- it was very well air-conditioned, and Chinandega is the very hottest city in the country!

I quickly realized that, too!  We were there at the coldest time of the year (but the temperature only fluctuates about 10-15 degrees year round) and it was SO hot there!  Walking around in that hot sun was very draining.  I felt for the poor missionaries who had to do that all day every day :)  But off we went!  We walked over to Patricia's house.  We had told her we were coming and she told us she was soooo excited!  She was going to have a delicious lunch ready for us and everything!  But when we got to her house, sadly, no one was there!  And as we were waiting at the door (it's so funny- instead of knocking on the doors people just yell "Buenas!" and they come answer!  I love it and so badly want to do that here some time!) after knocking and yelling "Buenas," we saw missionaries walking up the street!  How fun- our third set of missionaries we got to see!  And I got to speak English to them!

I guess they were supposed to be eating lunch with us at Patricia's.  But she was definitely not home.  So we walked with the Elders over to another house around the corner- this was the place they were supposed to go for lunch if their other appointments bailed.  So we went and greeted the family (Brock knew them too) and there was like 8 missionaries in there!  So we sat and visited with them for a while, and found out that Patricia had had a family emergency and had to leave town.  I was bummed I didn't get to meet her!

So we said bye to that family and the missionaries, and went back to On the Run to eat lunch.  As we were standing in line, I told Brock I wanted to order our food.  Yup, I finally got up the courage!  So when we got to the cashier, I started talking and the girl started laughing at me!  Rude!!!  Haha so I laughed too and sheepishly finished my order then made Brock do everything else.  I was embarrassed.  Hahaha oh well, I guess I probably did sound pretty funny.  I was proud of me though!

Anyway, so we bought chicken sandwiches and I bought us each a Snicker's bar too (Nicaragua doesn't really have chocolate so it was very exciting to find american candy!).  Then we ate, and it was delicious.  Then Brock called Wilbur, the other person we were planning on visiting in Chinandega.  They decided we should meet at the church, so off we went!

We walked to the church (did I mention how hot it was there?!) and Wilbur let us in.  He works for maintenance for the church so he had keys.  He was there with his cute wife and adorable little boy.  We sat and chatted in the chapel for a while and it was so fun!  They are an adorable family!  Brock and Wilbur had a nice long conversation and I was sitting next to Carla... trying to have a conversation :)  I actually didn't do too bad!  We had a very basic conversation telling each other about where we're from and how many people are in our family, etc.  That's about all I knew how to say, but it was good practice!  She was very sweet and understanding and she spoke very slowly and clearly to me.  Most of them didn't understand the concept of talking slow and they would always think they were slowing down but to me it was still super fast and sloppy hahaha.  So it was refreshing talking to Carla :)  She was very sweet.

Anyway, so then we decided to just go back to Leon and relax the rest of the evening.  We caught a bus and headed back!  We walked around down town, and I bought new flip flops to replace my broken ones!  Then Brock bought some gallo pinto from the street (they wrapped it in banana leaves- how cool is that?) and I decided to just eat some cereal from the store for dinner.  So we headed back to the hotel with our dinner and ate and watched Harry Potter in Spanish.  Brock went out to go buy more minutes for the cell phone and I just went to sleep.  It had been a wonderful day, and we had a very early morning ahead!