Spring Break

The week after survival was also spent on Corn doing normal island stuff like eating, sleeping in beds and taking showers. Our group got a package deal with Dolphin Dive, one of the dive shops on the island, for 20 bucks a dive which is a major steal. So on the day after ocean survival I boarded another boat but this time by choice. It was my first scuba diving experience since diving in a sand pit in Kearney, Nebraska in October. Needless to say it was a stark difference mainly because it wasn't freezing and the underwater visibility was more than 20 feet.

On our first dive we saw a massive loggerhead sea turtle as well as some sting rays. The second dive was a lot more interesting since it was in more shallow water and we got to spend more time at depth. On this dive I got to see at ray that had about a 6 foot wing span and got to swim through some really cool coral tunnels. The final dive of the day was even shallower and we almost got to spend a full hour underwater and saw some small reef sharks which was definitely the highlight of the day.

The rest of the week the weather took a turn for the worse with some intermittent rain and really high winds. It was almost unbearable on Carlito's side of the island so we spent a lot of time over on the leeward side of the island which was also where most of the restaurants were. I spent a lot of time at this sweet bar/restaurant called Tranquilos in my off time. It turns out it was managed by a guy from Louisville and we probably doubled his clientele for the week. Since it was the main hang out spot on the island we got to meet a lot of cool people. By the time we were done with survival we were minor celebrities on the island, often being confused with Italian Survivor which was being filmed on nearby Big Corn. There weren't a whole lot of Americans on the island but we met some really cool Swedes and a girl from Australia and had a good time comparing notes about why they used a knife and fork to eat a hamburger and how big pizzas should be.

Due to the poor weather all my dives were canceled on Thursday but I got to make up for them on Friday and Saturday but none measured up to what we saw on Tuesday. Overall it was an awesome experience hanging out on a tropical island paradise but like all good things it had to come to an end yesterday when we boarded our boat from Little Corn to Big Corn and the airport. I'm pretty sad to leave it all behind but I'm also happy to be beginning the final phase of our experience down here in Nicaragua.

Today we are planning on heading back to Francia which means limited communication again for most of the next 5 weeks. I'll be keeping up with the blogging but unfortunately I won't be able to update it. Please keep my group in your prayers as we try to bring health to the Miskitos and learn a little in the process.