Day 26

We had Spanish class again this morning. We have a new Spanish teacher because we've progressed to the "Advanced" level! How exciting!

I forgot to mention that despite the beautiful weather in Granada (and the sun in Jinotepe on Saturday morning before we left for Granada), it rained again in Jinotepe yesterday and today. After class and lunch, we braved the rain to go to the beach. We want to take advantage of our free afternoons this week, as this is our last week before we begin our 9-hours per day volunteer work! You might be wondering why we wanted to go to the beach in the pouring rain...I myself was wondering that at first! However, we had heard that even though the weather inland may be poor, it is usually sunny out on the coast. The majority of the 45-minute tuk-tuk trip out the the beach, it was miserable. The rain was coming down in sheets, and there were no signs of it letting up! But sure enough, as we neared the coast, we saw the first signs of sky breaking, and by the time we'd arrived at the Huhuete Beach, it was beautiful and sunny!

We enjoyed a few hours in the sunshine. It was lovely! The ocean was pretty wild though...not safe for swimming as far as I was concerned!

When the time came to look for a bus back to Jinotepe, we found that the town seemed rather deserted. We were starting to wonder where and when we might find a bus! A truck drives by and pulls over. They say that they are going to Diriamba (Jinotepe's neighboring city), and offer us a ride.

Just as a side note, I've come to realize that hitchhiking in Nicaragua is one of the most common means of travel! Although it's a big no-no in Canada, and I was nervous about it my first few times here, I've realized that it is one of the only ways of transport in many areas (seeing as there is no organized public transport at all...). There is this mutual understanding between ride-offerers and hitchhikers, and it's actually pretty cool! (Mom, please don't worry too much! haha)

The couple ended up driving us past their home in Diriamba right to the door of our home in Jinotepe. They were incredibly kind, and we talked the entire trip about Nicaraguan culture and people. I learned a lot about the country from a Nicaraguan's perspective!