La Playa Corinto

Midway through the mission, we got a "rest day" when we could take the boys to the beach.  Puerto Corinto is the largest port in Nicaragua, and it just so happened that the Peace Boat was docked there at the same time.  Apparently, the Peace Boat is funded by Japan and annually tours the world, going from port to port, talking to diplomats in various countries, promoting peace and anti-nuclear warfare.  For more information on this project, see their website:  www.peaceboat.org/english.

So we didn't tour the Peace Boat because we ran out of time, but we got to pose by it and hang out for awhile.  Here are some pictures of Puerto Corinto, as well as our lunch a la playa.

How many boys can we fit in the back of the truck?

Javier, their youth pastor

No fotos?  Whoops.

Puerto Corinto was at its best for the arrival of the Peace Boat. 

There were craft booths and tourism information everywhere,

including traditional food, clothing, and entertainment.

Dancers

We felt like celebrities.  They acted like they hadn't seen white people before . . .

(This guy is taking a picture of me carrying Sally on my shoulders.)

I think we're in a Nicaraguan tourism video now.

Jesse with the map

My lunch:

Kids' lunch:

Apparently this surfboard was signed by somebody important

Beach photo ops

Cutting up the sharks that the fishing boats just brought in

Nicaraguan clowns?  Seriously?

(Don't take a picture of them--they'll ask to be paid.)

Play time at the playa (rest time for me)

The sand is brown because it's volcanic ash.

And these pictures don't depict the intense humidity.

It was so dang hot.  So hot.  The ocean was warmer than a bath.

Lisa is a soccer stud!  Who'd have known?

Sunset and another day ends in Central America . . .

Sneaking in Some Fun Stuff

At la Finca Belen, a neighboring cattle rancher ran his cows through the farm to graze.  On a couple days, the rancher came through on his horse and let the girls ride.  Sally was back in her cowgirl element!

The girls also got to ride in bicycle taxis--one in Chinandega and one in el Puerto Corinto.  These "drivers" rent the bike taxis in the morning and pedal them up and down the streets, hoping for people to hop in and pay for rides.  I'm not sure how much the drivers pay for the taxis, but the rides they give are very cheap.  I think we paid 50 cordobas (less than two US dollars) for four girls to take a ride around the block.

Another fun part was playing with baby chicks and calves on the farm.  We have a fondness for babies.

In the evenings, we were taken to fun places for dinner.  Most of the places were either American restaurants (Pizza Hut, Subway, Burger King), or they were very similar to American restaurants (Tip Top = Kentucky Fried Chicken).  Personally, I prefer the traditional Nicaraguan food, but the kids enjoyed having a taste of home.

The best "play day" was the beach day.  But we'll get to that in the next post . . .