Nicaragua 2015: Day 11 from Todd

Our final full day in Nicaragua involved travelling from Masaya to Managua. We had to first make a few stops. For one, a previous team member Kiana Lee had developed a special relationship with a young boy named Luis on one of our previous trips to Nicaragua. She had sent some gifts for Luis with the team and we had made arrangements to drop them off at Luis’s home on our final morning in Masaya.

After delivering the gift to Luis we headed to Veracruz and Ticuantepe where we dropped off our two fabulous translators at their homes. We then drove into Managua for a prearranged meeting with staff at the Mennonite Central Committee offices.

 

We met with the leadership team and were given an overview of the programs offered by MCC in Nicaragua. The two leaders, Eldon and his wife, then took us to a local restaurant for lunch. We enjoyed a buffet style authentic Nicaraguan meal.

It has always been the plan to provide some down time on the final day of a trip at hotel Las Mercedes in Managua. This hotel is across the road from the airport and has a wonderful restaurant and beautiful pool. When we plan out the schedule we allow for some time of relaxing at the hotel before the long day of travel. This year, the plan was the same. After leaving the MCC office we travelled to Las Mercedes in hopes of spending the afternoon in the pool. However, as can happen in Nicaragua, plans don’t always go as ‘planned.’ Although check-in is at 2pm, our rooms were not ready until almost 6 pm. And then the main pool was closed for chemical treatment. Eventually we got a short swim in the small pool before our dinner. It was disappointing. Part of the problem was a milk convention at the hotel and every room in the hotel was booked. One of the benefits of the milk convention was that there was free ice cream in the restaurant area. We made the most of the opportunity.

We played some cards and then headed to bed as we were facing an early morning and a long travel day.