Day 9: Overlooking Managua, Huembes Market & REMAR pizza party

Hola amigos! It's Shana here with the very fun job of assisting with the daily update of this wonderful trip. It's so hard to believe that our days in Nicaragua have passed by so quickly, but at the same time, I think we all feel as though we've shared more than a lifetime's worth of experiences that have taught us both our strengths and weaknesses, along with several valuable life lessons along the way. Hopefully we'll be able to utilize those in our futures, no matter where we end up or which path we take to get there. I'm extremely glad to be able to share the adventures we had on Day 9 with everyone keeping up with the blog. Thank you so much for all your support.

We had a early morning as usual, heading off to a beautiful scenic overlook of Managua following breakfast. There were several monuments, statues, and parks at the site and it was a great opportunity to take pictures of the city we've been residing in (for the most part) these past nine days. There was much anticipation surrounding our next stop, as it was one of the largest markets we would have a chance to shop at. Although it was hectic and tough to navigate at times because of all the vendors waving us their way in order to sell us their items in particular, we had a good time and bought lots of things that will likely be appreciated when we arrive back in Canada.

After lunch at Angel's Inn, we had about an hour of downtime to ourselves during which we napped or just enjoyed sitting under the canopy of our porches and watching it rain. Samuel's house was our next stop of the day, and it was amazing to see all the effort he's put into making his house a real home for himself and his family. We saw his assortment of plants, trees, and animals (including his pigs, goats, and pet dog) before going down the village path to his local church. Many good times were shared among the group there upon getting to drink juice out of freshly picked coconuts.

A couple of short hours later, we were off again to the REMAR girls' orphanage in our two separate vans. The first van had a difficult time getting through the insane amount of evening traffic, so it ended up taking back roads, which definitely made for a bumpy but interesting ride. The other van also encountered some of the same problems and thus made it to the orphanage several minutes after the first van, but it was the van that picked up the pizzas for our dinner party, so all was forgiven in the end. We also had time to hand out skipping ropes to the girls and play with them, and many of us sang songs and played guitar and exchanged stories as well. Similar to how we all seemed to feel at the REMAR boys' orphanage, it was hard to leave the girls, especially after forming connections with them that I'm sure we'll treasure for a long while even once the trip is over.

Just another example of Fearney's great photography skills.

A man sweeping away leaves in a parking lot and using bigger leaf branches to do so...

Lexy and Jacqueline O. looking very nice in front of a Nicaraguan statue. 

A surprisingly sturdy styrofoam statue in the children's park overlooking the city.

To the left is the only remaining skyscraper in Managua after the 1972 earthquake, and to the right is Revolution Square, which we toured earlier on the trip.

The average amount of garbage you see on almost every corner of the city littering a narrow road.

Emma purchasing a stylish soccer jersey of her favorite player at the market. It was a really good deal.

Rachel and Tessa checking out one of the stalls of the many vendors at the market.

Mac-Dawg chilling with his newfound Nicaraguan friend, who was determined to sell us his grass creations.

A barbed wire tag on Samuel's pig's nose.

Samuel's friendly pitbull. He loved being petted and getting his picture taken.

Emma and one of our brilliant drivers, Pedro, posing in front of a tree at Samuel's home. 

The cross between human involvement on the planet and what nature does on its own.

A view of Samuel's home.

Fearney thoroughly enjoying fresh coconut juice at Samuel's church.

The pizza dinner party at the girls' orphanage.

Pedro and Chepe rocking out and providing great entertainment for us at the girls' orphanage.

A cute young girl at the orphanage called Jacqueline, making her the third one of the same name in one room in addition to the lovely Jacqueline O. and Jacqueline P.

The two birthday girls and their cake. It was a unique way to celebrate that we all enjoyed.

Singing happy birthday in Spanish and then English. The best of both worlds.

A really lively girl who loved talking about Justin Bieber and referring to Jacqueline P. as Taylor Swift. I wonder how that happened...

Is  that Lindsay's face, or is that not Lindsay's face...? That is the question.

Skipping rope at the girls' orphanage.

The Breen Machine jumping right in to the skipping activities. He seemed fairly enthusiastic about it.

Tessa and Jacqueline P. with a few of the girls from the orphanage.

The good old selfie. 

The girls loved having their picture taken.

Looking somewhat serious.