Last day for Jess

Well I'm leaving tomorrow and I would be lying if I said I am ready to leave. It is such an amazing feeling just picking up and heading wherever you feel like going. I have come to realize that most of the planning for a place is mainly to make you feel better before you arrive, since when you get there the plans seem to completely change. This experience has definitely changed me, I think for the better.

I am so glad we ended up in Tela, it felt like I was really seeing what life is like here rather than being in a tourist destination. The city is a beautiful beach town but different than what I expected... I'm not sure exactly what I expected but I couldn't imagine a better experience. I got to practice my Spanish some more and found that being able to ask a question that a local would understand (even though I'm sure I butchered the sentence) means pretty much nothing when I can't understand the answer. Even when the person repeats it 10 times.

Our last day in Tela was pretty much perfect. I am so thankful to have met Liz. I could've talked to her for another week and still not heard enough of her stories. She has seen and done so many incredible things. She was so warm and made us feel so welcome and comfortable. Meeting the other travelers and hearing their experiences is really inspiring, also. There are so many more single girls than I thought. Central America is so close, so beautiful and affordable that I can see why so many people come here.

The little boy, Mario Garcia, that we met on the beach is another of my most memorable experiences here. He had a basket of bread that he was selling but that's not why he followed us to the beach. He was very concerned that we were going to swim and since it was a red flag day he was worried about our safety. We sat with him for a long time watching him do math problems and write cursive in the sand. He made my day when he wrote my name in the most beautiful handwriting. Before we parted we bought some of the bread that was homemade by his mother. Very delicious. Mmmmm...

I'm going to miss almost everything here (not the ice cold showers, though I am glad I got the experience) but I'm really going to miss the fruit. The pineapple is divine. I didn't get to sample everything I wanted but that is a great reason for me to come back. I also need to do some more body surfing, we rode some good waves but I couldn't quite catch the perfect one.

I want to see more of this beautiful part of the world before heading on to explore the rest of it.