March 12, 2009

The day began with an ill=concieved plan to hike up to the old SJDS lighthouse. We walked down the beach and past the harbor, finding a steep path through a derelict neighborhood. Trash was strewn all about, as in most undeveloped (and developed, for that matter) areas of Nicaragua. Dogs barked fiercely at as through shoddy, improvised fences as e mounted the hill, finally finding several unmarked paths. Rather than getting lost in this rather unwelcoming area, we decided to head back.

Our second plan worked much better. While Reuben, Lizzie, Patrick and Natasha went ATVing, Heather and I decided to visit the graveyard at the edge of town. We walked, the sun beating down on us as we passed a demolished school van.

The monuments were colorful, garish even. Plastic flowers impaled the hunched soil of the graves and were strewn about the monuments. I suppose they don't require replacement, which makes them a logical choice. Also present were the graves of the poor, barely or totally unmarked.

We returned and prepared ourselves for the evening's final adventure: a fishing booze cruize of the SJDS coastline. Though I didn't manage to catch anything, it was fun to go out on the water anyway. It reminded me of my childhood summers on the lake by my house, fishing for trout as the sun set.

We ate at Iguana's, and then entertained a throng of new friends at the apartment with Flor de Caña and a rousing card game. After that was the Crazy Crab Dance Club, at which I stayed for a little while, but soon left to catch the breeze and clear my head.