Even In Central America, Everyone Loves the Weekend (or, Nicaragua, Day Three)

Saturday was another clinic, though this one was much more attractive to all involved. For one, there was more to do than just hand out vitamins, and two, it was right on the beach. Seriously. I watched Dr. Richard Nut give a little girl a cast for her broken arm, and then walked through a lagoon and jumped in the waves. To be honest, I spent most of my Saturday on the sand or in the waves, rather than in the actual clinic. This is not for lack of interest in the medical side of things, but just because until Wednesday, we have an insanely large number of nurses, and anyone who is not medically trained is really just in the way. So instead, I spent the day trying to to surf and a teeny-tiny board (and failing miserably), collecting shells and walking the beach with Lauren and Alex, and hanging out under a thatch roof reading and enjoying the warmth and peace.

The medical supplies for the day

The beachside clinic

We returned to the Amigos house early in the evening, showered, and got ready for dinner out on the town. Rosanna (one of the staff members here) was celebrating her birthday and performing at El Paraiso, a nice restaurant in Chinandega. It is know for its Coconut Shrimp, which is absolutely deeeee-licious, if anyone was wondering.

As we were arriving at the restaurant, the sky was beginning to cloud over, but we sat down and ordered drinks without it starting to rain. As soon as we recieved our drinks though, it started pouring and thundering like crazy. We moved the tables out of the spray, ordered our dinner, and just as our salads were being served, we heard a huge POP! and all the lights in the entire restaurant went out. We thought that was the end of dinner, but forty-five minutes and four candles later, out came the shrimp and chicken and beans and rice. It was probably one of the most exciting meals I've ever had.

After all of that excitement, the lights came back on and Rosanna got up and sang beautifully, in both Spanish and English. The story on the street is that sometime in the past few years she won a national arts contest and got to record a CD. No one is exactly sure of the details, but everyone at the Amigos house seems to know about it...

All in all, it was an all around satisfying, magical day.