On our last morning in Nicaragua, we were woken up at 7:15 because breakfast was ready, even though they had said 8... I may have been the only groggy one, but I was glad to have basically packed everything the night before so I did not have to think too hard. We were served buffet-style, and I felt bad saying "Sólo arroz para mi," only rice for me, but that was all my stomach could handle. But I could tell I was on the mend!
I had woken up in the middle of the night, though, something around the hour of 5 and from the bathroom I heard a bit of commotion from the girls' house next door. Assuming it was the fun of hanging out like a sleepover on their last night, I smiled and went back to sleep. And then I heard the real story at breakfast. A frightening tale of an invasion in the middle of the night that got all the girls screaming - at a tarantula! I cannot say if tarantulas actually live in Nicaragua, but I can attest to the fact that it was a pretty large spider (they had photo documentation on one of their cell phones) and it gave the girls quite a scare - and a story to tell!
Our crew got all our belongings together and packed up our microbus shortly after breakfast so we could leave Centro Kairos for the Sandino airport, now knowing so much more of the context surrounding his name. We took a different route to the airport this time, passing actual multi-storied buildings (the first ones I have noticed anyway), multitudes of trees and forests, huge sculptures with guards in the roundabouts so nobody could graffiti them, and the slightly rusty national baseball stadium that actually has lights so they can play mainly night games to avoid the heat of the day.
But today it did not seem too hot, in fact, it felt like it was going to rain. I think there was only one night during our whole trip when it rained, and today it decided to do so. Jose, our driver, commented on this coincidence saying, "Nicaragua llora por Ustedes," Nicaragua cries for us that we are leaving. What a sweetheart.
In the airport we had to say goodbye to the wonderful team of Meredith and Francisco, hoping to see them again soon, and we stocked up on gifts, souvenirs, and chocolates with our remaining cordobas. Nicaragua, I have shed a few tears in leaving your beautiful people. May we all have the opportunity to return someday, not to come in to fix everything and overlay our own hubris because we obviously know what they need in order to develop, but to continue to learn and work with them. May they stay safe and content.
Hasta pronto, until soon.
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