The last day in Nicaragua

I have the privilege of writing the last blog of the trip. I sit here in the debriefing session as we give our closing comments to what has been an amazing trip. I think I can safely say that all 11 of us enjoyed and got a lot out of the trip overall.

We all loved the time we spent in San Juan del Sur so much that we wanted to stay just a little longer. After some last minute changes in the schedule, the morning was split between people who went to the pelican pool and people who needed one last visit to the beach. Chelsea, Stephanie, Matt, Dillon and I went to the beach, thanks to Richard from San Juan. Driving through San Juan with Richard, we could really sense the family like atmosphere. Every three houses, as we drove, Richard smiled and waved at some other family member or friend along the way to the beach who he knows. Getting through the forest road to the Hurmosa beach was a feat on its own, but eventually we made it and were lucky enough to have almost the whole beach to ourselves. Although the water was still a little cold all five of us had a great time in and out of the water along the beach. A few hours and a few sun tans later, Richard took us back to the Casa Marina. On the way back, we got out of the jeep to take some pictures of the monkeys in the trees.

Before embarking on the drive back to Managua, we had sandwiches for lunch in Casa Marina. After a nice long drive back to Managua, we stopped in the store Esperanza along the way. There we had one last opportunity to buy some more gifts made by Nicaraguan artisans before we left. They had all sorts of nice ceramic pots and decorative bowls, plates, and jewelry. I couldn’t resist buying a couple more ceramics to bring back home to my friends and family. Following our short visit to Esperanza after some debate we decided to go check out this supposedly very scary zip-line in Managua. Only Chelsea and Dillon decided to try it from the group, but we all watched them excitedly as they each jumped off the platform.

We went to the UAM campus one more time to have dinner at the University. There the provost spoke of his hopes to continue the relationship between UAM and University of Maryland and wants to be able to arrange future joint projects between the two groups. On the way back to Camino Real hotel we stopped at a grocery store so everyone can load up on the cultural food to bring back to their friends and family.

As we pulled into Camino Real I think everyone had some deja vu as we walked into Camino Real remembering the first day of the trip, only 10 days ago, when we were only starting the trip, not knowing what to expect. How far we have come since then and how much we have accomplished. During the debriefing session by the pool, many people added their comments and constructive criticisms about the trip to try to improve the course in the future. As many have stated we were able to make a huge impact in the lives of 4 entrepreneurs and had a great time doing it. I hope this trip has the same continued success in the future that we had.