San Juan del Sur

Since arriving in San Juan del Sur, I've experienced the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. The good: 1) Excellent people spending their time and vacations here as well. 2) I bumped into my old pal Billie from Playa Venao - we hitched a ride into Pedasi together one day and said our goodbyes, so that was a nice surprise to see a familiar face here! 3) I was able to get great info. regarding a water filtration project just outside of town - should be helpful in our Engineers without Borders projects. I also was able to spend the entire day yesterday helping build some of the units - a great opportunity indeed, and much awaited. 4) I took a salsa lesson a couple of nights ago which helped me on my turns - yeah, God bless Salsa! The bad: 1) While exploring Playa Madera (a nice but overly crowded and possessive surf break) on Wednesday, I was pummeled into the water by floating trees taken out by the intense tropical storm last week, a strong break, and the rising tide, as I was trying to make my way back to the beach along a fairly steep rocky cliff, carrying my backpack containing my ipod, camera, memory stick, notepad, and other items. I was also carrying Tosh, as he could not swim the breaking waves crashing against the rocks. Twice, I was taken out by floating trees from the storm last week and the strong waves against the rocks, and everything got soaked, including little Pedro Tosh. He was crying and trying to keep his little head above the water. I'm sad also to report that the second camera of this trip, is now too non-functioning, and since I'll be home soon I don't plan to buy a third. The Ugly: None to report, thank goodness, other than finding out through my second medical consult, that my nerves are all inflamed and will not recover until I am able to completely rest my arm. Not likely to happen this trip while having to sling a huge pack over my shoulders every time we move to a different place. No mas...... Getting ready to head to Ometepe Island tomorrow - can't wait!