They arrived Thursday night and came to visit the school on Friday. It was fun to have them come the classrooms and meet some of our kiddos. My kids were pretty excited but shy'd up a little when they actually came in the room. Luke's students threw him a surprise party and actually brought him in a cake which was really fun to see. :)
That Saturday, we left for Utila to spend 4 days on the islands. The boat ride was rough but totally worth it. This was Luke's and my first trip and it quickly became my favorite island. The atmosphere is very casual and laid back. We were able to stay toward the end of the island that was right next to a private beach that we were allowed access to.
While we were there we did lots of fun things.
First, the snorkeling on Utila is amazing! There were lots of fish and we were also able to see lots of different types of rays. We got lots of fun pictures snorkeling just around the private beach and had fun playing in the water.
Some of the adventures were brave enough to hike Pumpkin Hill (the highest point on Utila) on day. I opted out being 7 month pregnant but the pictures were amazing. From the stories that were told - it was an adventure finding it as it is not very well marked and it was extremely hot. I hope to go back one day and do it thought.
Luke and I convinced everyone to try discover scuba and it was a pretty good success. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves but they weren't sure if they would do it again or just rather snorkel. Luke was able to go on a couple dives while some of us stayed at the top and snorkeled around. We for sure want to come back and get our advanced certification after baby Owen is here.
The next day Mandy, Cory, Luke and I rented kayaks and headed to the north shore. The kayaks were... interesting. Sadly, they were not the best quality and one of the paddles was insanely heavy. I am not sure how Cory managed to power through but he did. When we got to the north short we snorkeled around and enjoyed the color of the water - but saw why most people don't head out that way.
Eric and Chantal rented a ATV and traveled around the island and here are some of their photos.
When we returned to Ceiba - Luke took everyone around to the different rivers. Out of the three rivers (Pico Bonito, Rio Maria and Jungle River) people seemed to agree that they lived Jungle River the best because they were able to jump or swim. It also helps that you do not have to hike to get there and can just drive right up to the lodge.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end and everyone left. Luke and I had Saturday and Sunday to recover but were mentally not prepared to come back for Monday but oh well. :) Here are some more fun photos of the week!
I will try to be better about updating!
