Round 2 Placencia!

View from our hotel- storm coming in

pathway to the hotel= paradise!

The beach in front of the hotel-

My massive bleeding veg burrito that I demolished

This weekend we went back to Placencia with the rest of the students, minus Carley and Stacy who flew back home Saturday morning. We caught the 6 am express bus to Independence- which means that the bus has AIR!!! The James bus has express buses that run every once in a while throughout the day, and don't make as many stops as the regular bus does, so you technically get there faster. BUT the only concern I had was about the air:) it was a freezing bus ride, but worth it to feel cool for a little bit.  We got to Placencia around 8:15 am and then laid on the beach to take a nap! Since we'd been up for a while!

A storm came in around lunch time, so a few of us were able to take shelter at a restaurant before the skies opened up. We walked around to basically every gift shop in Placencia looking for a pretty table runner for Liv.  It was a nice afternoon of shopping and enjoying having free time in a new place!

For dinner, we all showered up and went to the Purple Space Monkey, where we had eaten the previous week. It was so good last weekend that I ordered the same thing, tempora shrimp sushi and a pick of the crop salad with lots of fruits and veg!  We hung out at the restaurant for a bit then headed back to our hotel and hung out on the beach.

Sunday morning was a lazy morning. We all laid out in the hot sun, until we couldn't take it and then sat under the coconut trees.  We were warned by an older gentleman who was practically living at the hotel, to keep our eyes above our heads... meaning to watch out for the falling coconuts- because apparently 1000 people have died in the past year by falling coconuts? who would have thought? not me!

I almost read an entire book while lounging on the beach and in the hammock catching the breeze.  In the afternoon we rented kayaks and kayaked out to a little island in the ocean! It was great fun, being on a private island, swimming around and collecting shells. Then we headed back to the rental place and had to say our good-byes to the group.

Saying bye to this group was hard. We've been getting to know them for 1 month, and then one day we go back to Hillside without them :( but it was nice to have a last horrah weekend with everyone.  I already miss the British/ Irish accents and the laughs!

But now there is a new group of students with us, as Caroline and I embark on our final 2 weeks here. There are 4 total med students from the UK, 4 med students from Germany, 3 pharm students from Iowa and then another PT student joining us from Winston Salem State, repping NC!

Ready for a new week of getting to know new people and having new experiences- on the home stretch now!