We head out to the villages this weekend. So now is our play time….

Today we took boats out to the Snake Keys which is a group of islands. The water was breathtaking and turquoise. The island was thick jungle with a white sandy beach. When I think of being stranded on an island I think of this place. To give you a visual, think of the show Lost or the movie Cast Away. Yes there were snakes. In fact we saw a Boa Constrictor that I kept a good distance from. The better half of the day was spent getting to know each other and enjoying the water. We were split into two groups for snorkeling.

Let me just say that it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been snorkeling, breathing under water is hard and salt water is not a pleasant taste. We were at the second largest barrier reef in the world and the coral was amazing. There is so much life in these reefs! All was going well until I got distracted by a school of fish (me getting distracted? I know big surprise) and almost swam right into a jellyfish. Thankfully I didn’t and my new friends said they would do the honor of peeing on me if I was stung. These are friendships like no other. After my slight panic attack we continued on looking at beautiful coral and small schools of fish. It was then, at the end of this snorkeling escapade that our snorkeling guide stopped to show us barracuda straight ahead. At this point I took my flippers off and jumped in the boat.

After we all burned our fair skin we headed back to Punta Gorda. My favorite part about Punta Gorda is a woman named Joyce. She owns the local restaurant where she makes AMAZING food. As I have been getting to know her she tells me she’s actually from Chicago! Talk about coming from another world.(Side note: her restaurant is right on the beach so it surprised me that she loves the concrete jungle) She is working on moving back to Chicago in the next year with her daughter and son. We are hoping to meet again in the states and much cooler weather.

Tonight we worked on separating our donations for the different schools. We have a lot of donations from all the wonderful people back home. I am so excited to meet more of the children and teach them all about health.

This is honestly an opportunity of a lifetime and I’m making unforgettable memories. However I have been experiencing homesickness. I know one day Deegan will understand my reasoning for this trip and the importance of giving back but right now this mama misses her baby…

Until next time!

-K