Day 9 Surf's up Dude! (reagan)

     Today we started off with an amazing breakfast prepared by Everest, Jayla, Sabrina, and Gabe. We enjoyed a combination of fruit and yogurt. This prepared up for a wonderful morning of surfing. We had a very interesting time trying to help Brian maneuver the bus into a gate on the beach and then prepared to start surfing. After putting our rashguards on we met our surf instructors and they showed us how to get up on the surfboard when the wave comes. We practiced in twos on surfboards in the sand. They showed us when to paddle forward and how fast to do so. Then he showed us where to place our feet and how to go from lying down to standing on the board. Then off we went into the water. We were each given a surfboard and every two students shared an instructor. By the end of the day, everyone was able to get up successfully on their boards. I was so surprised at how easy it was! The first couple times I was too scared to get up and then by the third I was able to stand up (even if I did immediately fall). After that, it was just working on the balance so that I stayed on the board. The students all had a lot of fun and afterwards we got subway for the road on the way to the Monkey Tour. 

    After about an hour in the bus, we arrived at the place we were doing our monkey tour. We boarded a boat and within a few minutes of pulling off the dock, we could already see monkeys climbing through the trees. I was shocked to find out that our tour guide was actually going to help us each get photos with the monkeys. We would one by one sit at the front of the bus where the tour guide would place some banana in our hand. Within seconds, a monkey would climb down from a tree branch onto our shoulders. Gabe was our photographer today and took great photos of each of us with the monkeys. If you would like to check those out, they are on the photo blog for today. After seeing the main group of monkeys, we were introduced to whatever wildlife we came across in the area. We saw iguanas, lizards that can run on the top of the water, various stunning colorful birds, and the local plants. The water of the river we were on was made up of brackish water (a combination of sea water and fresh water). Where the river got closer to the sea, we encountered a lot of mangroves. 

    To finish off the day, a group of the students went to the beach. There was a beautiful sunset over the water and the sand was black making the beach so beautiful. While watching the sunset, the students built sandcastles, body surfed, and just enjoyed the beach. Then some students and teachers worked together to make a delicious dinner of sausage, beef, and chicken.