I realize that I have neglected to post about the recently exciting events of the past week. I must begin with last Thursday's rainstorm/river incident: Kate, Sarah, and I were casually walking down the street after our usual coffee and/or ice cream stop when it began to absolutely pour. I mean the sky literally opened up and began dumping water on the poor town of Gracias. We sought quick refuge in a nearby bank but realized that the rain was not likely to stop any time..mind you at this point we were already drenched, so we decided to grin and bear and take on the rain storm. Plus, we were bound and determined to stop by the oh so delicious bakery where we also often stop for a pastry. I should also mention that the streets had begun flooding and on either side of the road were mini rivers which we actually had to cross a few times. As we were slowly trudging to the bakery (our shoes were wet and slippery) we were passed by a truck driving at rather rapid speed. I will let you imagine what that might look like, 3 sopping wet Americans slipping and sliding down the street, when a truck barrels through the mini river. The spray must have been a 5 foot wall of water. We all promptly turned 90 degrees and of course screamed as if that would help. If we weren't drenched before we were now soaked to the bone. Even after debating about catching a mototaxi we decided the bakery was much more important. After guarding our precious pastries we continued our journey home. At one point treking on a downhill slope we had to cross one of the street rivers. Kate steps in and the current wins a desperate battle with her and her shoe. She promptly begins yelling "Mi zapato! Mi Zapato!" Sarah and I attempt to run after her shoe (our shoes are still wet and slimy, hindering greatly our ability to run after the zapato) We continued walking and searching for the shoe until we reached the drain. We looked in despair at the water rushing rapidly down. We turn around to see Kate waving her arms frantically (We had left her halfway up the hill to hobble down with one shoe) We scurried back to Kate to find her flip flop stuck on a rock. Que suerte!
Fast forward to Saturday where we went to visit the nearby town of Santa Rosa, a 45 minute bus ride away. We got there expecting to find an art fair but found a parade instead. We watched as they shot fireworks out of trucks passing through the mobs of people. They were some cute floats and some truly awesome marching bands. They have so much more sass in their bands. After a while we decided we had had enough of the parade and swarms of people so we went on search of food and the elusive chocobanana. We went to a pulperia to grab some water when our friend Jenna realized that her wallet had been taken. It must have happened during the parade. Jenna was a total trooper and remained super calm and immediately got her cards canceled. Even with the robbery we had a really nice day and finally found chocobananas (frozen banana covered in chocolate and sprinkles!) We could finally head back to home to Gracias, and of course we got caught in yet another rainstorm. Rainy season takes on a whole new meaning these days. We get to the bus station where we chose the mostly empty, short, luxurious looking bus with cozy seats. We were told the bus wouldn't leave for 50 minutes but we decided that was ok as we examined the other bus heading to Gracias which was jam packed full of people. Little did we know that our super luxurious bus would soon become a sardine tin and that they had special seats made so that people can sit in the aisles of the bus. I literally was sitting next to a lady who had another lady sitting in her lap and digging her elbows into my ribs. Jenna and I were forced to snuggle most of the trip home. On a side note I couldn't help but think that if some emergency happened on the bus we would be goners for certain as I am sure they were breaking many safety regulations. We finished off the night with some boxed wine because you know we stay classy in Gracias!
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