Hola amigos!
Well, I did it...I completed the half-marathon! Although my goal was to run the whole thing, I ended up walking about 1 or 2 kms of it because of a gut-wrenching stomach cramp that made me want to fall over and puke. But the first 15km were good. I was feeling great, had lots of energy, enjoyed the beautiful views, and was cruising with my music.
The race was surprisingly well organized, with water stops along the way, music, fireworks, and snacks and even lunch afterwards. Although I didn´t win any prizes (the $150 first prize went to a young guy from Managua), the group of Peace Corps women defied the race organizers, whom insisted women should only run the 8km race, and ran the full 23km.
Along with the race, I got a chance to see beautiful Jinotega, a city nestled in a valley of lush, green, cloud-covered mountains. The race started in Jinotega and ended in a small Sandinista town called San Rafeal, full of Sandino and Catholic history, complete with a beautiful chuch and central park.
After 9 days out of my community, I was ready to come home. I was happy to see everyone and motivated to start working again. However, last week was Semana Santa here, thus I spent a good part of the week swimming and picknicking at the river. Although Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala last year was amazing, being able to spend the holiday here doing what the locals do, really made me feel like I was experiencing the true holiday, and it was just a whole lot of fun. We hiked and rode in the back of trucks to rivers, swam, did cartwheels in the water, drank wine, ate lots of food, and hung out in the sun. And of course, the women ¨bathed¨ in their underwear, complete with soap and all. (No one wears swimsuits here!)
So this week I´m busy moving into my house and getting some work done.
Happy Easter to all!
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