Hike to the River - Alex Paschal

Since today was Saturday, we could sleep in a lot later which I definitely took advantage of. After breakfast, we had the option to either go on a hike to the river outside of Santa Lucia, or we could just hang out, relax, and play cards. Half of the kids chose to stick around, and the other half chose to go to the river. The kids who wanted to go to the river packed their lunches, put on bathing suits, and were off. The hike was very nice. We passed through the middle of town, took some turns here and there, and before we knew it, we were surrounded by beautiful scenery. After two miles of climbing and running down hills, we made it to the river. When we got to the river, it did not take us long get in. Some of us (like me) ran into the water waist deep, while others dipped their feet in. We had lunch on the bank, and enjoyed the shade. There were other locals who also enjoyed the river. Some of them were swimming at the foot of a bridge where there was a small waterfall. I went over to the pool and jumped in. The kids seemed surprised to see someone like myself swimming in the water with them. I spoke all of my spanish vocabulary (I'm a French student) when I said "HOLA!" and grinned really big. The kids were climbed up a little fall, and then jumped back into the pool. I started copying them, and I had SO much fun. There weren't any other people in the group swimming with me besides Tyler McDaniel, so most sat, watched, and talked. After the visit to the river came the hard part. We had to back track all the way to the clinic. It seemed way hotter, and more steeper on the way back. We were all getting a little tired, and we were all excited about getting to the clinic. After two more exhausting miles, we finally made it. Even though we were all dripping with sweat, and panting like dogs, I think everybody had a blast, and we all got some great photos. GREAT WEEKEND!