With tears streaming down our faces...

Today was our last day in El Salvador. It was incredibly fun but also very emotional.

We started the day fairly early in order to make it to the beach at a time when it would be safe to swim in the ocean. You see, the tides here are very strong and if we were to find ourselves swimming at the wrong time we could be swept away. We were supposed to go to the Las Hojas resort but instead we were lucky enough to visit the Hidalgo´s beach house. They are an incredibly generous family that has helped us many times throughout this trip. Their home is very beautiful and while there we not only enjoyed the beauty of the beach and their backyard, but also a delicious meal that was prepared by Mrs. Hidalgo herself. Over the course of the day we swam in the ocean and in the pool, collected sea shells on our many walks on the beach, napped in the hammocks and just spent time together. We also had two special moments when we presented Otto and Lombardo with the gifts that we had for them, and when the Hidalgos presented our leaders with gifts and raffled off gifts to the rest of us.

When it was time to say goodbye we were all really sad to bid farewell to our new friends, but we made promises to stay in touch and boarded the bus back to the ¨Happy House¨. Otto, Lombardo, and another Rotaractor, Diego rode back with us and when we arrived at the hotel we exchanged e-mails with them and said more glum good byes.

After the boys left we began packing our things and signing each others t-shirts. Then we had a quick dinner of pizza, and a nice meeting organized by Jen where we all talked about our favorite parts of the trip. We also took the time to thank the leaders again and also the President of the local Rotary Club, named Ovidio Hernández.. After the meeting was over many people went to bed in preparation for our early start tomorrow, and we find ourselves here at the desk in the main lobby trying to put into words how we are feeling. But now we too must head to bed, and rest our heads once more on the pillows we have come to appreciate in the country that we love with the people that we adore.

By: Caitlin, Amanda, Kerri, and Jody