Letter from Bethany

At 8:00 A.M., my family and I along with the Griggs set off from the rickety pier of Puerto Lempira to a beach that is located exactly between a fresh water lagoon and the Caribbean Ocean. Stepping out of the boat, I noticed skulls lying around a quickly and shabbily made table. As I peered closer I found skins, spinal chords, and many shattered bones. Seeing our inquisitive looks, Ray decided to enlighten us. “Oh, those are shark bones. They are valued for the oil in their liver.” True, they were only small sharks, but I sent a hasty glance in the ocean’s direction.

We began walking around the island to find a nice place to swim. After ten minutes, Gabrielle exclaimed, “Look over there!” There was an area in the water with huge and tumultuous waves shooting straight up. The saltwater and fresh water flow strongly and directly towards each other causing a huge clash when they meet. I stared in awe for a few minutes having never seen such a phenomenon before. I soon realized I was behind they others and ran to catch up.

We finally found a suitable spot and went body surfing in the big, ocean waves. After 2 hours, we finally let the ocean beat us and wearily went back into shore. On the way back, Zach (who had stayed and fished with his father) came sprinting up to us. “There’s tons of jellyfish!” Before he even finished speaking a jellyfish came rolling up on shore with the tide. They were about 5 inches in length and very squat. Their tentacles looked life one thick stem. They were varied in color, but most were light green or purple.

After being in the sun for many hours, I began to feel my skin tingling. I looked around at my sisters and my dad and realized what I must look like too. The sun block we were using was obviously not working. On the way back, we became burnt to a crisp. They waves were now high and we were all soaked when we got to the dock. Then, we had to walk through the dusty streets and which unfortunately stuck well to our wet skin. My hair was obstinately rebellious and my stiff arms did not help in taming it. I guess Newton’s third law-for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction- is true after all. We paid for our fun in the sun.

Looking forward to seeing you all in a few short months!
Love,
Bethany