The following cacique update was written by Adam and Miya describing their day as caciques, Sunday, July 3.

For the first time in a week the sun was up before us. A good nights rest, attending church with the locals and extended exploration boundaries were the things that our first Sunday off held in store. The 10 o’clock morning circle allowed us a few extra hours of precious sleep before we jumped in the vans and headed to church. We split up into two groups that attended two different churches that members of our school regularly attended. At one church, half of us sang songs from the hymnal, after which the pastor gave an energetic sermon. At the other, the pastor began the service with a quick but inspirational introduction on the powers of patience and believing in God. This preceded soulful singing by members of the church, into which we joined when we felt comfortable.

After we returned from our church visit, we were almost completely let off of our leashes. Many of our boundaries were lifted and we were free to roam over the bridges in the Marina (normally off limits during schooldays) and enter the inner loop. The inner loop is where the remains of an old resort lay, and if you don’t pay attention it is easy to get turned around in the labyrinth of paths from the old golf course. Many of us opted to cross the bridges into the Marina. There, a big group of us stopped by the Marina Coffee shop where we drank delicious smoothies and enjoyed the gentle rays of the sun.  After the refreshments our group split up, with some going to sunset beach, some going to play basketball, and the rest watching the sharks that frequent the marina.

As we were biking to the basketball court, some of us noticed fishermen filleting their catches, and a large crowd of sharks gathered. Filled with primarily Nurse sharks, the feeding frenzy entertained a few of us for 45 minutes as we watched the beasts devour every scrap that was tossed to them, with the occasional bird stealing a small scrap or two. The highlight of this time was when a few massive bull sharks joined the mob, and added some violent thrashing to the show. The dominating nine-foot Bull shark can be seen devouring a fish skeleton with this post.

Those who went to sunset beach had a very relaxing swim followed by some tanning. It was a classical day on the beach for them while they tried to get rid of bad tan lines or gain some color.

The group of students who went to play basketball had a very competitive game, which ended with a minor toe injury. The basketball courts were newly discovered turf for many of the players, adding to the multitude of activities that we can enjoy in our free time. Though the game ended in a minor injury everybody had great fun!

Today was one of the most important, because we were able to catch up on sleep and better acquaint ourselves with the island, which we look forward to doing more of in the next few weeks!