After a restful night (save for one scary spider incident) at our Secret Garden B&B, we had a wonderful breakfast (your faithful editor had tamarind juice, papaya and yogurt, and oatmeal) and boarded to bus for the drive to Cotui. As we got closer, passing large vividly green fields of rice on either side, it also became clear that the visit to Cotui scheduled that day by current DR President Danilo Medina was a big, big deal. Several municipalities on the way were erecting stages next to or even in the main road, in anticipation of a whistlestop speech. Signs and flags were everyewhere, and the road was lined with people waiting to cheer the presidential motorcade.
We arrived at our hotel, a clean, modern two-year old building, and found that our rooms were not ready. We piled back into our bus and took a short tour of Cotui, stopping at a nursing home sponsored by the Lions Club and supported by the Norwich Congregational Church. One of the nuns in charge gave us a quick tour, and we also had the chance to pick up out bottled water for the day ahead. We returned to the hotel, ate a nourishing lunch, and checked into our rooms. Avoiding the impulse for a siesta, we once again boarded the bus and headed for the village of Las Auyamas, one of 30 or so tiny municipalities surrounding Cotui, the regional center.
From here, we'll let Marion Miller take over as narrator. This is her third trip to the Dominican Republic, and she was part of the effort to construct a home for one of the local families. Marion writes:
"After a filling lunch of rice, beans, and plantains, we headed off to the small village of Las Auyamas. Las Auyamas is a small village mostly filled with houses made of rotting palm tree wood, and a few cement ones as well. One of these cement houses looked familiar to a few of us as we drove up the steep dirt road. Having never seen the finished product in person, I almost didn't recognize it as the house I had helped to build a few years before. After I saw the house all the memories came flooding back and each face that came up to greet the group looked familiar. The villagers welcomed us into their community and homes with open arms and smiles. I am excited to see how our group will build lasting friendships with the communities as the week goes on. We then headed off to a baseball game a few miles away in Las Canas, Hernando Alonzo, and watched the young boys' energy filled the entire baseball field."
Thanks, Marion! You can expect blog entries from her and perhaps a few other of the students as we seek to offer some differing points of view. For now, it's back to Rob:
Watching a youth baseball game in the Dominican Republic was a "Field of Dreams" moment. The DR is the beating heart of world baseball, and it was magic to see these talented young men with dreams of making it to the majors, expertly coaches by a former professional. Nearing the end of our day, we trudged back to the bus and headed towards Cotui, taking a short detour to stop at the top of a huge earthen dam which creates a large reservoir, source of hydro power for a large part of the DR.
We pulled over at the side of the long, straight road to gaze at the amazing view in both directions, falling away to the reservoir on one side and an equally steep slope on the other with a view across green hills to the distant mountains.
We returned to the hotel, watching pickup trucks full of flag-waving presidential supporters heading back to the outlying districts, enjoyed a delicious dinner and then watched Rita give Harris LaRock a Dominican dancing lesson, accompanying by a song blasting from the television in the dining room, which was turned to the DR version of MTV. We're headed to bed now, ready to get up early for a trip to church, and then another full day (Including a trip to the beach!). Goodnight!
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