Robin´s Report

Day 6 (Monday)

Well, we had a great day at the farm and the city! Being Sunday, it was a day of rest and church for the community. I hope we can get the photos uploaded, but please know that we are dealing with limited bandwith.

In the morning, we boarded a 4X4 truck and joined Cesar, an avocado and mango farmer for an exciting ride up the mountain above Cambita. It was a beautiful day, completed by Daniel showing off his baseball arm to knock down ripe mangoes. (Mackenzie and David confirmed their tastiness….and messiness.) Cesar, speaking slowly for me, told us all about his family history in the avocado business and the differences among the types of avocadoes. It was gorgeous up on the mountains and we all had many questions that Cesar was happy to answer.

After Cesar drove us back to the town, we headed out for sightseeing in Santo Domingo, an hour away. We were joined by some of our new friends from Cambita for this outing. We saw the oldest standing cathedral in the western world! We walked down the first paved road in the western world as well and still found time to shop, snack and bargain. On the way out of town, we had a guided tour of a museum dedicated to the indigenous people (the Taino) of the Dominican Republic.

And, if that wasn´t enough, we stopped at a LARGE market (think WalMart) and bought the makings for a community barbeque. Chef David and Nilsa, our in-country coordinator, hosted a wonderful evening full of good food and a card game with friends. (Get ready for a new, competitive team game, folks!)

After a full day´s work today, we will have a fiesta with all our homestay families to say ¨adios.¨ Rumor has it that my homestay mom is doing my hair for this occasion. Pictures to follow.

Tomorrow we fly to Haiti and we are unsure about the internet access in the mountains, so you may not hear from us until Monday. We will try, though. Hasta luego!