We Finish a Full First Day on a High Note

 Dear Blog Readers -

It appears as though you are now able to access the DR Projects Blog.  The first post was a brief one I wrote on Saturday morning, just before we left the Sana Secret Garden for Cotui.  I'll post a few more photos from the amazing Secret Garden, and describe the rest of the day.  That will get the daily blog back on track.

We made the two hour-plus drive from Sana to Cotui, going from city highways to crowded roads in smaller towns, jammed with motorcycles and double-parked traffic on the main road.  As we got closer to Cotui, we passed vast fields of rice, lush and green, and roadside vendors with pineapples, sweet potatoes, cassava and coconuts.  Having been to Cotui for a number of years, it was interesting to see the yearly changes. There is a lot of building in this growing, aspiring city.  We checked into the Hostal Maria Yoban, the modern, clean and very comfortable hotel that has hosted our trips for ten years.  We unloaded nine full suitcases of donated school and medical supplies, along with some special gifts for the school and for some of the friends who have supported us for years.

After moving in, we got back in the bus and drove to edge of town to the huge Hatillo Dam and Reservoir, forming the largest human-made body of water in the Caribbean.  We drove across the top of the dam on the two-lane highway, and then pulled over to get out and see the amazing views. One one side of the dam was the 10-mile long reservoir, which had drowned several villages in the process of construction.  On the other was the view down to Yula River Valley toward the rice fields it irrigates, looking over grazing horses and cattle, and flocks o snow-white egrets.  A turkey vulture swooped down to inspect us.

We went back to the hotel for supper, and then had a team meeting to organize.  We were joined by Maria Del Carmen, Director of the Altagracia school, eager for our help there this week.  Most of us are pretty sleep-deprived, so it's off to bed, eager for a busy Sunday.





    








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