Today was another travel day. We had to go back to Sosúa, leaving El Frances, the Samaná Peninsula, and some new friends behind. The first thing we did was to take the remaining books to the school in El Frances. We filled the book shelf we had made and put it in the library. There were again a number of children who showed up to see what we were doing – they all wanted to see the bookshelf and the library.
One of the things they do is to save rain water. They have the rain gutter set up to empty into a large tank. This water is saved there for all of the people to use for washing clothes or for bathrooms. None of the people in these remote areas have running water, so they are resourceful in meeting their needs.
After we finished up at the school, we went ‘La Playa Colorado.’ We had to hike about ½ mile, across some sand and some sharp rocks. Once there, we played for about 45 minutes. Another beautiful beach with crystal clear water – more green towards the shore, but deep blue once you get into deeper water. We found some sand dollars and took some pictures of them in the sand. Then we hiked back up to the car and went to the condominium to pack up.
We ate lunch and cleaned up the condominium really well, then packed everything and everyone into the car. Before leaving, we took the last three books and gave them to three of the workers at the condominiums. Coco – who gave us gasoline to wash the paint off yesterday – has a 10-year old daughter and wanted a book for her. Two other men wanted books for their children, as well. Once they realized we were giving books away, they took every opportunity to help us and ask for a book for their children. One book. It is incredible to think of these good people wanting just one book to read. They have no other resource to get books, so they are happy to have just one book.
We then left to come back to Sosúa. On the way, we stopped at El Limón. This is a waterfall. We rented four horses and rode a path for about 15 minutes, then walked down some stairs made from rocks. The path reminded me of the path to the Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park. The biggest difference was I felt more secure since I couldn’t see down into empty space through the steps.
We jumped in the water at the base of the falls – Greg climbed up a bit and jumped in, but I wasn’t so brave this time. He said it was slick – I decided not to tempt fate. We swam under the falls. The water was cool and very refreshing. Shanlee had a small problem trying to get out of the water – she fell back in. I didn’t laugh…very hard.
We then climbed back up to where the horses were waiting and rode back. On the way back, Aaliyah was riding with Megan, and she fell asleep. There is nothing more adorable than a sleeping child. See for yourself.
Kyah was riding on my horse behind me with her arms around my ample waist. We were almost back when my horse tripped and fell forward, throwing Kyah and I onto the ground to the left. I had my leg over the horse, but she stood up and left Kyah and I in a heap. I was doing everything I could to roll forward so I wasn’t laying on top of Kyah. The horse was bleeding on its front right leg, so I walked the rest of the way back.
At this point, it was 6:00 p.m., so we started back to Sosúa. We were near Samaná, so we had a pretty long drive ahead of us. We drove without stopping except when we were almost out of gas and very hungry. We hadn’t eaten dinner, and the 1/8th of a tank of gas wasn’t going to get us home. The problem was, it was 7:45 p.m., and the gas stations were closed. We passed station after station wondering if we would sleep in the car and get gas in the morning. The kids were hungry, as well. We passed a few small stores, but we were more worried about gas than food.
I think everyone was praying, because we passed a grocery store and just a few blocks later found an open gas station. We put enough gas in the car to last a few days, then went back and bought some food to eat.
The hardest part was driving in the dark. We passed tons of motorcycles with a headlight but no taillight. We couldn’t see them until we were right behind them. Then there were the cars coming towards us – their headlights were so bright that we were almost blinded and had to keep slowing down so we wouldn’t end up in a ditch or some oversized pothole. Because of this, ride took us awhile. We pulled into the condominium at Sosúa at about 9:30 p.m.
We then left to come back to Sosúa. On the way, we stopped at El Limón. This is a waterfall. We rented four horses and rode a path for about 15 minutes, then walked down some stairs made from rocks. The path reminded me of the path to the Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park. The biggest difference was I felt more secure since I couldn’t see down into empty space through the steps.
We jumped in the water at the base of the falls – Greg climbed up a bit and jumped in, but I wasn’t so brave this time. He said it was slick – I decided not to tempt fate. We swam under the falls. The water was cool and very refreshing. Shanlee had a small problem trying to get out of the water – she fell back in. I didn’t laugh…very hard.
We then climbed back up to where the horses were waiting and rode back. On the way back, Aaliyah was riding with Megan, and she fell asleep. There is nothing more adorable than a sleeping child. See for yourself.
Kyah was riding on my horse behind me with her arms around my ample waist. We were almost back when my horse tripped and fell forward, throwing Kyah and I onto the ground to the left. I had my leg over the horse, but she stood up and left Kyah and I in a heap. I was doing everything I could to roll forward so I wasn’t laying on top of Kyah. The horse was bleeding on its front right leg, so I walked the rest of the way back.
At this point, it was 6:00 p.m., so we started back to Sosúa. We were near Samaná, so we had a pretty long drive ahead of us. We drove without stopping except when we were almost out of gas and very hungry. We hadn’t eaten dinner, and the 1/8th of a tank of gas wasn’t going to get us home. The problem was, it was 7:45 p.m., and the gas stations were closed. We passed station after station wondering if we would sleep in the car and get gas in the morning. The kids were hungry, as well. We passed a few small stores, but we were more worried about gas than food.
I think everyone was praying, because we passed a grocery store and just a few blocks later found an open gas station. We put enough gas in the car to last a few days, then went back and bought some food to eat.
The hardest part was driving in the dark. We passed tons of motorcycles with a headlight but no taillight. We couldn’t see them until we were right behind them. Then there were the cars coming towards us – their headlights were so bright that we were almost blinded and had to keep slowing down so we wouldn’t end up in a ditch or some oversized pothole. Because of this, ride took us awhile. We pulled into the condominium at Sosúa at about 9:30 p.m.
1 comment:
Wow. What an experience of a lifetime! I am so excited that Shanlee and Megan get to do something like this so young. It will definitely be something to remember for the rest of their lives. I can't imagine people being happy with just one book--I have over 3000 in my classroom alone! (If only I had had some in Spanish!) Anyway, great pictures--I'm excited you were able to post some!
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