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Hello friends and family my names is Destiny Tran and I was “El Lider Del Dia” for our second fun day. Breakfast came a bit late but it was satisfying and gave us the much needed energy for the long day ahead of us. Our first stop was the land around Cuevas del Pomier where we were able to hike around and have some background information on the many caves of the Dominican Republic. Because the caves were so large, we were split in two different groups and started at different ends to meet at the center. My group’s guide, Alex, shared with us that all 55 caves of the Dominican Republic are protected by the government due to the prehistoric pictographs of the Caribbean natives, Iguerros, and Taino Indians. Although we didn’t get to go in during the first part of our field trip, we were able to take pictures of 4 vertical caves; of the two were Cueva Simbolo and Cueva Murcielagos.

After hiking through dense trees and endless heaps of goat poop for 45 minutes, we then went to “Cave 1” and split up again to begin the exciting part of the day. Right when we walked through the opening, the air became cooler and, of course, it was a lot darker. Throughout our cave hike we were able to see cave paintings of marine animals, people playing flutes, and even a war between the Taino and Iguerros! The cave was so fascinating but really slippery. There was a trail, but for some of the duration of the hike, we went off trail which led to a small incident with a fellow Glimpser, Vivian, in which we had to bandage her ankle. To all the family and friends reading this, there is no need to worry, it was only a slight sprain and she is fine. In one part of the cave, we experienced “total darkness a silence” where we sat in the middle of the cave without a flashlight and sounds for a full minute. It was so dark I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face! Being in one of the quietest and darkest places on the Earth really made me feel different but in a good way. The cave hike took about an hour and twenty minutes or so since one group had finished before the other. After our long hike, we had the traditional Dominican lunch, La Bandera, a rice, bean, and chicken plate as well as some refreshing salad.

The third part of the fun day was visiting La Toma; a natural pool that used to be the only source of water way back during the native times, hence the name [tomar: to take]. Because we were behind schedule, we only had about 45 minutes of actual pool time. Nevertheless, the time spent was extremely refreshing and a nice treat after that long hike. 2 of our ambassadors, Leangie and Ramon, were also able to join in. A highlight of La Toma was when our project coordinator, Elias, lost a bet and had to jump in fully clothed.

Last stop of the day was English tutoring at La Escuela el Limon; which went by smoothly as always. It was our second to last day so many of us tried to have fun with our classes by playing educational games and even some dancing was involved. The day was long but it was a great opportunity to be able to go inside an actual ca e and see all of the pictographs of the natives.

Today was an amazing day, and I’m sure that everyone had the chance to relax and enjoy another fun day even though it wasn’t at the beach. I want to give a quick shout out my family and friends; Dad sorry I didn’t get to call for Father’s Day but I heard you guys had an amazing party with Colin. Mom, I really miss you and your cooking and don’t worry, I’m fine, and so are Vivian and Jordan. Bryan, Brandon, and Junior, I miss you guys too and I hope you guy didn’t burn the house down. And I won’t forget your souvenirs so don’t freak out. Love you and I’ll see you guys soon!

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