Hello families and friends!

Today was our first CAP execution day! We woke up bright and early and headed up to a parcel near La Miel, a 30-minute drive from our hotel here in Las Tablas. We received some instructions on how to plant our trees! We were divided into 3 groups: planters, diggers, and fertilizer handlers. Our collaborative teamwork allowed us to finish planting 200+ trees early. Several of the ladies who lived in the house next to where we were planting made us some homemade soup! It was super delicious, and while we ate our delicious lunch we saw a lot of little chickens running around the property and even a translucent butterfly! After saying thanks and goodbye to our fellow planters and our lunch host, we enjoyed the cool breeze on our exciting bus ride back to our hostel in Las Tablas.

After some much-needed rest and shower time, we traveled to Nutre Hogar, a non-profit that works to provide malnourished children with the proper care and needs that they are not able to get from their immediate families. We helped fold their cute tiny clothing and cleaned around the premises of the center. Most importantly we got the chance to hold, play, and give some love to the children. On our way back, unlike the usual energetic bus ride, we silently reflected on our experience with the children and the center. We had a discussion about what we witnessed before our nightly meeting. It was a very interesting and deep conversation that made us think about similar situations that occur in different parts of the world. After our nightly meeting, with some great basketball handling skills and singing, we headed off to hang out a little bit before bed.

We are excited to plant more trees tomorrow and to help reforest our planet! We plan to plant 300+ new saplings! We strive to stay safe in the hot and humid mountain weather. We all cannot wait to come back and share all of our amazing experiences and stories with all of you!

BIG LOVE from Bella & Karen!