Hello, my name is Issa George and I was the leader for today. Today was Fun Day, a time to take in all the joyous activities of the beautiful city of Bonao. We began the day at 6:30, ate breakfast at 7:30 and got ready to take the bus at 8:30 to a waterfall. We planned to hike and swim in a beautiful river until 11:30 when we would come home back to the fundacion and eat lunch. We unfortunately were deterred from going to the waterfall by the tropical storm Bertha. The group was told we could not go because of safety reasons.
Although this disappointing news was delivered, everyone perked right up when they heard we were being given free time in place of the designated time for the waterfall. At this time students called parents, bought souvenirs for family and friends, and bought snacks. After the free time ended at 12, everyone came back to eat lunch, then because of more schedule changes we left at 2:45 for Club Zona Sur, a place where we would be making Taino masks with the famous Dominican artist Angel. After having our fun with some clay and paper mache we all came home and ate dinner.
Overall, the day had a lot of twists and turns but we ultimately could still answer the question of the day Is it possible to create sustainable tourism in the DR? Although we did not experience the famed and highly anticipated waterfall, we did have an amazing experience making masks with the sculptors of Club Zona Sur. Everyone here readily agrees that Bonao and the Dominican Republic itself are beautiful, enticing places and it is undeniable that tourism will thrive here for decades to come.
Adios,
Issa