Rancho Baiguate and La Jagua

After a good night's sleep, we all convened this morning for breakfast before beginning the day! After breakfast, we took a tour of Rancho Baiguate, our home for the next few days.  We first spent some time in the butterfly garden, learning about the many species of butterfly native to the Dominican Republic.  Several of the group members got to hold caterpillars before we all were able to enter the garden and see the many beautiful butterflies.  On our way out of the garden, we passed by Lucas, the resident donkey of the ranch!  We all couldn't help but laugh as everyone's sleep last night was interrupted by Lucas' alarming honks at 4 AM!

We then learned about the various sustainability projects that are currently underway at the ranch.  We saw the beautiful vegetable garden and then Harry (one of our Rustic Pathway guides) told us about the natural filtration system that is currently being used to filter sewage generated by the ranch.  We finished our tour with some team building exercises before eating a quick lunch.

After lunch, we excitedly boarded the truck and headed to La Jagua for an afternoon of work on the aqueduct project.  Before we began digging, we had the opportunity to meet several community members, including Bolivio, the main community organizer and overseer of the aqueduct project.  Bolivio welcomed us to La Jagua before sharing a little about the community and its needs.  We took the opportunity to tell Bolivio and the other gathered community members about ourselves and then headed up the hillside together to begin our digging.

After two hours of digging, we ended for the day having accomplished great work.  We head back to La Jagua bright and early tomorrow morning for a full day of digging.  Right now the group is enjoying a rousing game of cards and we will soon come together for some reflection on the day before heading to bed.

Be sure to check back in tomorrow for a guest writer!  Until then, Buenas Noches!

The group in the butterfly garden

All in a knot!

An entertaining game of Ninja while waiting for the truck

On the truck to La Jagua

Meeting with community members in La Jagua

Beginning to dig

Making great progress!