Happy Birthday Jose Marti

 We had our first official Dawn Patrol of the trip this morning.  We wondered along the Malecon (oceanside barrier wall) while the town was waking up. We then passed by a school where it became apparent that this was no ordinary day.  The school children were arriving in dress commemorating Jose Marti's birthday.  Little girls were dressed in their finest while little boys sported drawn on mustaches and straw hats.  We watched their arrival and subsequent parade down the street to join other school children for a larger parade in the park.  It was a wonderful happenstance that added to our experience.







After breakfast we stopped once again and a small village to observe life.  Some of our group ascended  into the village to see a housing construction project while some of us stayed at a bus stop and watched life go by.  After awhile we were back on our bus to visit another farm.


We first stopped to visit a local celebrity, 24. He acquired this name from a birthday defect that left him with six digits on both his hands and feet which resulted in 24 fingers and toes.  His main activity is climbing coconut trees to harvest coconuts.  After cutting down several he used his machete to crack them open for us to drink the water inside.  Not my favorite beverage, none the less the refreshment tasted good after being in the hot sun.  



Next we visited a house where we watched how the coconut meat was harvested from the shell and turned into a tasty treat for us.  After being grated into flakes, the coconut was roasted with ground almonds over an open fire.  Next the now browned coconut was mixed with honey to turn it into a sweet treat served in cones (not edible like ice cream cones).  These treats are sold in the street for a tasty snack.




Our lunch was in a restaurant on the river.  Afterwards we boarded boats that took us downstream to a farm in the jungle.  To say the journey up the steep, muddy bank  was a challenge is an understatement.  However, our guides' assistance made it seem easy.  A short walk into the woods brought us to a pig farm.  The pigs (and chickens for that matter) love coconut so we watched a feeding of coconut pieces which brought out the territorial nature of the pigs.  A few fights broke out but they resolved themselves as more coconut was thrown into the fray.  Not the corporate pig farming that we have back in the US.


We again boarded our boats to return to our van.  Along the way we watched a fisherman demonstrate his net tossing skills for our pleasure.  There was also a fisherman sitting on an innertube with his dog trying to land a catch.  As rain broke out we made our way back to shelter until it passed so we could return back home.



Tomorrow: The return trip

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