PR-continued

We left off in Ponce, Bethsabé's home town.

The old fire station

This traditional paper maché mask decorated the lobby of Hotel Melía

Here we all had salsa lessons in a very hot studio! As I watched us dance I though we were doing quite well. Then I saw our instructors dancing and realized we had a long way to go!


Salsa in Ponce from Valerie Díaz Leroy on Vimeo.

The next morning we woke up and headed to the Ponce Farmer's Market. Here we split up into groups for a digital scavenger hunt. Dio gave each group a list of foods to find. The students had to ask for these foods in Spanish, take a picture, and find out how much they cost. This mad dash showed us how confident the kids are with their Spanish.

After a belly full of fresh fruit, we boarded the bus and headed to Utuado for our afternoon hike. The Tanamá Forest is my farovite place in all of Puerto Rico. Last year we rowed through a cave to see bats. This year the rains made the river too dangerous, so we explored a different path. The ground was wet and muddy and very slippery.

"Tanamá" means butterfly in the Taino language

Jorge owns the land. As well as tours and ziplining, he runs an organic farm on the land. He, Maria, Paul, and Manolo are farmers who have an incredible respect for this beautiful land.

We felt just like Indiana Jones crossing this suspension bridge!

Zipline PR 2013 from Valerie Díaz Leroy on Vimeo.

This is my attempt at making a zipline video! 

This is one of the places I want to bring Mark. He would love the hike, the land, the people, and Santo-the dog.