We started our last Tuesday with
a debrief at the Centro de Estudios Martianos. Josh wanted everyone to update
the group on how they were doing both physically and mentally. Most people told
the group that they were ready to go home, but where also looking forward to
the remainder of our program. We do have a lot of free time, so if there are
still things we want to see for ourselves, we are free to explore.
After debrief the group split
into our two groups. One group went with RJ and our tour guide Orlando to start
our first day working at Muraleando, a cultural center a little ways from the
city. The other group headed out towards the Organoponico, which is a
completely organic farm that grows everything from Avocados to Bananas. I was
in the group that helped the workers at the cultural center. First, we were
shown around the property. We saw all the art they had to offer, and got to
work shortly after. Some wood was cleared and then the team started clearing a
path in front of a fence in order to gain access to it. Afterwards, we got to
see a group perform upstairs and we danced with them. It was a good opportunity
to practice what we learned in our Salsa class that we had a week before.
Tired, we all got onto the bus
and headed towards the National Botanical Garden, which I have been wanting to
see since I’ve heard about it. We got a tour while on the bus when we first
entered the park. I didn’t know that Cuba housed the world’s largest botanical
garden, the institution occupies a little more than 600 hectacres and has trees
from most every continent. My favorite part of the tour was the Baobab trees.
We read about them in my AP French class, and it was really interesting to see
them for myself. We stopped at the garden’s restaurant to have lunch. Our food
was all vegetarian, which was a nice change of pace. It was nice to take in the
scenery of the garden for a bit.
After lunch, the group piled back
on the bus and we finished the tour. We got to go inside the greenhouses and
see their collection of cacti and succulents, more than I’ve ever seen. The
architecture of the greenhouse itself was very interesting, the buildings where
shaped like triangles. Most of the girls in my homestay took time to relax when
we got back from out trip. After dinner, a lot of us went for a walk to this pastry shop a few of us found earlier in the program. It was really nice to
slow down and spend time with people without having to worry about a schedule.
Our professor RJ helping out at the
Muraleando worksite
Scenery outside the Muraleando
A view of the Japanese section of
the National Botanical Garden
The Cactus and Succulent Greenhouse
at the National Botanical Garden
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