So many avocados on sale--and so many people buying that these bins prove to be very efficient. Note the platanos--same thing, staples in the Dominican diet! These huge avocados were 24 pesos each--about 75 cents.

Barahona platanos

A typical scene in the Dominican Republic is the sale of local produce. Sometimes it is platanos that grow in super abundance or it may be pineapple or mangos in season.
Sometimes it is a chicken or skinned goat. It doesn't really matter because except for the product, the scene is the same. People sit and watch and wait.

Children here learn to make their own fun where ever they can find it! This rock wall at the side of the church can be surmounted only by a running leap up the five foot wall. From there, the chicos can laugh and watch all the folks leave church.

October or December?

With the sun shining and poinsettias in bloom, we can't tell if it is October or December. From the way the stores are decorated, you could be easily fooled, as well!

Haina Beach

Haina Beach was our targeted area for clean up during the annual Church Helping Hands beach clean up campaign. Haina Beach is very close to Santo Domingo. It is not a beach frequented by tourists, though some of the locals were swimming and boarding here. We gathered tons of garbage, all of which had to be documented by law on paper, then weighed before it could be removed from the beach area. Plastics are the main culprit here--foam food containers in a myriad of pieces, plastic sacks, drink bottles and caps--all things that would take a hundred million years to disintegrate. There is no such thing as recycling here.

I have so much compassion for this Mother dog. Those pups are about ready to take on a life of their own--and she will never be the same, either. I speak from experience! Mother dog lives at Bonao at the Church Camp. The missionaries there leave to go home tomorrow. Who is going to look after Mother dog?

Tooth of the Dog golf course, one of the world's top ten courses, had just finished their annual upkeep when Hurricane Irene decided to move in. When we strolled unchecked across this beautiful golf course in La Romana, we were amazed at its beauty--every blade of grass was neatly clipped and every stray leaf was quickly gathered up. It must be a mess now with all Irene's wind and rain!