Ready For Takeoff!

 Our trip to the DR is off to a smooth start!  Our traveling party of 15 was together for the first time once the Dartmouth Coach picked up our two Sunapee High students in New London, and our trip to Logan Airport was smooth.  We checked 24 very full suitcases, full of donated material (and some of our stuff), and had no problem getting through security.  The line was long, but it moved pretty quickly. The two-by-two dog-sniffing perp walk was a new feature.  My titanium knee set off the usual alarms, but I impressed the TSA folks with a nice x-ray of my right knee post-surgery.  The flight boards in half an hour, and shoud take off on time a little past 10.  We'll land in Santiago between 3:00 and 4:00, and load our bus quickly before we make the short drive to the beautiful Sana Secret Garden, a small guest house with plenty of room for all of us to rest for 4-5 hours before we start the day at 11:00 with a leisurely breakfast.  We'll hop back on the bus in the early afternoon for the drive to Cotui, and will check into the Maria Yobon Hostal, our headquarters for the week.  I hope by now that enough of you have received the link to these daily blogs.  There will be a lot to report very soon.  We're eager to get started with our work!  Buenas Noches!

- Rob Grabill