Voir Dire

Took Dean and toured about 10 MLB Academies around our area...very nice complexes, very guarded....I thought I might just have a look around inside but settled for some front gate shots.  Started going to the el play in San Pedro de Macoris....met the baseball instructor 'Beauty' pictured on the far left below....he doesn't take any pay unless you want to throw in a hundred pesos or so a week (about $2)....he instructs about 40 kids...even though we brought a little extra gear ourselves, they ended up giving us a nice bat and three pairs of baseball pants......poor and still generous.  Tranquilo..... Tranquilo..... 

School starts with Angel picking the teams.....players are between 10 to 17 years old...get a baseball, take your positions, start playing....the effort is phenomenal. Smaller kids can have the back corner of the field while the older kids play.... Once the main game ended in the morning, kids start to arrive around noon for the next round.... Two of my favorite questions so far...Duke asked on Sunday:  Are we going to baseball Church?..and..Should we bring our baseball gloves to Church?.......probably.  It's a bit humid.

 First day here: walked Duke, Marten and Dean about 4 or 5 kms....sweating, notice Dukes shoulders are shrugged, complaining about the heat and walking distance....walked into Playa Guayacanes and saw a nice little pick up game....waves picking up from outskirts of hurricane Matthew....  Dean started to localize first.....after sweating for about an hour and a half Dean stripped his shirt....  wind and rain are pushing pretty good now but overall was a good look at the town.