Ponce Day 2

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Breakfast at Denny’s
Tour EcoElectrica (Guayanilla)
Lunch at “El Paladar” dock side outdoor empanadas (chicken, shrimp and conch)
Tour Medtronic (Villalba)
Hilton Group Presentations

The team regrouped after staying at separate host homes for breakfast at Denny’s where everyone quickly learned that Coop is a big fan of pancakes! After everyone’s tummies got full, we headed to EcoElectrica, which is a large power plant that generates electricity from natural gas. The complex also includes a desalination facility, and 50% of the saltwater processed is supplied to civilians. We had the opportunity to visit the control room and see the employees who keep the kilovolts flowing! They were very eager to share with us that they had never had an accident. Everyone felt the pride the workers had in their jobs which was also demonstrated by the cleanliness of the grounds. Workers also pointed out that the water surrounding the plant was very clean and that many manatees can be seen nearby.

We departed for a traditional empanada lunch at a seaside restaurant. The group enjoyed crab and conch meat deep-fried in flour shells and their first cervezas (beer) of the trip. Amanda couldn’t resist feeding her leftovers to the stray dogs lurking nearby.

The next tour was at the Medtronic facility in nearby Juana Diaz. Medtronic is the worldwide leader in production of medical devices including pacemakers, stints, and insulin pumps. The employees at this company were also very proud of their work as their products improve people’s lives. The company appeared to take very good care of their 3,000+ workers and the facility included a gym, cafeteria, and pool tables for lunchtime recreation.

Following their busy day, team members had a few hours to spend with their host families before the evening’s Rotary meeting. Amanda enjoyed feeding Eneida and Edgardo’s herd of six dogs and their duck Raffa, even though Raffa didn’t like her much.

Taryn’s host mom was a single lady that lived on the Southeast part of Ponce. She lived there with her blind dog Ferra. She was a very humble lady that dedicated her life to helping others with the word of God in hospitals and prisons and spent her day time hours working as a nurse in a elderly home. I truly enjoyed my experience with Gury.

Christina’s host mom was a beautiful widow who gave out candy to the children of the neighborhood. She was a devout Catholic, exerciser, and very earlier riser. Josephina had a beautiful family and took good care of her picturesque house. I was very sad to leave my temporary madre.

That evening the Rotary meeting was at the beautiful Ponce Hilton. The team enjoyed Don Q mojitos with Rotarians prior to an extravagant dinner. The WV Team Los Montaneros gave their first presentation following the meal and closed with a group sing along of Country Roads. We parted ways to finally get some rest after an exhausting day (only day #2!).

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