Bear with me as I shift quickly to the Dominican Republic from Brazil… I will come back to the update for Rio and Sao Paulo…
The trip to the DR began inauspiciously at 0445 on Saturday morning… Checking in at the airport in Sao Paulo was mildly entertaining… 2+ hours including getting in the wrong line… Thankfully there was an Austrian gentleman who spoke English who got in line just behind me which meant I would not be the last one on the plane… He also ensured that I didn't off myself or Aviance staff... Apparently there were systems issues because when we finally boarded, all the seats had been issued in duplicate so we were encouraged to sit wherever there was an empty seat…
Avianca might not have great systems but breakfast was pretty good… I don’t think anyone serves bad coffee on this continent… The layover in Bogota was uneventful and all of 60 minutes with a wireless connection and Dunkin Donuts – no munchkins so just coffee and back in the queue for the final leg to Santo Domingo…
At the airport, Customs involved multiple lines of waiting and then no one checking my luggage… Oh yeah and 3 forms require same information plus the purchase of a USD$10 visitor card which you immediately hand over… No ATMs working in the airport which was a concern… Then a cabbie offered to help me to the hotel… Exhaustion had set in… I threw myself on his mercy and was not kidnapped and sold into white slavery… but merely delivered safely to the hotel in Juan Dolio...
Sunday was our first trip to the MLB academies and the Pirates have a great facility… The idea behind the academies is to develop young men in their late teens into potential MLB players… I have some questions related to operations and the role that they should play in the bigger picture that I will explore in future posts… For today, let’s leave it at the Pirates give good voice to all the right things… Player development via education programs and ESL classes… Enhanced nutrition… Limiting hours of practice and socialization via mentoring… The academy focuses on 16-20 year olds and the portion sizes in the cafeteria surely reflect it…
The facility is modeled on the minor league facility in Bradenton, FL… More than just modeled according to the Operations Manager, the academy is a mirror of the MiLB clubhouse and campus… This is done to provide a sense of security even as they transition to the U.S. and everything is changing so dramatically around them…
The afternoon was spent in Old City Santo Domingo where we saw the oldest church and hospital in the New World... We also visited a cigar factory and shop where I may have picked up a few gifts... All of my attempts to lose the "tour guides were in vain... and we were led around with great gusto...
If you find yourself in Juan Dolio, check out El Sueno for delicious Italian food... Freshly grilled dorade, tostones and limoncello to end the night!
Monday will be the Nationals Academy as well as meetings with the tourism bureau… So far so good…
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