ENC Women's Basketball Puerto Rico Trip Blog #3

From the Coaches

It's Gameday! The morning started with a conversation with one of the many workers on the island. He came on September 12th to assist with relief efforts. Today was his first day off in over three months. Listening to him talk about the destruction to the island, what they've done and what they have left to do gave us a feeling of hope but also sadness. 

We played in one of maybe two arenas that are functional on the island. Aside from the gym itself, you could see the destruction from Hurricane Maria. The entrance areas were either still flooded or dangerous to walk through. The door were chained because the handles were ripped off. The ceiling tiles had fallen around and inside the gym due to excess flooding. Even our game cooler had to be filled with gallon water bottles bought from the store because clean water was not accessible. Games were being played in this arena from 10am until 11pm. All made possible by amazing people!

After a tough win, we took in San Juan. We had such a fun tour guide/driver. He showed us where he lived (he just got power a couple days ago). Old San Juan is a gorgeous place to explore. The coaches went to the Stuffed Avocado (best healthy restaurant I've ever tried), The Chocolate Bar  (#1 in the world), and several souvenir shops! The Chocolate Bar lived up to the prestige and title. We all tried a different drink. Coach Mad, a chocolate smoothie and I had the hot chocolate. It was so rich, creamy and of course delicious. They gave me a chocolate piece and some cheese with it. You have to dip both in the drink and eat it, a Puerto Rican tradition.  

It was another wonderful day on the island! 

From the Players

It's finally here: game day!!! We played against Metropolitan University of Puerto Rico in a fairly large gymnasium. Even though they were a very aggressive team, we came out on top. There were many people that helped make this game possible, and we really appreciated all of their hard work. 

After we got the "W", we explored Old San Juan. The culture and the history were beautifully intriguing.  We were able to go to many different shops and visit forts that were built centuries ago on the island.  We also visited a cemetery where the most important and famous people of Puerto Rico are buried.  Our bus driver/tour guide was informative and made our trip very enjoyable.  

Another fun and warm day under the Puerto Rican sun is in the books for ENC Women's Basketball!!!