Today we explored the beginnings of a rose’s life. We traveled to Casanto Maraya, which is a rose farm just outside Quito, Ecuador. The roses take about a year to grow large enough to sell the roses. Once they are big enough, they are sold mainly in Ecuador, the United States, and Europe. Each month this specific company produces about 100,000 roses in all colors. Some colors are natural and can be grown, while other colors need to be made with a dye. They use white and yellow roses to dye crazy colors like blue, purple, and even Ecuadorian flag colors. They even dye ones black for emo people! The higher elevation and perfect temperature allows the farm to grow large roses that are perfect size. It also allows the roses to grow faster (about 4.3 cycles per year) than a regular rose farm could (about 3 cycles per year). A larger stem/rose is more beneficial because they sell for a higher price. With only about 10 cents of profit per stem, the company has to produce such a large amount of roses to be sustainable. 

We also went and tasted more chocolate at Bio’s! The owner gave us a deep dive into the history of the company, which was started by his great grandfather. He also presented us so much information on how the chocolate is made, the difference in fine flavored and regular cacao, and even let us make our own chocolate. The best part was when Thanos chugged the chocolate from the chocolate fountain! 

Casanto Maraya, the rose farm, was an amazing company with passionate workers who love the rose business and make it their livelihood. Being in such a high elevation and having great climate, these roses were built to be grown in this amazing location. Not only did they have great flowers, but they also had the fluffiest chicken ever! Bio’s rich family history and the passion of the owner to create the best chocolate is unmatched. So far so good in Quito, Ecuador! Looking forward to venturing into the Amazon soon!