After departing Pittsburgh and making our way through the airports, we finally landed in Quito! Our hotel, Hotel de San Fransisco, was stunning. We spent most of our first day in Ecuador touring the city of Quito and learning the culture of the country. We learned that approximately 75% of Ecuadorians are Catholic, and explored some of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen in my life, many made mostly of gold. Religion is very profound in Ecuador, and most street vendors sold merchandise to cater to that population. The language barrier has been a bit tough, but the people here are so friendly and wonderful that it hasn’t been a problem. I loved the street culture in Quito. Dozens of venders have their stands with their products down each and every street, and the items for sale were most of the time handcrafted! Lots of delicious food and fruits were everywhere, and the streets flooded with music from the churches and performers during daylight hours. There were so many stray dogs on the streets, something I was certainly not used to

San Ignacia was our host for our meals on Sunday, offering us delicious traditional recipes to choose from. After lunch, we were treated to Yumbos Chocolates, which was the highlight of my day. We tested and tasted several different percentages of locally grown cocoa, such as 100% cocoa, lemongrass, orange peel, chili, coffee, and my favorite was the crispy. The crispy chocolate actually had the shells of the cocoa seeds inside, and it created a fantastic texture and taste. We got to try 100% cocoa hot chocolate, and a brownie was better than any other one I will ever taste in my lifetime. We ended the day exploring the city, one of our adventures being climbing to the top of the Basillica del Voto Nacionao cathedral. The views of the city were impeccable, with stunning stained glass all along the interior as we climbed. It was a great bonding day for all of us, and there were many memories made that will last a lifetime.