Our second full day in Ecuador, May 8th, was filled with new experiences and new friends. We woke up early to go to a rose farm called “Jet Fresh Flower Grower,” where we were immediately greeted with a sign that said, “University of Pittsburgh,” which made everyone happy. After walking through many rows of roses, I still never got tired of looking at them. I never realized how many different colors and combinations there could be until today. We were then able to take a through the factory part and see all the different steps; they showed us how they were measured, tied, and packaged. As we got further into the factory, the rooms got colder and colder – it was an interesting aspect of this industry to experience firsthand, because it’s something I would not have thought of otherwise. The workers then ended the tour with an amazing array of Ecuadorian foods, mainly fruits that I highly enjoyed. Everyone in our group was given t shirts that they made last year, and it was a great surprise for everyone; we were all so thankful.
We hopped on the bus again to go to real Incan ruins that was at a hotel, “San Agustin,” that has been run by the same hotel for many generations. The owner has two previous presidents of Ecuador in his family; it was evident how proud he was of all that his family has done. We got a tour of the property and saw all that it has to offer. Many of us were saying how we’d love to go back one day with our family. They gave us authentic Ecuadorian drinks that kind of tasted like apple cider. They told us that there was going to be a surprise, and we thought those delicious drinks would be it. Instead, they told us to go outside, and they handed us baskets of carrots. I thought that we were going to get to feed a horse, but instead about a dozen llamas came running out ready to eat. They were so kind, and everyone was just in shock that this was real life.
As if all of this wasn’t exciting enough, we still had a chocolate factory tour. Many of us were referencing “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The owner told us so many cool facts about the history of this company. In one of the offices, there were two shrunken heads in a glass box. They were real human heads, and they were somehow shrunken. The woman’s head still had all her hair attached to it; I still cannot wrap my head around it.
We also got to see all the machines they had to make the chocolate. It was a much more complex process than I thought, and everything they do to make the chocolate is intentional. Then we all got to put chocolate in the molds, and then once they cooled, we could wrap as much chocolate as we want to take home for ourselves for free. Of course, we all bought chocolate bars as well. Today was a great day filled with experiences that made me feel extremely lucky to be here.
