On day 3 in Ecuador, we woke up and got ready for our first flower tour of the trip. When I tried to shower, the water was freezing and did not turn warm. We got breakfast where we were served bread, fruit juice, and eggs but these eggs had a more tomatoey taste to them. We then went to Ecuarocanada to learn about the flower industry. There was a dog who was so friendly to all of us and helped to show the way through the greenhouses.  We learned all about the agriculture of harvesting roses. We were shown baby plants that were only 6 months old to ones many years old which went way over our heads. I have never seen roses on such long stems. He told us that their busiest day was Women’s Day in Russia where they harvest 40,000 roses per day. We even saw the workers who conducted group stretches to stretch their fingers and hands from all the harvesting they did. After we saw the process of sorting them and storing them in the freezer, they gifted us roses for each of us to take with.

We then drove the bus back to the lodge to get lunch. After we went to the community house in Picalqui. The owner of the lodge and the past mayor talked about the importance of their community. I learned they only harvest food for themselves in this region but grow the flowers in the surrounding regions. We also got ice cream at a small shop near the community center. We then went back to the lodge where we played soccer and ecuavolleyball which is volleyball with a soccer ball. We played against the local highschoolers from Quito who were at the lodge on a field trip. We won 2-1 in soccer! It was so much fun, even in the rain. For dinner we had a chicken spaghetti with a sauce that tasted like buffalo but was not spicy. It was very unique but very good. We then headed off to Otavalo where we had another fire pit to end the night all together.