We had a very busy last couple of days. On May 12th we had a chocolate-heavy day and an early morning. I woke up at 5:50am to go to the rooftop of our hotel to get some dawn drone shots. Next, we headed into the city to Yumbos Chocolate Timbre to go to a chocolate tasting. Our chocolatier educated us about chocolate and gave us samples to taste; we even tried a brownie and 100% hot chocolate. We then headed to lunch at Hasta la Vuelta Señor, and I tried some new foods. I got an Empanada de Viento and Humita de Sal, they were both very good, and it was a cool experience to be at an Ecuadorian restaurant. We then went to another chocolate factory called BIOS. The chocolatier David taught about different kinds of cacao and explained the history of chocolate. Next, we tasted some chocolates and got to tour his factory. We ended the day by traveling to our next ranch-style hotel. It was a crazy chocolate filled day!
The next day on May 13th, we toured a rose farm called, Ecuaroscanada S.A. We got to see the fields of roses, how they grown, and how look after them. They had beautiful land that was covered with great views, and the greenhouses filled with their roses. We went into the warehouse and saw the packaging process for roses. Then, they gave us a gift of roses. Later, we met with the community, and we were talking about roses and future plans. The whole roses experience was unique and an educational experience!
After the community meeting, we headed back to the ranch-style hotel and had a scheduled soccer game against the local community. It started to rain, but we still did an 8v8 game. It started off just going back and forth with no goals. Then the game got intense with a penalty shot, fouls, and a game winning shot. We ended up winning the game 3-2 and we all celebrated. We shook the other team’s hands and said good game. Eventually we got into a conversation with them. I was talking with Victor; a kid we played soccer with. I was asking him about different sports and how he was liking school. It was a really enlightening experience to get to talk with Victor. The soccer game we had was so much fun and a memory I will never forget!