Hola! These last couple of days in Ecuador have been a blast and we’ve done so much! Monday was a big chocolate day for us. We started the day off by visiting Yumbo’s chocolate for a chocolate tasting. It was my first time doing one, so I was super excited. We tried many different flavors, some of which I have never had before. After the tasting, we were able to buy some chocolate. Next, we had lunch in Quito at a fancy restaurant. It was very yummy. After this, we got on our bus and visited a chocolate factory called Bios. We talked with the owner and heard many stories about the company while tasting their amazing chocolate. After we tried their chocolate, we went to the factory and saw the chocolate making process. We ended the day by arriving to Picalqui. Monday was definitely a chocolate filled day.

On Tuesday, we visited a rose plantation and saw the process of growing roses. I’ve never seen so many flowers in my life! They even gave us some flowers of our own! After this, we went back to the foundation we were staying at and played a soccer match with some local high-schoolers. This was by far my favorite thing we’ve done so far. They were so friendly and the game was so much fun! We ended the day by traveling to Otavalo.

Today, we started off by going to the markets in Otavalo. They had so many different things to buy, and it was fun haggling with the shop owners. We ate lunch by the markets and I had a nice hamburguesa. After this, we traveled to Peguche where we learned about the Chichua culture and saw a beautiful waterfall. We traveled back to the hotel and ate guinea pig, then went to a restaurant for dinner. When we got back, some of the people in the hotel played music for us, which was a great experience. I’m looking forward to what the rest of the trip has in store for us!