In our first morning in the Cayambe region, we woke up to roosters and chickens to start our day. We went to breakfast which consisted of eggs and coffee. After, we drove to Ecuaroscanada S.A. which was large greenhouses of roses of all different colors where we walked through the greenhouses and learned about their growing process. We learned that they had 90,000 plants of roses per acre so they needed a lot of water from both their pool area and the rain from the environment. It was interesting to learn that the demand is the highest in Russia because of better pricing and the popularity of Women’s Day on March 8 in Russia. 

We then had a quick lunch before heading to the school and learned about the community and their overall purpose together. It was interesting to see how roses have both positive and negatives to a community, for example, it brings some people together and the kindness they have to help one another succeed. However, it pushes some societies away socially and environmental issues like climate change are also a cause of concern. 

After the learning session we drove back to our lodge and spent time before dinner playing with Ecuadorian students that were also staying at the lodge for their school field trip. We played a game of soccer and a game of volleyball with the students. This will be a key highlight of my trip because I was able to immerse myself into the culture and get involved with another community. Even though it was pouring rain in the beginning, I was glad we continued to play soccer. Halfway through, I scored on a penalty kick and tied the game 2-2, and in the end we won 3-2 in overtime. Volleyball was also very fun and interactive, and it will be something that I will always remember. 

Dinner was a delicious spaghetti with tea. After the dinner, we packed up our things and left Picalqui and headed to our hotel in Otovalo to get ready for another to explore the market and culture for day four.