Day 6
We started the morning with breakfast followed by a presentation from Todd Swanson, the owner of the lodge. He shared the history of the land and talked about the Waorani tribe, who we’ll be staying with later this week.
Next, we joined two local women who showed us how to make pots from clay. They demonstrated their techniques, and I gave it my best shot. I have to admit, they fixed mine after nearly every step, but it’s okay! Afterward, I was pretty covered in clay, so I decided to be a true traveler and wash all of my dirty clothes in the sink. It took a while, but I got it done—and now I have enough clean clothes to finish the trip!
After lunch, Skip gave a presentation on chocolate, which was super helpful since my group’s project is on cacao. Then we got to see cacao in its raw form, which is right from the tree. We visited the lodge’s cacao plants, picked the fruit, and cracked them open. I was definitely not expecting a layer of white goo inside… and even more surprised that it tasted like mango! It was weird but honestly delicious.
We wrapped up the day with dinner and had a relaxed evening just hanging out and talking.
Day 7
After breakfast, a real-life chocolatier came to the lodge to teach us how to make chocolate from scratch.
He had pre-fermented the cacao beans and brought them ready to go. We roasted them over a fire until they popped like popcorn. Then, using two giant leaves, we rolled the beans until the outer shell separated from the pit. That center pit was what we needed to make chocolate! We ground the cacao, then melted it into boiling water with orange peel, cinnamon, and mint leaves for extra flavor. Once it was ready, we dipped bananas into the mixture and tasted our creation—it was amazing!
Later, Emi, Maddie, Alexa, Rohan, and I explored a small “beach” near the river at the bottom of the lodge.
Then came my favorite activity so far: the river hike! It was about two miles long and definitely challenging at times, but incredibly fun. We climbed up into a hidden alcove that gave H2O: Just Add Water mermaid vibes. The water was deep—you couldn’t even touch the bottom when jumping in. At one point, we swam through a cove with bats flying overhead and a massive spider on the wall next to us. My favorite part was jumping off a large rock into the water!
After the hike, we returned to the lodge just in time for another chocolate tasting, this time from Kallari. We learned about the company’s origins and got to compare their chocolate to big-name brands like Nestlé. It was really good, but I still think Bios has the best chocolate so far!
We ended the evening with a quiet night and went to bed early. Tomorrow, we have a 6-hour canoe ride in the morning. Today was probably my favorite day of the trip so far, and I’m excited to see what the next three days (with no service!) have in store.