After a good night’s sleep in the hotel in Otavalo, we set out for our lodge in the Amazon rainforest. We had a good night’s sleep and were ready to tackle the long bus ride that was ahead. we left around 9 in the morning to start our trip. Skip and Rick decided it would be better to take some stops during the bus trip. The first place we stopped at was a sundial, which was on the equator. with the placement on the equator, this causes it to be very accurate with the time, the months of the year, and the different seasons for each continent. after learning about the sundial, we got on the bus and set off for our next location. but before we could stop at our next location, we had to drop off our tour guide, Gabby. after dropping her off, we went up to the highest elevation of the trip at 13,500 feet above sea level. we got out and walked around, and we all felt the effects of the high elevation and were out of breath. after walking around for a bit, we got back on the bus and were on our way to the hot springs. when we got to the hot spring, we were all jumping for joy, but we had to relax. we hung out in the hot springs for about 2 hours and got out to get lunch. This was probably one of my favorite meals so far. I got the trout, and it was really fresh. after lunch, we got back on the bus and started our way to the lodge. when we got to the lodge, we dropped off our stuff and went to have dinner. after dinner, I walked around with a small group until it was time for bed.
After waking up to another amazing meal of eggs for breakfast, we had a talk with the owner of the lodge. the owner’s name is Todd. he gave up the details of how he ended up in Ecuador and why he stayed. he also went into detail about the Waorani and how they first contacted them. after this intriguing talk with Todd, we went to try our hand at pot making. lets just say that I’m not known to be the most delicate of men, and this translated over into the pot making. it was hard to roll out the clay into symmetrical rolls. after trying hard for a while, I completed my pot, and I was pretty proud of it. Whenever the pot making was finished, I walked around with a group of guys and explored the lodge property more thoroughly. we saw a good amount of sights I wouldn’t have seen without walking around for a bit. we then made our way to the pavilion there to have a talk with our professor, Skip, about chocolate. with his presentation completed on chocolate, we went to a cocoa farm to see the start of the chocolate process. After this, we went back and had lunch and some free time till dinner. after dinner, I hung out with some people in the hammocks and got to know them more. after this, we all went to bed.
It was another beautiful morning at the lodge. We all went to breakfast again this morning. After breakfast, we made our own chocolate. We roasted the beans, peeled the shells, and then ground the beans into a chocolate paste. After making the paste, the person explaining the process to us used the chocolate paste, cooked it into a liquid, and mixed it with sugar and other flavors. when the chocolate was ready for us to try, they brought out bananas to dip in the chocolate. meanwhile, I had the bright idea to dip a habanero pepper into the chocolate. the burning sensation and the delicious chocolate made it a memory I won’t forget. We then all got ready to go on a river hike. the hike was about an hour and a half. it was an amazing walk through the jungle and seeing beautiful scenery. at the end of the hike, we had the chance to swim in a swimming hole. after a quick dip, we all started to make our way back. we all freshened up and then went to eat lunch. After lunch, we had a chocolate tasting with Kiari. it was an amazing experience, and we sampled a lot of good chocolate with a presentation of theirs. After this, we had free time till dinner. we all had to go to bed early tonight because the next day we are all going to the Waorani.
