Day 2 was one of the days I’d been looking forward to most, chocolate! After a breakfast of fresh fruits and eggs, we headed to Yumbos Chocolate for our first tasting of the day. The different flavors were so rich and my favorite part was the hot chocolate and brownie they gave which tasted heavenly together. I made sure to purchase a couple bars and a syrup to bring home with me.

After that we were on our own for lunch and walked around Quito trying to find a place. Lily was able to find a super yummy traditional sandwich place by speaking with locals who recommended it. The plaza we ate in was also gorgeous, the perfect setting for my veggie sandwich and passion fruit juice…only $7 by the way.

Then it was time for the second tasting of the day at Bios Chocolate where we sampled a totally different array of chocolates. They took us on a tour of the factory as well and surprised us with letting us make our own Dubai chocolate cups with strawberries! My stomach started feeling it at this point, but it was totally worth it, especially when we got to fold little pieces of chocolate into foil for ourselves to keep! Also I of course purchased a couple more bars of unique flavors.

The two hour bus ride to Otavalo felt long, but the bus driver Eduardo did not come to play. We ended the night there with a rooftop dinner of some tacos and blackberry juice. The ride to the hotel was steep, but the bed felt so good after eating all that chocolate.

Day 3’s breakfast bread was really good, I think it fueled me for the coming day of lots of talking. But first, we had the opportunity to listen to two Kichwa people tell us about their culture and business in Ecuador. I loved learning from them about how they are integrated into society and globally.

Next was the Otavalo Market, filled with so many vendors selling their handmade wares ranging from jewelry, to textiles and clothing, to wooden carvings. I got to practice my minimal Spanish and barter the vendors which was honestly such a fun challenge. They seemed to enjoy it as well, and I definitely got some really memorable items.

Later on at the hotel we listened to a man play Ecuadorian music (legit singing and playing two instruments at the same time like a boss) and all danced together in a circle. Even the hotel dog joined us! Dinner was on a rooftop again and I got to look at the mountains and small city that has so much to offer.