Going into this trip I told myself there was only one thing I wouldn’t try. However after learning about how important it is to Ecuadorian culture, I decided I could not pass up the opportunity to try guinea pig. I am glad I tried it, but I probably wont be doing that again.
Thursday started even earlier than usual so that we were able to get on the road early for our trip to Iyarina. Our first stop on the trip was a museum that lied exactly on the equator. Here, we learned more about the science and history of the equator and made sure to take plenty of pictures. Maddie and I even decided to do cartwheels right on the equator!
After leaving the museum, we hit the road again and traveled to the hot springs. Being able to relax in the warm water after driving all morning felt amazing, although I also attempted the cold plunge and I definitely will not be doing that again. After the hot springs, we had lunch and headed back on the road, with our final stop being the cloud forest. Up until this point in the trip we had somehow been incredibly lucky with the weather. Of course when we plan to hike the cloud forest it starts to pour rain. Even still, we decided to hike and made our way through the cloud forest soaking wet. The rain made the experience even better, though my shoes are super muddy now. By the time we reached the top, the views were amazing and definitely worth it.
After coming back down, we all got into the bus, soaking wet, and started the final two hour drive to the lodge. On these last two hours we all listened and sang to the best 2000’s music, I was surprised the boys chose those songs AND knew the words. Once we finally arrived at the lodge, we took some much needed showers and headed to bed, not before listening to the new Drake albums though!
Now it is Friday, and we woke up to one of my favorite breakfasts so far: fresh fruit, plantains, cheese, and something wrapped in a banana leaf that tasted similar to pancakes. After breakfast, we started the day by learning how to make clay pots completely from scratch. A woman who had been making pottery this way for decades showed us the process, and even helped us correct our abundant mistakes. After making the pottery, we headed down to the river next to the lodge, where we played in the sand and enjoyed the cool water.
After this, we had lunch, which was absolutely delicious, before heading to a nearby cacao field. there, we watched people from Iyarina cut down cacao pods and cut them open. We even got to try fresh cacao beans which tasted very different from what I expected. Once we returned back to the lodge, we changed into our swimsuits to test out the new swimming poll they had just finished building a few hours before. After spending all day outside, the water felt amazing. Now I am sitting here writing this while waiting for dinner, and later tonight we are celebrating someone’s birthday here at the lodge. Tomorrow is going to be another early day with hiking and trying more chocolate!
