Every day on this trip has been more exciting and better than the last! Today (5/16/26) was by far my favorite! We woke up at 7:30 and got breakfast at the meeting house at the lodge. We ate the most delicious French toast and fruit. The best fruit I have ever eaten is here at the lodge. It tastes so fresh and sweet!
After breakfast, I got ready for the water hike. I did not know what to expect because all Skip and Rick told us was that we would be getting wet. They did not specify how much. We put on our knee-high rubber boots and drove to the beginning of the hike. At first, we were just walking through an overgrown path until we eventually hit a river. This is when the fun started.
We walked into the river with our rubber boots on, and I immediately felt the water filling them up to my ankles. This was just the beginning. It was not long before I was swimming against the current in the river. I most definitely got my workout in for today. We saw 3 waterfalls in total. The first one was my favorite because we were able to climb up it. This hike was absolutely incredible. I loved being immersed in nature to that level.
After the water hike, we made sure to shower to get all of the dirt and clay we rubbed on ourselves off. As fun as the hike was, I definitely got dirty and scraped up. After my refreshing shower, we had lunch. We ate rice and chicken with fresh watermelon. The meals at the lodge are incredible. I need their recipe book ASAP. We FINALLY had downtime after lunch to relax. I laid in a hammock and listened to the rainfall around me. It was the most soothing sound ever.
We had another chocolate tasting at 3 pm, so I made sure to arrive at the meeting house in time to avoid missing it. We tried a few different chocolates by the brand Kallari. They were so rich and delicious. I will never get tired of these chocolate tastings. We had some more downtime because tomorrow is our 7-hour canoe ride, so we need to rest in preparation. We ate dinner as a group (steak and potatoes) and listened to a presentation by Skip about the chocolate industry. It was very informative, and I learned that a cocoa flower is pollinated by an insect called a midge!
