To start off the day, we had breakfast and then joined back in the common area at the lodge for a lesson on chocolate making! We had a great guide come and show us his process of turning roasted beans into melted chocolate which was a super cool experience to see up close. Then I took a pit stop at the hammocks before taking a short nap after our long travel day! Then we went and painted our pottery (which now looking back at it, lots of them didn’t survive:( but the experience was great!) Then we went back and finished up our promotional video before dinner, which we had steak tacos which were super good!! Then to finish off our day, we took taxis into Tena and had an awesome last night out with our amazing group!

Then on Thursday, after breakfast, we headed to a cacao farm and chocolate factory called Wayta where we learned about the fermentation and drying process, which we hadn’t seen yet! It was pouring rain which was a bit sad, but the tour was still really cool and informational. When we returned to the lodge, we had a night of dancing with a live band and the staff of Iyarina.

Our last travel day was definitely not as expected… there were a few landslides and our bus got a bit delayed, but we got to the airport in plenty of time to spare! Before we left, we had a great conversation with Ellie about how to start up a small chocolate business in Iyarina in the current state of economics. It was very informational and definitely gave her plenty of ideas for her future!