Day 5

Hey everyone, Tyler and Marielle here!

We started off our day bright and early to visit the Pacari chocolate farm, which was a 3 hour bus ride. Upon arrival, our tour guide led us on a quick hike through the Chacra forest to see plants of many different kinds, including cacao trees, lemon grass, cinnamon, and even pineapple! Our tour guide even cut open fresh cacao for us to try. After our hike, our group enjoyed a delicious meal consisting of fresh tilapia, palm hearts, plantains, and cassava. The food was delicious! For a sweet treat, we were served a chocolate mousse that was made from the cacao nibs at the farm.

After our meal, we were able to see how cacao is harvested, processed, and made. It begins first with harvesting the cacao, sorting it, heating it up on a plate, and then crushing it into a fine powder. Then, it is mixed with sugar, milk, or another liquid to make it dairy-free. We were able to try this fresh cacao accompanied by plantains for another sweet treat. After our tour ended, we drove back to Quito with wonderful views of the cloud forest to enjoy our last meal in the city before heading to the Galapagos bright and early tomorrow. We cannot wait to finally be on the islands!











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