My time in Ecuador has been incredible.  My favorite experiences have been being able to learn about the supply chain of chocolate and roses in an interactive way, which I much prefer to just reading about it.  We had our first site visit at Jet Fresh Flower Growers, a boutique rose farm. They not only had adorable dogs running around but took us through acres of their different rose varieties.  Other than the natural rose colors we’re used to seeing, they also sell hippy psychedelic roses. These color-enhanced flowers are airbrushed and dyed and are very bright and colorful. It was interesting to see the intricate process on how they prepare the roses for shipping. They were so welcoming . They gave us each a rose with “University of Pittsburgh” stamped on it and a bunch of Ecuadorian snacks to try. 

We’ve also heard from many chocolate companies ranging from those who are responsible for growing the cacao to those that actually make and sell the chocolate. We were even able to take a short walk from our lodge to harvest cacao pods ourselves! The entire inside is full of seeds covered in a fruity texture. You can take each pod and eat that fruit before saving the seed to make chocolate. Later on, an expert came in to take cacao seeds and make chocolate with them. We roasted them over a fire, crushed them into powder, mixed it with the other ingredients over the fire again, and had it with bananas. It was really interesting to see a simplified version of how chocolate is made.

The biggest adaptation I’ve had to make was when we stayed in the “Iyarina extension” lodge. Since it’s located on the outskirts of the Amazon rainforest, we had no service or electricity. It wasn’t too tough for me to go without phone service but having no electricity was difficult. We had to rely on our phone flashlights after 5pm when the sun set, but since that would attract bugs, I did most things without light like showering or brushing my teeth in the dark. It was interesting to see, however, how the people who lived there adapt to having no electricity. They melted candles on the wooden table and lit them so we had some light to eat. I think they were also just used to their nights being like this and I came to realize as well that I really don’t need electricity for much. Also, a huge plus for the lack of electricity was the lack of light pollution. It provided the most beautiful night sky I had ever seen. As we were canoeing down the river, it felt like I was in a ginormous planetarium. The stars were so bright.