Day 5 - Chocolate Farm

 Chocolate Farm


First, we arrived at Two Little Monkeys Cocoa Farm where we learned about the importance of planting trees and conserving the rainforest. We proceeded to each build our own tree. 

    Then, we hiked to a nearby river where we swam before lunch. We underestimated our water-walking abilities due to multiple falls, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the wonderful views.    

    We ate a local lunch and celebrated one of the employees' birthdays with delicious cake.   

    We learned the history of cocoa nibs and the process of making chocolate. We tasted "warrior juice" which consisted of water, cocoa, allspice, and cayenne. It was definitely NOT a fan favorite, but we learned it is good for the immune system. We also drank the hot chocolate we made which consisted of milk, sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa.  
    Next, we got creative and made little chocolates from milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and/or white chocolate.  We also got to include almonds, sprinkles, coffee, cinnamon, or coconut. 

    





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Countdown to Costa Rica Begins

Image
  The Countdown to Costa Rica Begins   As we eagerly await our 9-day trip to Costa Rica, we continue to prepare over the next week before leaving on January 20. Each morning, we attend a class called "Pura Vida" in which we learn all about the country of Costa Rica. In addition, we have ramped up our physical training in the gym as we prepare to play against four local teams. We look forward to exploring Costa Rica's top three cities including La Fortuna, San José, and Jacó. In these cities, we have the opportunity to zip line, take surfing lessons, navigate local supermarkets, plant trees, and organize volleyball clinics. We are excited to immerse ourselves in the culture of the pure life paradise, create memories for life, and strengthen relationships with teammates. Stay tuned as we log every part of our journey!  
Read more

Day 2 - Go, Go, Go!

Image
 Go, Go, Go!     Started the day off right with a pit-stop at a local coffee shop to see what all the hype is about Costa Rican coffee. We can conclude their coffee lives up to it for sure!      Next, we volunteered at this organization where we were able to learn about the history behind how it originated and is now impacting families around Central America. We toured their facility, played multiple outdoor games with the kids, and ended with a hearty meal at a local restaurant.       We made a quick pit-stop at a local supermarket to gather up some snacks and sweet treats... AND quickly discovered that glass-bottled Coke were thrown into plastic bags to drink.      $2.61 for ALL of these snacks. YES please! Currency is crazy sometimes.           For our final afternoon fun, we spent time at a private high school with some younger kiddos and then with high school players. We ran volleyball dr...
Read more

Day 4 - Road to La Fortuna

Image
 La Fortuna     Today, we made our way to the outskirts of Quesada. We survived a 3-hour bus ride on the winding roads, but the views were worth it. We drove through what is known as a cloud forest.        We stopped halfway to Quesada and walked around for a half hour in a small town. We took lots of pictures in the town center before heading on the road again.      Ellie and Sydney had to take down a large (NOT actually so large) spider on the bus. We tried to use a leftover coffee cup, but the spider won.         Our lunch consisted of a buffet-style meal and a sweet treat at Pops Heladeria. The favored flavor was coffee by a long shot.      Once we arrived at Termales de Bosque (which means Hot Springs of the Forest), we admired the views before heading to coach at a nearby volleyball clinic. Most of the kids didn't speak English at this clinic so we had to get creative with communication. This...
Read more