Day 7 – from Tree to Bar
Ecuador’s great variety of geographies allowed the group to stay in a true cloud forest, in the small community of Mindo. Day 7 started with a mid-point reflective session with the entire cohort at the hotel. Participants shared and discussed their personal reflections on the journey. The transformative impact of the trip quickly became apparent. To conclude the session, gratitude was shared with those at home, who allowed us to have the experience.
After this leadership session, a quick 2-block walk took the group to a local artisan chocolate factory: Yumbos Chocolate. An excursion of the garden with cocoa trees, processing of the cocoa, and a 101-class in different types of chocolate, helped to understand the Tree to Bar process. One of the tastiest tours this week.
The itinerary included an afternoon “on your own”. The cloud forest village proofed not to be a bad location for that, despite the pouring rain. A wide range of activities was offered, from hikes to zip-lining, rafting, canyoning, bird- and butterfly watching, and more. Although at their own expense, nobody hesitated to take this special opportunity to have some fun together. And in some cases, get far outside their comfort zone. Class XI is not afraid of some adventure!
I myself joined a group for a cable car/cloud forest hike. Although soaking wet, we thoroughly enjoyed seeing huge centipedes, toucans, and impressive scenery, under guidance of our Apprentice-guide Mateo. Added benefit: the driver of the pickup truck who got us to our destination, shared photos about his fishing hobby. His favorite fish is found in a local river, and called lisa. I’ve been told lisa are full of bones, and has little meat. We did not try.
Grateful for an active, reflective day with an adventurous bunch.
Submitted by Olga Brouwer, Executive Director MARL
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