Our last day in mainland Ecuador

Today was a leisurely day.  The kids had the choice this morning of going on a short hike along a river starting at 7:30, sleeping in, or spending some more time in the hot springs.  Most of them opted for sleeping in.

We departed the hot springs around 10 a.m. and made our way back to Quito where we quickly checked into the hotel, grabbed laundry that needed to be done and headed to the laundromat to drop off clothes and then to lunch.

After lunch we had a little bit of time before heading to the chocolate factory, so we went to a local market to shop for about 30 minutes.

At the Pacari Chocolate offices where we learned about cacao and how chocolate is made.  Pacari still uses the old fashion techniques.  We learned about the different types of chocolates and their percentages of cacao and how chocolate is judged - shiny or matte, color, smell, snap, taste and after taste.  Pacari makes several different flavors that we got to try - including lemongrass, mint, goldenberry, passion fruit and different cacao percentages.  Needless to say, we have .all become chocolate snobs, sorry Hersey's.  At the end of our visit, we all got a small gift of bite sized chocolate to take home.

After the chocolate tasting, we went back to the market for last minute shopping before dinner.  Laundry was delivered back at the hotel, suitcases weighed and children tucked for our 4 a.m. departure tomorrow to start our adventure in the Galapagos.