Chocolate, bananas and bears

I´m starting to think that the Piana family run or own half of Ecuador.... after three days of living it up we were passed on to Camila´s niece who took us to her father´s huge farm which produces bananas for Dole (200,000 boxes a year) and chocolate beans for export. The farm also has an animal refuge which looks after everything from Crocodiles to monkeys.

We started the visit with food- patacones (plantain which has been sliced and fried and tastes better than chips) and cheese made on the farm, washed down with Coco juice made from the seed of the coco plant - very nice but it has a taste i really couldn`t describe! We also had coco jam, made from the seed which tasted a bit like honey and went very well with the cheese!

After much eating we started the tour. Have a look at the pictures...


spot the crocs

banana mania

sucking on a coco seed

the farm

one of the guests at the farm