We wake up and pack up our gear as we are leaving Cusco
today. We walk to the Choco Museum to
have our workshop. We learn about where
the coca beans grown and what environment they need to grow in. We then get to try a coca bean to see what
100% chocolate tastes like. It is very
bitter and is not a nice taste at all.
We then get to roast the beans.
It smells amazing. We then taste
the beans again and suddenly they taste really nice. We also get to make coca tea and hot
chocolate with the beans. It is very
nice. After this we grind the beans and
it turns into a paste. This combined
with milk is what makes milk chocolate.
We then get some moulds and we get to make our chocolate. I make chocolate with nuts, m&m’s,
coconut and oreo’s.
As we were doing the workshop, the kitchen was very hot. Towards the end of the workshop, Ann start to feel sick and sits outside on the deck for a while. Ann tells me the main chocolate maker sees that she is not feeling well and brings her a special cup of coca tea with something special in it to make me feel better. I think it worked, or the fresh air after the workshop probably helped aswell. We then have a final look around for the souvenirs. I buy a postcard to send home, and we both buy a book about Machu Picchu. I also buy a pack of cards with various pictures of Peruvian ruins. I thought I was buying a pack of cards with pictures from Machu Picchu, the front of the pack fooled me a bit. Not to work, there are still some good photos on the cards and if I was desperate for some Machu Picchu cards I am sure I can get the gorse out of my pockets and pay the extra 8 Soles (NZ$4). We then walk back to the hostel to pick up our gear for the night bus to Arequipa. We are leaving Cusco at 8pm. We take a taxi to the bus station. When we board the bus, a man comes in with a video camera and records our faces for security purposes. It is quiet strange but also a bit of a security comfort that they do this. Also before we boarded the bus, our bags were scanned and searched, and we were also searched using the metal detector. It was like boarding a plane. Once again, I felt reassured about all the security measures taking place. During this bus ride we get a hot meal. I have ordered the carne (beef) meal, it is delicious! I am very surprised at how good it is, especially for bus food! We also get potato salad, a piece of cake and an Inca Kola drink (Peruvian fizzy drink, tastes very similar to Ice Cream Soda, it is very nice) to go with it. I eventually fall asleep for the night, having a Cama bus (seats recline to 160 degrees) certainly helps with the bus sleeping.
As we were doing the workshop, the kitchen was very hot. Towards the end of the workshop, Ann start to feel sick and sits outside on the deck for a while. Ann tells me the main chocolate maker sees that she is not feeling well and brings her a special cup of coca tea with something special in it to make me feel better. I think it worked, or the fresh air after the workshop probably helped aswell. We then have a final look around for the souvenirs. I buy a postcard to send home, and we both buy a book about Machu Picchu. I also buy a pack of cards with various pictures of Peruvian ruins. I thought I was buying a pack of cards with pictures from Machu Picchu, the front of the pack fooled me a bit. Not to work, there are still some good photos on the cards and if I was desperate for some Machu Picchu cards I am sure I can get the gorse out of my pockets and pay the extra 8 Soles (NZ$4). We then walk back to the hostel to pick up our gear for the night bus to Arequipa. We are leaving Cusco at 8pm. We take a taxi to the bus station. When we board the bus, a man comes in with a video camera and records our faces for security purposes. It is quiet strange but also a bit of a security comfort that they do this. Also before we boarded the bus, our bags were scanned and searched, and we were also searched using the metal detector. It was like boarding a plane. Once again, I felt reassured about all the security measures taking place. During this bus ride we get a hot meal. I have ordered the carne (beef) meal, it is delicious! I am very surprised at how good it is, especially for bus food! We also get potato salad, a piece of cake and an Inca Kola drink (Peruvian fizzy drink, tastes very similar to Ice Cream Soda, it is very nice) to go with it. I eventually fall asleep for the night, having a Cama bus (seats recline to 160 degrees) certainly helps with the bus sleeping.
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