Peruvian Chocolate & Colombian Dungeons

Having a blast at ChocoMuseo with our chocolate chef!

Verse of the Day: "His life is the light that shines through the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it" -John 1:5

Somehow the last day of our time here in Peru has come all too quickly.  Today was another relaxing day in Cusco as we got ready to begin our journey back to the states this afternoon.  Our final stop was an exciting one tho as we headed over to Cusco’s ChocoMuseo, a little chocolate museum and factory where we all got to make our own chocolate!  They started by showing us how the entire process worked and the different steps it takes to get from the cocoa bean to the liquid pure dark chocolate.  We even got to try peeling a roasted cocoa bean and eat the insides at their purest form (a tad bitter…needs some sugar for sure).  We then picked out our molds and chose from many different additives and fillings to make our chocolates our own.  They ranged from milk powder for making it into milk chocolate to oreos to nuts to coffee beans to mint to sprinkles and the list goes on.  We were excited by all our options and had a blast trying to perfect pouring just the right amount of chocolatey goodness into the molds while still leaving room for other goodies and somehow not making a mess.  Afterwards we got to try cocoa tea which was fantastic! Virtually no calories and tastes just like hot chocolate! 

Just for fun, here are a few fun facts and myths we learned while here:

Fun Facts about Cocoa Beans:

Making our own chocolate!

1. When used via cocoa butter, it is used in suppositories
2. They have an anti-depressant effect
3. They are an aphrodisiac
4. They can actually prevent tooth decay (it's the sugar they add to the chocolate we eat that can then cause tooth decay)
5. Cocoa Tea has 0 calories and tastes just like hot chocolate
6. According to a study done, men who eat chocolate live a year longer due to the antioxidants keeping the arteries elastic.  (Dr H-J, feel free to EBP that one if you’d like ;-)

Common myth-busters about chocolate:

1. It does NOT cause acne
2. It does NOT contain caffeine

Peruvian McDonald's in prep for our return to the USA

In our lil "columbian dungeon"

On our way to the airport we stopped at McDonald’s as a bit of pre-USA prep.  It was pretty much the same as in the U.S. except you would order a McPollo instead of a McChicken and they had these sweet Twix McFlurries (are these even in the states anywhere or have we just been gone too long?).  Upon arriving to the tiny Cusco airport we all learned a tad of patience as our airline was having difficulty processing all its passengers in a timely fashion.  We didn’t end up arriving to our gate until 10 minutes before we were supposed to take off, but as all things always work out there was no need to rush…the plane wasn’t even there yet, haha.  We made it safely to a 4 hour layover in Lima and then on to an 8 hour layover in Colombia.  Life without adventures wouldn’t be much fun.  As such, upon arriving to Colombia at 2am we were not allowed to go to our connecting gate to sleep and instead were ushered downstairs to this little empty room where they shut us all in with others already sleeping on the floor.  It was pretty much more like a dungeon than anything else, haha.  We later found out they were fumigating the airport so that's why we were "locked away"…what spectacular timing we have.  If we had to use the bathroom they would quickly usher us out and then be knocking on the stall door within 30 seconds saying “rapido, rapido” while holding their noses from the fumigation.  Next stop is the USA!  We are excited to be reunited with friends, family, and spouses (in Nate & Mary’s case)!

We have all been so blessed to have this opportunity to serve the people here in Peru and have been each touched in different ways.  Thanks to all our followers and supporters for your faithful prayers and encouragement that made this trip possible!  Through your prayerful support you were just as much a part of all God did down here as those physically serving here!

 

Becca