29 Jul 2025
I signed up for this fantastic experience for the nature part of the day - but was equally enthralled by the tour of the Cacao farm. This was an excellent experience - The English-speaking Guide, Simon, who grew up in the area, has profound knowledge the environment (in all its aspects) and people. The walk through the dry forest accompanied by howler monkey calls was enhanced by Simon's ability to explain relationships between plants and animals (mammal, bird, reptile, insects) of all kinds. His tour around the farm provides an interesting overview of cacao production from planting/grafting to processing, including making your own hot drink and chocolate bar (the latter by Don Alberto). A small cacao souvenir shop allows you to bring some of this experience home for you and/or others. The tour company, Viasam, were amazing. They made early contact to check on my dietary preferences (I'm a vegetarian) and a delicious lunch with Ecuadorian ingredients/recipes, many grown on the farm, were included. They were flexible / agile in their adjustments to ensure I got to see as many of the areas around Guayaquil as possible in the few days I had here.