After having our tour of the ATM canceled because of flooding AND an eventful break down of our rental car we spent our last day in San Ignacio touring a chocolate making place and eating at our favorite restaurant, Pops, one last time.
The whole country of Belize has the most colorful houses. They put the painted ladies of San Francisco to shame!
Because we were waiting for a "new" rental car to be delivered to us we walked around San Ignacio. It was interesting to be in the town and experiencing the culture.
The chocolate making tour was the most interesting thing! They make chocolate in the traditional Mayan way. We learned how the pods are harvested off of the trunk or large branches of a coco tree, not off the ends of branches like a fruit tree we would see in the US. We learned how the beans are removed and put in jars to ferment. We got to smell the fermenting beans and wow, it was gross. They told us about how the juice from the fermentation is used to make vinegar and wine. Then the beans are dried and roasted. Once they are roasted they are cracked and the coco nibs are available. You can eat the nibs. Then the nibs are ground into a paste. Mayans used this paste to make the first hot chocolate drink which was more like a coffee drink than the sweet coco we like today.
It was a great way to end our last day in San Ignacio and the adventure part of our trip. The rain was heavy and warm. We were ready to head to the coast and start the vacation part of our trip.
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