The second best day

Day 4 (Tuesday) was almost the best day for me so far. We had a choice between a hike or surfing lessons. I chose surfing lessons.  We had been introduced to King the day before and he was taking us black beach. King is not his real name but everyone calls him that because he is the best in the town at catching King fish with only a hand line...no rod or reel. We met up with our surfing instructor, Christian, and started our lessons. I got as far as sitting up on my knees to ride the wave in but it was still a blast!

We rested for a bit after surfing and it was off to see the BriBri people. The BriBri are an indigenous tribe and have their own dialect. They are also known most for their chocolate. First we took a tour on a little trail to learn the different uses for the local plants. We saw what plants they make their makeup, rope, shampoo, jewelry, glue and rubber from. Next we headed to location where they make their chocolate. They fed us dinner in bowls made of banana leaves. There was chicken, yucca, pumpkin, potato (I think) and another type of vegetable I couldn't identify. We also had lime water and we got to drink corn whiskey (also amazing). Next we learned a little bit more about the medicines and then we moved on to the chocolate. We tried the fresh seeds from the fruit they make the chocolate from. The fruit is more like citrus and they boil the seeds to make the chocolate. We tried chocolate with different favors. Salt, butter, pepper, vanilla, strawberry, cinnamon (my fav), almonds, peanuts, jalapeño and a few other favors. Just like everything else it was amazing. We then went out to the little hut where they crush the seeds to make the chocolate. It's basically two large rocks that have been used so much they have become a large mortar and pestle.

 As of Tuesday it was the best day of the trip for me. It only got better tho and the next few days would be more awesome than I could imagine.