Before Riobamba, we stopped in Pinchincha an Inca and Canary archaeological site. After the Incas took over the Canary village, they lived together in peace until a Canary uprising, evidence of this is found at the burial site of a Canary Princess. The site is in perfect alignment with the moon during the month of October. The shape of the entire village makes the shape of a Puma, rooms include warrior bedrooms, shamans, kitchens, storage rooms and two temples for the moon and sun. As we were leaving, we started discussing the increasing farmland and multistory homes that are causing major landslides.
On the road, Diego informed us of the tradition of cloud making which is burning or sacrificing to the gods to ask for rain. However, the tradition has made the soil extremely acidic and the fire pollutes the air. We also took a trip to the oldest Catholic Church in Ecuador, which was built in 1534.
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Day 9: After driving to Cuenca the night before, we rested in our hotel rooms until 9 AM the next morning. Hotel Victoria was beautiful and their food was amazing! After breakfast we went on a bus tour of the city. While on the road we learned of the high ex-pat population of over 10,000 individuals from countries such as the United States, Venezuela and Columbia. Yet as more people move into the city, the municipality is trying to reduce the expansion size both upward, skyscrapers, and outward, mountain homes.
After the factory, we continued our tour around the city. We noticed large Eucalyptus trees that covered the area. In an attempt to restore Ecuador's environment and boost the economy, farmers were given Eucalyptus to grow for timber production. However the project failed and since then, Eucalyptus has grown out of control and has since become an invasive species.
After a particularly powerful El Nino event during 1997, many farmers began to switch from their national cacao plant (Arriba Nacional) to the genetically modified cacao, CCN-51. Despite the fact that CCN-51 has a greater survivorship rate and is resistant to common fungi, professional chocolate makers do not like CCN- 51 as the taste is not as flavorful as Arriba Nacional. Chocolate makers such as the Ecuadorian Native company, Pancari has gone as far as paying three times the amount per bag of cacao in hopes to increase the growth rate of Arriba Nacional. However, cacao farmers are continuing to switch to CCN-51 for a more reliable crop. Source: https://thechocolatejournalist.com/good-bad-ugly-cacao-ccn-51/
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ExperienceThrough Stockton University, I traveled to Ecuador where I studied Biodiversity, |