Before my turn of leader of the day started, I was already aware of the task that I was asked to do and also what I was suppose to fulfill. I was told to present my full extent of what i could contribute to my group and I believe I did it pretty well. 🙂

DSC07662To begin the day we started off with a breakfast that was very simple but yet kind of filling. from breakfast, we went to our first activity which was to the mighty chocolate factory. Our group not only got to learn how the chocolate was made but also got to get a taste of it as well. Before all this action started, the history of the cocoa bean was told first.  It was stated that for a cocoa bean to grow, a tree has to be planted first. Of course it does,  but the weird thing would be that its takes up to 6-8 years for the cocoa beans to actually grow. I found that fact quite amazing and very interesting. From there, the group was told that from the process of the cocoa bean, you must first wait until it becomes a yellowish color when it becomes ripe. Then from there, the workers take the cocoa bean and use machines or their own time to form it into the rich chocolate that we all love. The only thing from my whole experience there that I found crazy was the fact that only two women work for the chocolate factory and make 700 bars of chocolate daily. Ridiculous. Moving on, the group and myself bought lots and lots of chocolate for ourselves and our families. So watch out for the candy rush when we return. 🙂 Also we took a beautiful picture in front of a Mural of the Mayan Coffee God, Ykchaua.

As we move on with our day, our next destination was a surprise that just happened to be to a beautiful waterfall.  This place that we visited was called Cascada Blanca which translates into “White Waterfall”. When arrived at the destination, we walked among the “Trail of love”, which is named by its back story of two lovers who were identified as half siblings. The story said that the father of the siblings did not respect the relationship and tried to separate them. The couple knew of what was happening and decided to spend their last day together  sitting on top of the waterfall. Soon, both fell asleep and eventually fell into the water together and were never found. DSC07753The story says that the father is still looking for the couple but is stuck by the waterfall forever and it is said that the lovers live on together in peace. Just the origin of this beautiful story brightened my day greatly. I thank the owner, Victor dela Cascada for sharing this tale. Among the waterfall, the group got a chance to walk behind the waterfall, take beautiful pictures, eat an exquisite, and also get to stick our feet into the cold and refreshing water. We also rubbed our feet with rocks to smoothen them out thanks to Rachel F. Our experience there was ever lasting  and Mrs. Sale, with her yoga skills, left a lasting mark on the Owner, Victor.

To conclude our day, we arrived back at home and ate dinner and had our nightly meeting.  Today was extremely fun and eventful. I believe that not one person had a terrible day today. From my experience of leader of the day and my talks with my Global Glimpse leaders, I have begun to evaluate more of myself mentally and physically. The choices I have made during my day have made me feel more mature and responsible. I really believed I stepped into the shoes of an adult and I will tell you it was the hardest thing in the world. I greatly thank my leaders for brightening my brain with a sense of selflessness. This day really changed my perspective of my choices and I am forever grateful.

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