Here in Tena, that is. So, I know, again, this will so surprise everyone, but after about two hours frantically trying to reach Carlos on Monday morning to see if it was okay for me to come to Tena on Tuesday with Cesar and Eva instead of Monday, he finally answered the phone (actually one of them - I´d been calling two back and forth, left one message, and sent a couple of emails starting the night before). He answers, I tell him it´s me, he´s like "hi". I ask if he´s gotten any of my messages, he says yes, and nothing more. I launch into an explanation of why I want to come tomorrow with those guys (more safe, I have no phone, etc.) and he´s like "fine." I really have to get out of this whole American idea of thinking things that are arranged are actually arranged or that anyone expects anything. Yeah, I know.
Henry had already left that morning not knowing if I was staying or going, so after his meeting he came back and we had some snacks and updated our blogs : ) (that´s why you all got all those pictures).
We headed out to meet his friend Emilia for lunch at that same restaurant, Indochine. She also brought her friend Oliver. We had another decent enough meal and Emi got to meet Octavio (she went to culinary school and is just back in the country and looking for work, so this was very good - I´ve only been here a week, but I´m a damn connected networker already!!) I met Octavio´s business partner and chatted with him for a while - he´s half Vietnamese and half Irish and grew up mostly in Virginia in the DC area. Have I mentioned in the last day or two how ridiculously small the world is here??
After lunch we went with Emi to get a tattoo (for her that is, not for anyone else). And then Henry went off to class so Oli, Emi, and I went to the indigenous market in town where we ran into Oli´s business partner so he ditched and I bought a bag cuz the one I´d borrowed from Henry that day was bleeding on my shirt : (
Then Emi and I went food shopping (including grabbing chocolate from Kallari, so Emi also got to meet them and may come help in the kitchen there - I told you, I´m good!!) so we could cook dinner and Jazz and Henry would come by later. Went to Emi´s place - she lives with her dad right now and Jazz designed the house, and it is really incredible. So many walls of glass, I really want to see it during the day.
So we cooked and baked (Grandpa Lester´s lace cookies with Kallari chocolate on top - a test run for the cafe) and what was supposed to be a quinoa risotto, but just became quinoa because it got insanely late, and some roasted root veggies, and some sauteed ones to go with the quinoa, which we topped with a balsamic glaze and walnuts. Those guys also had steak : )
Finally got home around 12:30 and went to bed!!
Next morning got up early cuz was supposed to meet Eva and Cesar at 8:30 to bus to Tena at 9. Of course, they were late, but only a bit and instead we spent 2 1/2 hours waiting for these chicks from the UK who apparently got locked out of their hostel or something. Thankfully, they turned out to be really cool or the bus ride would have been a bit unpleasant.
Got on an 11:00 bus
 
(on the road to Tena)
and were making good time until . . . . can you guess Kim???? Roadblock! Construction in the middle of a bridge. At least, unlike in Guatemala, they were actually doing work!!  Go figure!! But, we still had guys show up with snacks and drinks to sell (they materialize out of the ether I swear!! and that turned out to be good since we were all a little chompy as my brother would say, so the homemade potato chips and pocorn were a nice diversion during the 30 minutes that we waited (much better than the return from Chichi, no?) (my favorite part of the roadblock. anyone notice anything wrong with this picture - granted understanding a little spanish will be helpful . . . )
made it the rest of the way without any other complications.
 Arriving in Tena
Even called Carlos with Cesar´s phone to tell him I was arriving, and he even answered on just the second call!!
We all went to a restaurant when we arrived (around 4:15) and I called Carlos again to tell him where to get me. We had lunch, crappy service (I mean really, I´m pretty flexible, but a utensil is really helpful with a fried egg and rice, dontcha think??). Plus when I tried to pay for a $2.50 meal with a $5, and the woman didn´t have change, while I was trying to see if I had something smaller the bitchy waitress was like "dos (2)" yeah, thanks honey, I´m definitely that stupid and didn´t just order my meal from you in Spanish or anything (including a whole conversation about something I might eat that would actually be vegetarian).
Anyway, Edison came to get me. We hung out for a bit to say bye to Cesar who´d gone off to get provisions for their trip (the rest of the folks were heading into the rainforest for a few days) and then we went to the Kallari office, where Carlos and the rest were in the midst of an all day meeting. He explained a bit about me, they seem to really be banking on my truffle-making experience - YIKES - have really only done that a few times, and never at altitude. gonna get interesting around here soon. I may get run out of Ecuador in a shower of poorly set truffles!!
Then Edison took me to Carlos´place -
 
(Carlos' home and the view from his porch - of our taxi)
where I am staying and we waited for Carlos to return. Had no idea how long he´d be or what else I could do since I didn´t want to miss him and still had no phone. Finally, around 7:30 he came home. Told me - no way - that he had to go back to Quito the next day, so we´d be heading to Salinas only on Thursday. He was at least apologetic and also asked me about how things were going in Quito. I do like him, he´s just hard to figure out. Figured out that Edison would take me with him on Wednesday, to bag the dried and fermented chocolate. Also looked at some chocolate cookbooks - Carlos wanted to show me one of the good ones they have.
After that, Carlos disappeared, Edison left, and I was left totally confused (ma nish tana ha laylah hazeh, mikol haleylot? right? what makes tonight different from all other nights??) about 20 minutes later, Carlos reemerged and said something about making dinner. I seized the opportunity to ask him every question I could think of. when was he leaving and coming back? when were we leaving? how long would we be in salinas? how about a key? the phone? anything else?? It seems you really have to jump on any chance for information, so I keep trying.
Then he said he´d be back in a minute and went and bought us dinner from a little spot across the street. Tilapia cooked wrapped in a leaf and some yuca and some onion and tomato salad. Said it was typical of here and hoped I´d like it. So, we ate and chatted a bit. He went off to see his sister and neice and I wrote in my journal.
Eventually he came back and decided to sit and rest a bit out on the porch with me, so we talked some more about family, my job, Kallari. I was initially thinking some of all this confusion was that he is young. But, apparently, he´s 30, so not so much. Anyway, I went to bed, he got ready, and headed out for a 2am bus to Quito.
Got up this morning (after being awakened around 3:15 by loud music, lots of people walking around and what sounded like someone on the porch - finally got back to sleep after that). Discovered there was no water in the sink in the kitchen. No water in the sink in the bathroom - which, by the way is outside the house of course, a little concrete cabin with a sink, toilet and shower head all in about 4 sq. ft - and the only place with some water was a hose. so, I went back, grabbed my shampoo and soap and propped the hose over the door in the bathroom and proceeded to attempt to shower with the small trickle coming out of the hose. Henry, are you sure you want to visit me when I´m here??
After that adventure, I got dressed and headed out to meet Edison at a restaurant on the main strip. Got in a little early so stopped to email mom and tell her I had arrived in one piece. Had some breakfast with Edison, added minutes to the phone Carlos finally gave me, bought some water and grabbed a cab to the cacao production area and picked up Louis along the way (Another Kallari employee).
 
So, the three of us bagged cacao into 125 lb bags. I think they were a little surprised when I said I wanted to help not just watch. It was pretty cool and the smell is amazing, sort of chocolately, sort of earthy, hard to describe. But I loved it. Edison explained some more of the storage, drying, and fermenting process to me,
(where the cacao is fermented, the beans spend a few days fermenting in the top boxes, then they are dropped to the next level, then the next)
 (where the cacao is dried after it is fermented; it drops to here from the bottom level of the wooden boxes)
and then (after a lot of sweeping up) we started walking back to town.
About halfway we stopped to hail the bus.
Got off the bus at the central market so I could see all the cool produce.
(medicinal herbs)
We wound up passing a place where they were also bagging cacao. A middle man operation. We went in (were invited) and Edison grabbed a few beans, even to my novice eyes it was clear how much better quality the beans from Kallari are. That was pretty cool. After the market, Edison left me and I´ve been internetting since then (of course an adventure to actually find Skype to talk to my mom - one woman told me they had it and after I checked multiple computers, she was like, what is that thing you´re talking about. Que Bueno!)
So, that´s my story for now. Gonna wander a bit then probably meet back up wtih Edison for dinner and maybe to go to a bar later. Of to Salinas at 8 tomorrow morning. Not sure when I´ll be able to add the pictures for these few days, so check back. I will have internet in Salinas (where I´ll probably be for 8 days making chocolate). will be in touch . . . .
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