Chocolate Dreams and City Fumes

Let me tell you about Chocolate Bob.
Originally from Phoenix, Arizona Bob's lived in Guatemala around 30 years and in Antigua for 2 of those years. He started off his chocolate business with coconut-carmelized honey covered in chocolate. Today he sells fine chocolates in many cafes around Antigua. (Like Y Tu Pina Tambien - that means "and your pineapple also" - there are some fun names down here!)

I learned more about chocolate in the hour or two spent with Bob than I ever knew.

Apparently Chocolate comes from a fruit.
The Cacao tree makes these giant papaya-looking fruits.
Kind of like a pomegranate a bunch of seeds are inside encased in this sweet, juicy, flesh (we ate that part!).
You let these seeds ferment and dry out and then your roast them.
The process gets a lot more complicated after this...

When David and I first walked into his small chocolate factory a giant wheel spinning in a bowl brimming with melting chocolate caught my attention. Feeling cooler than Charlie in the Chocolate Factory we sat down with Bob to learn more about his Chocolate passions and share mugs of the best hot chocolate I've ever had.

According to Bob, chocolate is a science. He's kind of inspired me to grow cacao trees in my bedroom - except I don't really have a bedroom.

All that to say, the folks here in Antigua are extremely friendly, and a lot of them love what they do.

Like Alex, the guy selling flutes in the park yesterday... I was drawing a nearby horse and carriage. When he came up, wanting to sell me a flute I can't play. After a few "no gracias" he sat down and talked. He got around to asking me what kind of pencil I'd need to draw people.
"It depends."
"On how dark their skin is?"
He wanted me to draw a picture of him - I didn't get that until he asked how much he'd have to pay me.
"Nada- Necessito a practicar - dibujas y espanol."
It was great practice for me and a funny experience for us both - tourists would walk by and stare, another artist came over to watch for a bit, and an older saleswoman came up just in time for a joke. He was a funny guy, and at the end took a friendship bracelet off of his wrist and tied it onto mine.
"So you won't forget me, Alicia."