THE LOVE OF CHOCOLATE.

Ecuador is one of the biggest producers of cacao and delicious chocolates,

but Pacari Chocolate has taken the concept of chocolate to a higher level.

They have created a line of premium organic chocolates with the finest ingredients.

I must admit I think I have tried them all, and each one is more flavorful than the next.

My favorite are the cacao chocolate covered nibs, mmmm they are delicious.

Jewelry cruises the Amazon in luxury.

Everyone has fallen in love with the luxury cruise adventures by Aqua Expeditions,

so it is no surprise that they are launching a new vessel called the Aria.

I am so looking forward to traveling down the amazon in the 147-foot-long

luxury cruise ship, to be launched this April 2011. It offers an extraordinary

level of comfort while navigating on the northern Amazon River in Peru.

I just finished a wide selection of new jewelry designs that will be showcased

on the Aria boutique. My designs have been showcased on the Aqua, so I am really

looking forward to this wonderful opportunity on the Aria. I wish my dear friends

Francesco & Birgit the best on this endeavour and know it will be a great success.

ECUADOR DE LA SIERRA AL ORIENTE

Traveling from the Andes Mountains down to the jungle in 4 days.

Day One.

We drove from Quito toward La Cienega an old colonial style hacienda that has been turned into one of the most visited high-end Hotels. The magnificent road to the main entrance is lined with huge eucalyptus trees leading into a beautiful colonial building.

I have fond memories of this hacienda, we came here a lot when I was little.

More coming soon...

Adventures in Mexico-Pura Playa.

Went to Puerto Peñasco this weekend and visited all the beautiful beach resorts and gorgeous beaches. My favorite beach was Tesoro-it's the corner where the ocean seeps into the land creating various small lakes. The sand is soft and you can walk for miles, very peaceful and magical.

DISCOVERING THE UNIQUE RAINFOREST

Traveling to the coast, we passed a small farm of exotic fruits and unique palm trees. We got to savour raw cacao beans and also pick our own tagua pods that would later be designed into spectacular jewelry for the show.

Here are some images I uploaded to my flicker site.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurajewelrydesigns/sets/72157623693269164/

Shells and more shells.

Fabulous sterling silver rings

enhancing these unique hand picked shells.

Perfect for summer.