Mindo

Mindo, or cloud forest, was our final destination for the weekend.

On the drive over, I realized how befitting of a name "cloud forest" is for the area. We drove along mountains that were covered with trees. At one point, I looked out the window and found myself face to face with the clouds. So forest? check! clouds? check. I could wax poetic about how beautiful the clouds are when they seem to settle in the trees and you are so high up you can walk through them, but I will spare you.

Mindo is similar to Banos in that people visit in pursuit of more active adventures (rafting, canyoning, tubing, horseback riding etc). However, after the weekend we had in Banos, we were all more than happy to stick to land bound activities. So, the first order of business when we arrived was to find a hostel. The driver took us to a sketchy street and the building he led us to looked like a garage. I know we arent going to live in the lap of luxury and I don't mind roughing it but I am SO not ok with staying in a place that looks like a prop from a horror film. Fortunately, Hope to the rescue. I had done research on hostel.com and had a list of highly reviewed hostels. I promptly handed my list over to the driver (it had both names and addresses of the buildings) and I asked him to take us to the one on the top of my list. He asked around town and we were driven to a street right off of the main road, to a hostel that had cute rooms and a communal living space with a hammock and computer. Plus free wifi which is a hot commodity in south america. Not to toot my own horn but I was pretty proud that I saved us from a hellhole. Three cheers for hope! aaaaand moving along...

We went out to dinner at a place on the main street that looked pretty popular. This is how we assess restaurants here. No clients=no good food. Lots of locals=safe. The nine of us got dinner and everyone had great dishes. I got steamed tilapia, jess got a salad (she trusts the lettuce..I am not on her level) and other people got sandwiches of various varieties. I am only mentioning the food because when the bill arrived it came to a whopping $25. For nine people. Including drinks and tax. I thought it was amusing because sometimes in america I spend more than $30 on dinner just for me. It is at times like this that I am reminded that I am in a third world country.

After dinner we went back to the hostel and played cards for a bit. Then bedtime so we could be up for breakfast at 8 (which was included in our $13 hostel fee..again ten points for Hope!) We decided to do the zipline because, while our feet would not be firmly on the ground, I would not end up in a river or stuck under a boat and it seemed like a safe option. I began to rethink our plan when I was tethered to a rope 500 meters off the ground. I had been ziplining before in St. Lucia but these ropes were much longer and the last one, being 1500 feet off the ground, was by far the highest line I have ever done. I was nervous on the first line but after the first few I started to get the hang of it. The group had a great time and there were some amazing pictures (Including one of me on the line, with my legs around the guide so I could go superman style...I will post pix).

We headed back to Quito so we could be back for dinner time. My friend Beth has a fever and needed to get back her to get meds and go to bed. I lost my voice and have had a bit of a cough (no asthma symptoms though and yes I have been using my advair mommala..Just in case) so to be on the safe side I am going to take it easy tomorrow instead of going to clinic. I think I just need a day to rest.

Thats all for now, talk to you all soon. PS T-6 days until my 10k in Quito. I think I am used to the altitude (and have been biking for an hour almost daily at the gym) but I am going to try running this week. Lets hope I am feeling better and am ready for saturday!