Aventura #1

Hello, friends!

This past weekend, I took my first vacation in Ecuador! Eleven of us went to Mindo, which is about 2.5 hours west of Quito. I took a different bus line to get there, so I arrived at the station late. Thankfully, there were enough tickets left for me to get one with the group. My friend Cynthia was the only person I knew, but by the end of the weekend I felt pretty comfortable with everyone who was there. The ride to Mindo was windy, but gorgeous. We arrived and it was raining... and it didn't really stop for most of the weekend. The person who owned the hostel came and picked us all up in his van so we didn't need to walk in the rain. Mindo doesn't have street names, you see, so it would have been tricky to get there on our own anyway. We got settled in and then went out to dinner, in the rain. There went my straight hair! I looked like a hot mess the whole weekend. I shared mushroom pizza with some folks and we all decided the plan for the next day. We went out to a couple bars that night, and I really only liked the second one because it was more open and a little quieter. We got in pretty late, but were still prepared for our adventure the next day.

We got up and had breakfast at 8 then proceeded on to zip lining! $13 for 13 zip lines! We also didn't sign any waivers or anything, which is TOTALLY different compared to the US. We got into our harnesses and helmets, heard safety instructions, and got started! If you're on facebook, check out photos from my album called ¨So, I Only Have a 20...¨ (I´ll explain more about that title later!) Like I said, there were 11 of us, and we had two guides as well. The first guide went across, then it was our turn! The first cable was slower and steadier than many of the rest, so it was a good one with which to start. I went toward the end of the group, and I was only a little nervous the first time. After that, I just wanted to keep going ALL day. The hikes between the lines were a little stressful to my out-of-shape self, but I made it. Eventually, we were given the opportunity to try 2 different positions: the mariposa (butterfuly) or the Superman. The mariposa has your body in the shape of a Y with your body hanging upside down and your legs forming the top part of the Y. You and the guide go simultaneously and the guide holds your body in place, which I found quite comforting. I didn´t try the mariposa but I did do the Superman, twice! For this, you wrap your legs around the torso of the guide and cross your legs behind the guide´s back and put your arms out like you´re flying, like Superman does. I can´t even describe the view; gorgeous is an understatement.

After ziplining (remember, it was raining the whole time!), we decided to go tubing down the river. For starters, we´re cold and wet. Then we get in the river in this huge tube raft. I am wearing my bathing suit and a t-shirt. There are 4 of us in the raft, 2 guides to steer, and 1 guide to sit in the middle to grab us if we start to fall out. For an illustration of how intense this river was: a trip that normally takes 30 minutes took us 12. The river was going SO fast and the waves were huge. We went down a couple 2-3 foot drops (!) and slid over some rocks. It was QUITE an adventure, and while it was probably the craziest thing we did all weekend, it was an awesome time. One person fell out of the raft behind us, but thankfully she is alright and the third raft scooped her up into their raft. We rode home standing up in the back of a pick up truck. Cold. Wet. Slap happy.

We hung around, went out to eat, came back, went to the bar. (At this point, I had essentially run out of money. And everyone else only had 20s, which are about as helpful in Ecuador as a winter jacket.) We met some people from Germany at our hostel, invited them out, and talked to them in Spanish. Oddly enough, it helped me feel more comfortable in my language. We came back and some folks got up the next day to go bird watching. I chose not to because later this semester, I´m taking a trip to a biodiversity station in Tiputini, so I figured I would just see animals then. (And I didn´t have $8!) The few of us that didn´t go walked around Mindo (aka turned left not right down the main road). It was pretty. The other folks came back and we were going to try and go to the waterfall but we ended up not having enough time. Instead, we walked down the road to find access to the river. We hung out there for a while; some of us collected beautiful stones to bring home. We took our bus back to Quito, and I went home to my Ecuadorian family.

What I can say about traveling outside of Quito is that for the first time, I felt like I was enjoying my life here. I liked getting away from the noise, the hustle and bustle. I liked letting my guard down a little. I think traveling away from Quito is going to be how I learn to love Quito. We shall see. Love to you all!