Ecuador 2005: Mindo - butterflies, rivers, and orchids!

Hey all,

this past weekend, i went to a city - not really a city, more of a village - called Mindo with 3 other friends. two other working visitors from HCJB - Bonnie (med student from San Franciso, Califonia) and Katharina(aka Kathy working in the German Radio Department from...Germany!) and Kara(a girl Bonnie met on the bus one day who is volunteering at an orphanage.) not only was the company great, but the sites were spectacular.

the bus ride was about 2.5 hours from Quito to Mindo. we left on Saturday morning, and stayed til Sunday afternoon. we almost didn't make our bus - we made it to the station 10 minutes before the bus, and thank goodness, there were just enough tickets left for us to get on the bus! throughout the trip, both on the bus and while walking thru town, we met so many different people and had some great conversations. while in Mindo, we met a group of friends who were Ecuadorian who gave us a ride to another part in Mindo that would have taken hours to walk. we met a couple of German girls, and just yesterday we met 4 guys from Florida who just graduated "college" as they call it, on the way up to a waterfall. we found out from them that it cost $5 to look and play in the waterfall, so we opted out of that, and instead hiked back down with them, talked alot, and took a swim in a river! im learning one thing that i love about this mobile, or travelling, gypsy-life that i currently have: i definitely appreciate the warmth and openness of many individuals - both Ecuadorians and foreigners - who are so willing to talk, help out you, and learn about your life. it's so sincere, and it's something that i find only happens on the road - or perhaps not really in North America. as i think about north american culture, often times we are so concerned about getting to our destination, and our facial expressions and body language speak of our mindset. life on the road seems to be much more friendly than life at home, but if anything, it's yet another challenge to myself to be the exception and not the norm. i'd like to be that person that a visitor in Vancouver would feel comfortable asking "excuse me, but how do i get to Science World?" i'm always reminded daily that i should be willing to be inconvenienced to help someone, or do something for someone who cannot return the favour.

Mindo is a lush, vibrant village of people that consists of 1500 people. located in the jungle, the climate is a little warmer than Quito, a little more humid, and mosquitoy. i didn't see any of them, but they feasted on me. i probably have 20 or so bites, but they're not as bad as when i went to Africa and almost gouged a hole in my leg from scratching. when i returned, Faby informed me that Gaby once got a mosquito bite...where the mosquito had laid an egg in her leg, and there was a mosquito growing in her leg. nasty. needless to say, she had to go to the hospital to get it taken out. i was quite concerned when he told me that, but Gaby assured me that Mindo moquitos are just fine. oh....GOOD.

the hostess of our hostal is a lady apparently listed in the Lonely Planet guidebooks. next time you guys are in a bookstore, look up Ecuador, Mindo, and she may be in there. i think her name was Julia. (yeah right, like you're gonna do that. i can think of only one person who would actually do that, and that's only cos she loves travelling just like me. dag, that's you by the way..)

we went tubing down Rio del Mindo...bunch of tubes connected together, rushing down a river...it was nuts! and incredible experience! bobbing up and down in a river wtih a bunch of girls, and one male guide was the time of our life. we took a visit to a butterfly garden too, and i have a new appreciation for butterflies. and took a stroll thru an orchid garden. mom and dad, you would have looooooved the orchid garden, im sure. photos below.

me, Kara, Kathy, and Bonnie...in the truck on the way to the Rio!

us heading down the river...

me, holding a butterfly. as much as i would like to say that the little guy just landed on my finger, it's actually because i have mushed banana - which they like to eat - that he came to feast with me.