I think I mentioned in my last blog that we had missed the bus to Mindo from Quito on Monday morning. On Sunday evening we were walking home and it was started to get dark. For some reason I never felt really safe in Quito- so decided that we should not seek out an ATM in an unknown city after the sun went down (insert my mom being proud here). Our amazing morning plan was to get up at 6:45 a.m.- finish packing- go to the ATM- and make it back for the taxi to the bus at 7:05- where we would take a 30 minute taxi ride to the the bus stop.
In Ecuador we have learned that everytime we asked for directions the person says "go two blocks and take a left/right". We laugh now- because after that two blocks we generally have to stop and ask directions from another person who also says "go two blocks and take a left/right." Finding the ATM at 7 a.m. was no different- our hostel owner said it was 2 blocks away to the right. After a 20 minute walk and eventually a taxi ride to an ATM- we clearly had missed our bus and would be staying in Quito another 9 hours. All just part of travelling...but I can assure you that the ATM was NOT 2 blocks away.
We arrived in Mindo on Monday- a cute little town set in the mountains. We both loved it immediately! There is one Main Street - the people seem extremly friendly and we love the hostel we are staying in. In fact, we loved it so much that the first night here we took warm showers and just read in our room for the evening!
We are definitely in complete travel mode again and we both have commented how we are like a 'well oiled travel machine'....we both just have certain things we do well while travelling- specific things we organize, thing we are good at (obviously mine is speaking Spanish:))...etc. We were eating dinner the other night and a moth flew into our plate of food....without skipping a beat, I reached down- grabbed the moth- threw it out of our food and we kept eating.
Yesterday we spent the day zip-lining through the rainforest and repelling down some amazing waterfalls. For any of you who remember my trip to Costa Rica- I MAY have cried on the zip-line because I hated it SO much! I don't have a ton of arm strength and in Costa Rica you have to use your own strength to stop yourself. So...I spent a lot of time going full bore down the zip line into trees- stopping myself with my feet and it was really freaky! So, I cried.
Because of complete peer pressure I decided to try it again yesterday. I had similar feelings of fear, but they have a better system for brakes ie) they help you stop. What I was not prepared for was the 'tricks' that they wanted you to do while on the zipline. They offered "Superman" (flying face first down the zipline) or "Butterfly" (flying upside down on the zipline). Both of which sounded horrible! As per the usual, Angela razzed me enough and told the guides that I was a "little tiny baby" in Spanish to help convince me to do the Superman. The guide replied "even little tiny babies do the Superman." And I soon found myself flying face first down the zipline. It was actually pretty cool and scary at the same time!
I absolutey LOVED repelling down waterfalls! Let's be honest- anything that involves water I generally love. The largest waterfall we repelled down was 75 feet high and it was amazing!
On our walk out to the waterfalls the guide stopped us and was explaning that this specific fruit (that he was holding) was used to "paint" the indigneous people for safety on their journeys. As he is talking he has cracked open the fruit and is mixing its contents in his hands to create the "paint" (a bright orange paint) and begins with placing a "safety" stripe on Ang's cheek. She proceeds to put a "saftey" stripe on my cheek and then quickly adds a mustache and pointy-clown eyebrows. Of course we are laughing uncontrollably....but seriously?! I'm about to go do this really awesome-tough adventure sport and I am painted with a bright orange mustache and eyebrows? Ang LOVED it...I think our guide was able to see some humor...and I never saw myself- but I'm sure the pictures are lovely.
Yesterday we watched Ecuador vs. Argentina soccer game and this town was pumped up! Ang and I jumped right on the bandwagon and were the best Ecuadorian fans you have ever seen- right after we figured out what color we were cheering for :)
We are headed to Banos today in the afternoon- another smaller mountain town- but on the amazon-side of Ecuador.
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