Into the Jungle

I think I just had the best weekend ever. Top 3, at least. I left early Saturday morning for the town of Mindo, which is in one of Ecuador's last remaining cloud forests. I went with a group of students from my school, and it was led by Carlos, my teacher. We took a public bus, which did not, by the way, include any chickens. The bus drove out of the mountains, down really winding roads and over the equatorial line. I met my first Americans on the trip. Laura and Ryan, from Minnesota, and Meredith, who is originally from Illinois, so the midwest was definitely represented in Ecuador.

Mindo is your stereotypical South American town. The streets are dry and dusty, and muddy when it rains, and chickens and roosters wander the streets. Our hostel was very rustic, complete with a big porch with hammocks and mosquito nets over the beds. They served us lunch when we got there at a long table, and I felt like I was at camp. All that we needed was to sing grace. I discovered that it helps to have people around when you don't want to eat the food. The first course they served was a veggie soup. I was sitting next to Jacob, another one from England. He polished off his soup in mere seconds, so we switched bowls so he could work on mine. I told him he should come stay with me so he can help me eat all my meals, but I think he's happy where he is.

After lunch we set out for a long, hot hike through the jungle to the waterfalls. When we got closer to the falls, we took a rickety cable car over the jungle floor, then hiked down from there. (We took a break to swing through the trees on a rope. You know, to give it that Tarzan/George of the Jungle vibe.) Once there, we waded across very cold water, to a tall, rather crooked ladder up the cliff, which we had to climb up in order to get to the top of the waterfall. When we got to the top, I decided to do something really crazy. I jumped off the 12m waterfall. Don't ask me why, it just seemed like the thing to do. (Don't worry, there was a jumping point, and a guide to tell you how to jump.) The water was really deep, and it seemed to take me forever to come up. When I did, I had a hard time catching my breath, due in part, I believe, to the water temperature, which was pretty darn cold. But what a rush.

After dinner in the evening, we hung out on the porch, playing the guitar (not me, but others), singing along (again, not really me) and working on those salsa moves (definitely me). The power went out around 10, so we continued in the dark for a little bit before deciding to take our party to the local salsa club. (I think I'm going to be fluent in salsa before Spanish.) When we came home, the power was still out, so Leigh and Bernice and I had a toothbrushing party in the bathroom since we just had Bernice's flashlight.

Sunday morning, we went tubing. Tubing is basically white water rafting, but on several giant inner tubes tied together. It was pretty chilly and still raining, but it didn't really matter since the water was so cold anyway. The first few splashes were a bit of a shock to the system. After that, though, I didn't really notice the cold. I was too busy laughing and shrieking and just having a great time to really notice. We were wearing life jackets and helmets, which was a good thing. There were a few low lying tree branches, Leigh and I knocked heads a few times, and Meredith almost went flying off into the water. The guide grabbed her by her vest to keep her from going overboard. When it was all over, I wanted to go again, even though my hands were white from gripping the ropes so tightly.

Great weekend, and even better company. And the whole thing cost me less than $50. Muy bien.