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Just returned from a great weekend in Mindo - first time we've felt like we were on vacation, as opposed to traveling. It was just what we needed as once I finally kicked the flu bug, Zoe got it, and we had to spend a couple extra days in Quito while she recovered.
Friday morning we hopped the bus to Mindo, a nature/resort/adventure area just a couple hours west of Quito, where Quiteños go for weekend getaways. This was immediately clear as we were the only gringos on the bus or at the lodge, which provided us with extra Spanish practice. We "splashed out," and stayed in a tree house on the property with great views of the river and surrounding cloud forest. Our package included all meals (very marginal - basically the starch plate special that has been so prevelant thus far), pool table, use of two different pools and hot tubs, zip line, and inner tubing on the river.
The zip line and tubing were not as wild/large as some we'd done state-side, but were much scarier due to not always understanding the guide's instructions and the lack of the safety standards (and liability waivers) that we take for granted in the U.S. The inner tubes were basically 7 big tubes roped together in a flower shape that we sat on with our guide as he took us around (or often over) rocks on a rapid river that was more challenging due to it being the drier season. The zip lines were also hand made, and they encouraged us to try different poses - superman, butterfly (an upside down, splayed leg pose done in tandem with the guide), and solo totally upside down hanging on to harness with only your legs. As you might guess, Zoe tried all three, while I found the normal position plenty exciting especially due to the very last minute stopping done by the guide at the end of each line, with just a few feet between me and the tree.
The third included activity was a walk to a Mariposaria and a Orchidaria - to see butterflys, of which there were about 10 in the enclosure - and flowers, of which there were mostly dead/dying plants and only a few in bloom. It appeared that the lodge focused more on the swimming pools and adventure activities, with a little lower priority on keeping up the nature parts. All in all, a great weekend however, and it was nice to return to Nancy's Villa (run by a couple from Ecuador and Switzerland, neither of whom is named Nancy, nor do they know anyone by that name), which has become our home away from home in Quito. Tomorrow we say adios to them for the last time as we head south about 6-8 hours on the bus to new, more mountainous adventures.
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Sue Sigler Sounds strangely like the largest rose bush in the world!