Mindo

By Bradley Rehak - Guest blogger studying in Quito, Ecuador

Somewhat to the northwest of Quito is a small town called Mindo that is surrounded by cloud forest and is known among tourists—mostly Ecuadorians—as a sort of adventure spot. It was in Mindo that I went "rafting" as previously mentioned. However, there are other interesting things about Mindo.

Cost, for example, is one of the highlights. One can obtain lodging in a hostel that includes private bathrooms (for a shared room), hot water, and breakfast for between five dollars and eight dollars. Many of the hostels are quite unique: ours, for example, had an open walled attic from which to view sunrises and sunsets and for smoking, a thatch-covered resting area with half a dozen hammocks, and another large covered area outdoors with tables and a fireplace for hanging out at night. The owner even brought out a CD player for us and put in traditional Ecuadorian music. It was five bucks for a two-person room and breakfast.

The highlight of the town for my group of friends was the Canopy, which is a series of ten zip lines that run from hilltop to hilltop over the cloudy valleys. We happened to go on a rather rainy, cold day, but that didn't stop us from enjoying it one bit. The final zip line was 400 meters long and 80 meters high. When we started across it was so cloudy that you couldn't even see to the midpoint. My friend and I lucked out and got to do it connected together in a row with the guide, who did all of the braking, at the end. By the time we reached the other end I didn't think there was any way we could avoid hitting a building because we were going so fast, but the guide proved to be quite efficient and we stopped abruptly before the terminus.

The locals in the town were quite used to talking to foreigners, there being maybe only a thousand of them in comparison to ten or so hostels. It was therefore quite easy to strike up a conversation, even in broken Spanish. Doing so was also a sure invitation to pound shots, of which I will not admit to having taken part. We also were more than welcome to play the Ecuadorian version of volleyball, which consisted in using a soccer ball, a net that was almost fifteen feet high, and being very lenient in one's definition of setting the ball. Unfortunately, we were no match for the locals, and soon gave up to make our way towards the ice cream shop like true gringos.