Mindo - cloud forest and waterfall jump
On Saturday we travelled 2 1/2 hours to Mindo, a village set in the cloud forest on the western slopes of Pichincha. It was a beautiful semi-jungle location, much warmer and brighter than Quito has become int he last few days! The first stop was a tranquil waterfall on the nearby river, where there was the option of jumping 12 metres from an overlooking rockface into the river below. Somewhat against my previously cautios nature (previous to May I hadn´t even attempted a vaguely scary theme-park ride) I went for it! It was good fun, though I think more from the shock my body went into once I reappeared from the cold depths!
We then stayed overnight in a lodge where the imagined threat of large spiders led to a less-than-perfect night´s sleep. On Sunday we went tubing down the rapids in the river on large inflated tyres held together by rope. It was very good, fun, not least because the guy that was ensuring we avoided the worst of the rocks decided it would be a good idea to take us the most dabgerous and difficult route possible. After we visited a butterfly sancturary with many interesting species, though the undeniable highlight was watching humming birds feed at very close quarters!
