Mindo

We are lucky enough to have Josh's parents visiting us in Ecuador!! We wanted to show them a little jungle so we took a trip to Mindo, in a cloud forest about 2 1/2 hours northwest from Quito. It was our first time out there as well, and we really wanted to go because it is a favorite among tourists. It's popular for its birdwatching, and people come from all over the world just to see the over 400 different bird species, including the rare Cock-of-the-rock and many many hummingbirds, that live in the area.

We stayed at the really cute lodge of Sachatamia, a few miles outside of Mindo. We had our own private cabins, and could see several bright and colorful hummingbirds right from the restaurant. Our favorites were the bright green and blue hummingbirds.

We walked through the beautiful thick jungle behind our lodge and saw a river, lots of flowers, lots of birds, and even a puma!!! As soon as it saw us though it ran off to be seen no more. We came across a big cable and rope, and Josh and Jack (his dad) couldn't resist taking a swing on it. They felt like Tarzan.

The next day we went into Mindo to ride the ziplines!! Josh had to stay behind with Owen, unfortunately. There were 13 different ziplines, and it was so fun! I was even brave enough to do the "superman" (hanging from the back with arms out) and the "bat" (hanging backwards upside-down). This zipline was the longest- 300 meters - and the three of us had to go together in order to have enough weight to get to the other side.


After the ziplines we went to a butterfly farm. We saw them in all stages of life, and we even saw one hatching out of its chrysalis! This blue butterfly was one of the biggest, and one of our favorites.

Owen enjoyed him self by going swimming. We even dunked his head all the way under for the first time! He didn't like it too much.

Owen's other favorite activity was playing in the rocks and eating the dirt. Is he such a boy or what!