1/14/18
Today was the last full day we'd have in Ecuador. I was certainly happy to spend it in Mindo. A small group of us woke up early to watch the hummingbirds again. In this very spot, it was possible to see 20 different species of hummingbirds in around an hour. They were so peaceful to watch. A bit later, everyone gathered here for breakfast.
After breakfast, we got ready to go on a short hike down to the river on property. It was possible to see any number of animals on this hike, however we didn't spend that much time looking and large groups of loud people tend to scare away wildlife. So we didn't see any bears or monkeys this time. We did see a variety of birds and bugs.
When we finished the hike, we had some free time before lunch. Some people hung out at the hotel, but the rest of us opted to go for a walk down the road until it began to rain. After lunch, we were going to get a ride into town, where we would go zip lining. I've always wanted to go zip lining through a rain forest, but I never would've imagined it could be as great as it was. When we were all harnessed up, the course began by climbing some steps to a platform where you would be attached to the line in 2 spots (in case something went wrong) and be sent off from there. The series of zip lines started easy and slow, but as you went int further, you had to keep your hand on the line in order to slow yourself down. Of course by that point, it started pouring. We were all soaked at the end, but we had a blast. Before returning to the lodge, we visited some shops downtown. Then we went back to clean up before dinner.
After getting changed out of our wet clothes, we returned to the lobby for dinner. Our final discussion of the night went into detail about this trip. We discussed what we enjoyed and what we didn't, things we got out of the trip, and things we'd do differently if we could go again. This discussion went on for quite a while, as we all had valuable ideas and suggestions.
The discussion ended pretty late. By then, we were all tired and ready for bed. We had to get everything ready for our journey home. This was our goodbye to Mindo and Ecuador. I was glad to end the trip on a high note. Mindo was probably my favorite place we visited. Even though I said it about many of the places we went, Mindo didn't seem real. I will definitely be coming back here.
After breakfast, we got ready to go on a short hike down to the river on property. It was possible to see any number of animals on this hike, however we didn't spend that much time looking and large groups of loud people tend to scare away wildlife. So we didn't see any bears or monkeys this time. We did see a variety of birds and bugs.
When we finished the hike, we had some free time before lunch. Some people hung out at the hotel, but the rest of us opted to go for a walk down the road until it began to rain. After lunch, we were going to get a ride into town, where we would go zip lining. I've always wanted to go zip lining through a rain forest, but I never would've imagined it could be as great as it was. When we were all harnessed up, the course began by climbing some steps to a platform where you would be attached to the line in 2 spots (in case something went wrong) and be sent off from there. The series of zip lines started easy and slow, but as you went int further, you had to keep your hand on the line in order to slow yourself down. Of course by that point, it started pouring. We were all soaked at the end, but we had a blast. Before returning to the lodge, we visited some shops downtown. Then we went back to clean up before dinner.
After getting changed out of our wet clothes, we returned to the lobby for dinner. Our final discussion of the night went into detail about this trip. We discussed what we enjoyed and what we didn't, things we got out of the trip, and things we'd do differently if we could go again. This discussion went on for quite a while, as we all had valuable ideas and suggestions.
The discussion ended pretty late. By then, we were all tired and ready for bed. We had to get everything ready for our journey home. This was our goodbye to Mindo and Ecuador. I was glad to end the trip on a high note. Mindo was probably my favorite place we visited. Even though I said it about many of the places we went, Mindo didn't seem real. I will definitely be coming back here.
Photo used under Creative Commons from yakovlev.alexey