I. EL VIAJE - ON THE WAY THERE
On Friday after class, I met up with some friends and we squished into a taxi and joined the others at the Ofelia bus station. We bought our $2.50 bus ticket to Mindo and a 4pm we were on our way. We were 11 of us - 4 guys and 7 girls. The trip took about 2.5 hours and went down the mountain the whole time... more harrowing drops and turns that made me close my eyes and hold my breath. I sat with my friend Tyler and we talked the whole way so time flew. Mindo is called a "cloud forest" which wikipedia defines as follows: A cloud forest, also called a fog forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. As we were descending, we really experience this - everything became cloudy and rainy the vegetation seemed to become greener and fuller. Almost like we were in the rain forest but not really.
II. THE HOSTEL
We arrived and it was nearly dark and POURING down rain. We didn't know where we had been dropped off exactly, but we soon found Marcelo, who owned the hostel we reserved, waiting for us with a giant van. All 11 of us jumped on and took the 3 minute drive to the hostel, luckily nice and dry. Hosta Rubby was very cute - it was made of creaky wood and had a really nice balcony with hammocks. Most of us stayed in the loft, where there were real beds and a few smaller mattresses on the ground and 2 hammocks hanging up. Three of the guys stayed in a room on the 2nd floor. There were 2 usable bathrooms, and Marcelo's wife Norma insured us there was hot water but it was really unreliable. If anyone else was using water there was nothing, and even the faucets wouldn't work. Not really a big concern though. Marcelo and Norma, their kids and her mother, all lived either on the first floor of the hostel or in the adjoining house. They were really friendly but always hanging around, eating or playing so it was awkward at times; I thought so at least. The others didn't seem to mind.
III. DINNER IN MINDO
So, we all claimed and a bed and lied around for a little bit, sort of planning for the night. We got a recommendation for a restaurant and headed out, with only half of us wearing raincoats. I'm so glad I invested $10 at Walmart before leaving!! The town of Mindo is really cute - it feels more like a small pueblo than a small city like Otavalo. We jumped over puddles and got lost and asked for directions from the locals and eventually found the main road and restaurant. We all looked like a bunch of silly gringos (this feeling does not go away, tell you more of why later.) I ended up eating delicious pizza with tomatoes, mushrooms, oregano, and garlic, fried plantains and a beer. Delicioso! Everyone was in a good mood, laughing and excited despite us all being soaking wet and kind of tired. When the meal was over we went over our usual torturous ordeal of figuring out the check - they never split the check and in Ecuador there is apparently a shortage of change, and so trying to pay is always hell. We also do remarkably well considering how many of us there are! I think I ended up paying $6, which is the most I've paid for a meal yet, I think.
IV. OLD OBNOXIOUS MAN
We returned to the hostel a little before 9 and everyone gravitated towards the loft, getting comfortable and with everyone getting a little something to drink. We stopped at a tienda right before coming back and got some stuff, knowing it would be much cheaper than a bar. Ally and I split this peach licor stuff... $4 total. Amazing deal. Anyway, we got comfortable and were laughing and talking and having a good time when we hear a banging coming from below us. It was 9:45pm at this point and someone points out that an older guy was apparently staying below us and told him he was going to bed soon. Sure enough at 10pm he opens up the trap door to the loft and ask, "Any of you speak English?" so of course, we all say yes and he starts telling us how we need to be more considerate of others and we are not the only ones in the hostel and how he was getting up at 4 to birdwatch. He even told us obstinately "It is nearly TEN PM" and our group of 11 college students couldn't hold back our laughter.... 10 pm on a Friday. In a hostel that he was paying $8 a night for. What the hell was he expecting?!!? Anyway, we are all reasonable people so we decided to put our rain jackets back on and find out what the nightlife was like.
V. NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN
We went out and found a little bar playing only really terrible Spanish salsa/electronica music (?!). I really like Spanish radio but this was pretty bad. We sat down right away and I'll admit, I was bored. It was too loud to talk and we were the only gringoes... feeling really obvious again. Finally some of us girls decided to dance for a lack of anything else to do, and pretty soon this cute guy I noticed earlier asked me to dance. He was really nice and cute but so much freaking shorter than me! So we started dancing and talking - his name was David and he wasn't really a good dancer and neither am I so it was just incredibly awkward and funny. We talked a little and he was like asking me things like, what do you think of American guys? ("they're kind of boring") what do you think of Latino guys? ("so far so good!") etc. Fifteen minutes of dancing and my friends were ready to try another place so I said goodbye to David (he kissed me on the cheek! cuuuute) and we left.
We ended up at another place, called the Reggae Bar (something like that) and it was this awesome open air place, with cool garden decor and reggae music and an awesome bartender who everyone befriended. Even the bathrooms had a large window around chest-height looking out into the forest! Very cool. The guys all got more drinks (at this point they were all getting pretty tipsy) and we just hung out and talked for a few hours. There was no one else at the bar but it was so chill and fun. At around 1 some of us walked back and went to bed, and the others came back a little later.
VI. ZIP LINING ADVENTURE!
Unfortunately I didn't sleep much at all that night :( Just one of those nights... nothing to be done. We got up early to get breakfast at 8. I tried to get to the bathroom to take a shower to find we had no electricity and therefore no hot water.... so I dunked my hair in the cold water and shampooed and figured that was good enough. Breakfast was eggs, coffee, bread, blackberry juice and pineapple... included in our $8 bill. Afterwards, another van was waiting and took us up a winding road up the mountain to the canopy, where zip lining awaited. We paid $13 (and apparently overpaid because it would have been $10 if we showed our CENSO) and suited up and got to do THE MOST AMAZING THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE. Everybody who gets a chance to zip line, DO ITTTTT. I can't even explain to you. I doubt I'll ever find it so cheap in my life... there were 13 different lines so we payed a dollar for each line. There exists no better value in life. Anyway, it was really safe. We had helmets and were strapped on, and 2 guides came with us. I can't really describe more than just saying - you were gliding at times nearly 100 feet above the canopy... everything was beautiful... it felt like flying! And at one point, they asked who was adventurous and wanted to try a different move (the mariposa or the superman - basically on your stomach or upside down.) I of course stepped up and did the superman... they moved the chain to my backside and the guide came with me and held my legs as I spread my arms wide and pretended to fly!!!! Absolutely disconcerting but the most amazing feeling in the world. Flying! As close as I'll get!
VII. BREAK: LUNCH
At this point, it started raining a bit and we were covered in mud and dirt and sweat... but no one cared. We kept climbing and gliding and some of the lines were faster and some were slower. We eventually sadly reached the last line and then it was over... back in the van, down the bumpy mountain and back to the hostel. We grabbed our raincoats and headed back into town for lunch - delicious cheap almuerzo which for all of us included chicken, rice, fries, and lentils. And Coca-Cola out of a glass bottle, obviamente. We must have been a sight again, covered in mud...
VII. TUBING DOWN A RAGING RIVER
We discussed at lunch our plans for the afternoon... we all wanted to go tubing down the river, even though it was suddenly pretty chilly and still raining pretty hard. We decided to do it anyway. Another truck came to pick us up... this time we were standing in the back in the bed, holding onto these large metal bars, stomach and shoulder height. We were all wearing our bathing suits at this point and we drove into town to get tickets first. People were eating and staring... again, probably thinking gringos estupidos! It was freezing and were were wearing nothing. We paid $6 and then jumped back on the truck. The trip to the river could have been worth the money... we were holding on for dear life over the bumps and screaming and FREEZING cold!!! With the rain and cold wind... whew. But we had no idea what we were in for.
We got dropped off and were told to wait about 5 minutes... the guy was going to come back with the guides and the tubes. As we waited, shivering in the rain, we all wondered out loud what in the world we were thinking. The river was CRAZY - white with rapids because it had been raining so much. The group before us was a bunch of 12-year-old girls so we were convinced if they could do it we should just man up, but we were all pretty terrified anyway. Finally, the guides came and we all put on jackets and helmets and sat on the tubes. The tube was comprised of one giant middle tube and 5 attached to it on the outside. They showed us how to sit and which ropes to grip. All the guides had gigantic muscles and didn't wear helmets. We were split into groups of 4, 4, and 3.
Before we knew it, we were off. THE WATER WAS FREEZING!!! And it was still raining and all of a sudden I was holding on for dear life. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life!!! And so cold, and gripping with all my might. Every single second we crashed over a new wave or a rock, slamming and getting jerked around and thrown around. The guides were incredible - they knew the river and would jump out at times (it was fairly shallow) and somehow guide this giant contraption to one side or the other. Even the guys were unabashedly impressed with how freaking manly these guides were. They did at times push the tube over the bigger rocks, trying to improve the experience but making it of course all the more terrifying. The whole time were were just yelling at each other "WHAT THE HELL WERE WE THINKING" and "I THINK WE NEED TO REEVALUATE OUR LIFE CHOICES!!!" and the guides didn't understand much English but they did all burst out laughing when we crashed over a wave, and I, completely hysterical and exaggerated, yelled, "JESUS CHRIST!!!!" They were just enjoying the ride and I was thinking about land and how much I love freaking earth. Solid ground. Anyway, around this time, we hit a pretty bad rapid and my feet slid through the tube I nearly got swept away but luckily, our 3 guides were on me in like 0.3 seconds and I was fine. Unfortunately the same thing happened to another friend on another raft and she actually fell through... the guides on the raft behind them ended up grabbing her. Terrifying.
Around this time, I asked the guide how much more we had and he said 30 minutes... I could have died!!!! Come to find out that normally the ride last 30 minutes... but since the water was so rough on this particular day it lasted literally 10. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT MESS! But we did it. I got off the tube, shaking and freezing and everyone else was pretty hysterical too. We all laughed at how in the US you would literally never find a river rafter place that charged six dollars and that didn't make you sign any waivers anything... and certainly not that freaking rough!!! Anyway, we got back to the hostel and all took our turns taking warm showers and trying to relax. I was exhausted. Too much adrenaline for the day. Of course half of our group was gushing and how fun and amazing it was, but I couldn't even lie - I was terrified and probably would not do that again. The fact that the water was like 40 degrees and the sun wasn't out didn't help!
VIII. ANOTHER NIGHT - BARS AND FOREIGNERS
Anyway, we relaxed, had dinner, returned to our cozy loft and hung out some more (this time without the old man interrupting!!!). We laughed a lot and told stories and I reveled in the amazing group we had together. So compatible and fun. We eventually went out again to join up with others from our program at the same bar. We also invited some German girls who were staying downstairs to come with us. They had been doing volunteer work in Quito for about 5 months now and just visiting as well. Then at the bar, I met these two girls from Sweden who were also volunteering and were the most awesome girls to talk to!! They only spoke English but they had some good stories and were unbelievably friendly.
IX. LAZY SUNDAY
Finally, we went back and went to bed. Half of our group decided to go birdwatching in the morning... waking up at 5am. It was a little expensive so I decided to sleep in instead. 5 of us stayed behind, and in the morning only 3 of us girls ended up getting up and eating breakfast together. I tried unsuccessfully to take another shower... this time no water came out of the faucet at all so I just gave up on the idea today. We took a quick walk just to do something other than sit around. The other group came back SO late - at around 11 - and so by the time we ate and came back we had no more time to do anything organized. We decided instead to walk back to the river - and today, by the way, the sun was out and hot and beautiful! So we went to the river and sat on the rocks and basked and then came back and got our stuff then headed to the bus stop. We got some snacks, loaded up, and got cozy for the 2 hour ride.
X. REFLECTIONS
So now I'm back in my room. Absolutely exhausted. It took me more than an hour to write all of this but I want to remember everything. Mindo as a town was so cozy and so quintessential South America, but without the bustling craziness that is Quito. There were dogs and chickens everywhere, just running around, and half the time we just were just on hammocks looking out on the road and watching them or looking at the beautiful mountains. We were woken up by roosters everyday, who crow every freaking 10 seconds, and I GOT TO SEE A CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD. I laughed for like 5 minutes. It came out of nowhere and ran right across. Anyway, also as always there was some friend drama but I'm not going to post it on here. Let's just say it was the same as always.
Anyway - overall, most amazing weekend ever. I genuinely did not want to leave. I love staying in hostels in big groups, walking to bars, going on adventures. And the climate is beautiful and I didn't even mind the lack of running water at times. I'd love to go back but there are so many other towns I can't wait to visit!! I have no idea what's next. All I can say is that for $55 that might have been one of the coolest weekends of my life. I'm so glad I picked South America... when in the world will I ever get to experience any of that again!?!?!?
On a side note... everyone kept making fun of me because I kept stopping and saying - "just take a moment - do you guys realize we are [on a mountain/in a hostel/on a terrifying river] in SOUTH AMERICA in a little town in the middle of nowhere!??!" and they all laughed but I know they all agreed. How crazy cool and amazingly lucky we are.
So that's it for tonight. If you didn't read all of this, that's perfectly fine. When I get this book printed and bound, I'll be happy for all the details. They're more for me than for you :)
Anyway, I hope I get to speak to everyone soon! I'm going to figure out a way very soon to get pictures together. I LOVE YOU GUYS!
Cynthia
PS. AFTERTHOUGHTS
I JUST REMEMBERED! We had a friend visit us during our stay. The first night we were hanging out and Powers screamed at one point that she saw a giant black rat along the windowsill then run out through this apparent crack between the window and wall! We all believed her but the rat didn't come back that night. The next night someone saw it again, and finally on Saturday when we came back at midnight, Julie and I were getting our stuff together when all of a sudden it runs out from behind her bag and jumps through that same freaking hole!!!!! That was literally a foot from my bed, which was one of 3 on the floor. We put a towel near the hole, and I was so tired I just passed out anyway. But in the morning the towel had fallen to the floor... maybe our friend visited again during the night!?! Anyway, wasn't even freaked out, despite its size! Ha.
No comments:
Post a Comment