Mindo, Ecuador

     Karrie and I woke up early to catch a bus to Mindo which was only one hour away in car but in the bus, it took us two hours to get there. It was due to the windy roads through the mountains. We stopped in a very small little town at a restaurant/bus station. We primarily went there to zip line. We talked to the guides that were across the street and signed up for zip lining. As we were getting something to eat, we met two american cousins and they signed up for the zip  lining as well. There were 12 different lines and it only cost us $30. We added on a bungee jump of 50 meters as well for $5 more. It was quite exhilarating towards the end. The guides were cute. I have dated two Ecuadorians before and I couldn't help but flirt. I was quite nervous about a few of the passes across the jungle because the maneuvers to get across were called mariposa, meaning butterfly and superwoman. The superwoman, you had to wrap your legs around the guide and let go facing forward. It was like you are a superwoman flying across the jungle. The other one is when you are upside down and the guides hold your legs up. You are opened up like a butterfly, but you are upside down. The bungee jump at the end was a test of faith. They had you on a platform and tied two cords to you. One was to hold you when you dropped, the other was to hold you back before you dropped. Dario would unhook you and hold onto you. He counted and let you go to swing down. When my turn came, I told Dario to count to three but definitely let me go before he reached three.

The coffee farm tour was included. The other girls couldn't quiet understand everything the guide was explaining and it was raining. We had left our rain jackets up with our stuff locked up in the front. The guide started to explain that first they have to pick the coffee beans which have a small fruit like covering on them which they soak in the water. He gave me one to try and it wasn't bad. They dry the beans out for a period of time and then they roast them. They allowed me to roast them from a green color to a brown color. If they roast them a shorter time, the coffee won't be strong. If you roast them to a dark brown color, it will be a strong roast. We made a medium roast that day. After you let the beans cool, you grind them. They let us try a cup of fresh coffee each and I have to say it was pretty amazing. They say if the coffee is fresh, you don't need to put sugar or cream into it. I never had black coffee before and this was amazing. Out of all the experiences in our whole trip, this was our favorite. The price was amazing, it was exhilarating, and the coffee was amazing. We ran our of time to go to the butterfly house which was disappointing but we had to catch the last bus back to Quito. Also, they told us the butterflies wouldn't be flying around, they sleep in the afternoon. The bus ride back was horrible. I got so motion sick and was holding out to throw up. The buses would be the end of me. This was a pretty cool experience and I wouldn't change anything for the world.