Mindo

Today (5/25) was quite a day. First one where we really tried our wings. We were bold enough to leave the quaint town of otavalo where we were dropped off 4 1/2 days ago and where we intended to stay only two nights. There was just too much that needed to be done. Emailing, planning, hiking around a volcanic lake, and getting things straight back at the homeland. Out the nest and into a $2 bus ride with friendly ecuadorian moms, school children, and the wiser ecuadorian generation. Lucy H, a friend from the brigade and back in KY hopped in for the ride cutting out of a less than interesting internship oppotunity preferring to join us to go to the mita del mundo (middle of the world) for some crazy experiments. After the ride into quito, there is a station change bus 15 cents, and then a bus which dropped us off at the turn about just outside the monument. Skip that, unless for a few pics and head to the neighbors, the actual 0 degree latitude and take a cool tour. Confirmed from first hand experience, you can stand an egg on its peak, you cannot close your eyes and walk a straight line on the equator (we werent drinking that early), and water seems to suck rather than drain from a basin. Watch your drain next time you do the dishes, your water drains in a counter clockwise vortex. In the southern hemisphere however, it goes clockwise. The middle... Straight down. Thanks Coriallis. 2 miles away from the middle of the world is a place called pululahua, a farming community based in the crater of a volcano. It is a national reserve for the indiginous peoples, but can still be visited. We found out though, upon arriving in a smalled truck taxi, that the experience lost impact after 2 when we arrived, because a blanket of clouds covers the basin leaving visibility no more than 10 feet ahead. A quick change of plans. Down the hill again in our camionetta. The cloud forests of Mindo was our next location on the itinerary. The only bus, just happening to pass us going the other way. Well than catch the bus! Chase ensues. After a crafty manuever involving hazard lights and cutting off the bus at 45 mph, we grabbed our packs out the truck and hopped on the bus (gus). An hour later we were dropped at the turnoff to the town of Mindo which to our surprise, was 2 more miles away. A passing two seater jeep with an ecuadorian and a spaniard was quickly behind us ready to stow our bags while we all 3 held on for dear life on the back. And so by the end of our first day out of the nest, we found ourselves flying free down the windy roads to our new town full of nature nuts, hammock swingers and avid birders, Mindo.