Day 48 in Ecuador

Today we had an awesome trip to Mindo, which is a "cloud" forest about 2 hours away. I got up around 5:15 to pack a lunch and make myself breakfast. We then took a taxi from our house to a local bus station where we were expecting to leave at 6:30, but were told wasn't gonna leave until 8:00. So we sat around and waited until around 7:00 when we were told that we could take a taxi for 10 bucks per person. So we took this offer and made our way to Mindo!

The taxi driver we had was very nice and fun to talk to as we were driving to Mindo. I was pleased that I was able to have some conversations with him for the most part. He even told me that my Spanish was very good which felt good to hear! The drive to Mindo was also a beautiful drive getting to see mountains full of green trees and occasional waterfalls on the way.

We got to Mindo and met up with our guide who gave us the plan for the day. We first were going to take a "taxi" to this gondola type thing that would take us across this gourd to where we would hike to some waterfalls. The "taxi" turned out to be the back of a pickup track which actually was a lot of fun. We got to the gondola which was also a sweet experience and had a beautiful view.

We first hiked to a waterfall that was 15 minutes away that was straight downhill going there, but obviously the way back wasn't quite as easy. After visiting that waterfall for a few minutes, we came back to the start and were already pretty tired. We then hiked to the biggest waterfall there which was about a 50 minute hike. This hike was much more peaceful and easier because there weren't as many hills and the ups and downs were evenly balanced. We got to the waterfall, ate some much needed late, and I, along with Jake and Anna, made the choice to actually go into the waterfall. It was freezing cold at first but after getting used to it, being in the water felt amazing. Another really sweet experience.

We then hiked back, took the gondola, and rode our taxi to our next activity which was a butterfly place. We had a little girl as our tour guide who was so cute. She actually knew a lot about butterflies and it was another cool activity. I was able to catch some butterflies as you can see from the pictures. Next was a trip to la casa de chocolate. Here we learned the process of making chocolate, starting right from the cocoa bean. Our guide had us try the cocoa bean and then the cocoa paste, both of which were extremely bitter and not good at all. It was really interesting to see all that goes into making the chocolate, and finally at the end were able to try some chocolate with some fruit. I, however ,still wasn't a huge fan of the chocolate because it wasn't sweet enough for me. But, nonetheless it was still a cool tour.

Once we were done there, we stopped at some stores to get some snacks and then made our way back to Quito on the bus. We then took another taxi from the bus station to la Casablanca. I had another awesome conversation with this taxi driver. I pretty much was able to have a full out conversation with him and got to tell him about Cumbre Alta and encouraged his son, who is 9 years old, to play with them in the future. Who knows if he will but it was cool to be able to share about Cumbre!

We got back to la Casablanca around 7:00 and ended up making a huge dinner to eat together. Everyone was assigned their own task. Mine was to make some homemade garlic bread which actually, with the help of Mabe, turned out to be delicious. The whole meal was very good and we were able to cook for Mabe and Fabi too which was very nice since they always cook for us. After cleaning up, the night was finished and we all headed to bed.

Today was an awesome day. I had a blast at Mindo exploring new things and enjoying God's creation. It was also very special to get to spend all day with the interns, who are all leaving within the next two days, either to go home or to lead teams elsewhere. God provided an awesome today together as a group. He also gave me so much encouragement with the awesome conversations I was able to have in Spanish with the taxi drivers. I have realized how much my Spanish has improved over the summer which is really awesome!

Praise God for an awesome day today. Praise Him for the encouragement He continues to send every day! Also be praying for the rest of the week and continued energy to give it my all!

Dios Bendiga,
Nico