Mindo, La Selva, y Picaflores!!!!

Marcia, Me, Hopey, Jackie (Hopey's Mom) and Jorge went to Mindo yesterday. Mindo is a tiny little town 2 hrs north of Quito that specializes in ecotourism, clearly the perfect place to take Hopey and I. Technically, it's a "cloud forest", but it was really cool to finally see some of the immense jungle that Ecuador is so famous for!

During the afternoon, Hopey and I went to a garden for mariposas (butterflies) and picaflores (hummingbirds). It was so cool to see bunches and bunches of hummingbirds in one place! The two of us geeked out while my mom hung out with an old friend who lives in Mindo. He's an elderly French man who now grows coffee and just hangs out. He was cool and fed us lunch after showing us around his home (which is literally right outside the main town). The adults cruised with us yesterday then went home in the evening while Hopey and I stayed in an only mildly sketchy hostel overnight there.


This morning we got up and went on a zipline trip through the canopy. It was awesome!
I only have internet for a few more minutes, but I'll post pictures tomorrow!