After 4 flights and a 2+ hour van drive on curvy roads, we finally made it to Mindo. We checked in and basically slept for 11 hours. Now we start on our first full day...

At dawn, the jungle sounds awoke me. I heard many loud birds I call, alarm clock birds. It's as though they are telling every living thing to WAKE UP! Not deterred, I fell back asleep. A bit later I woke to a more subdued chatter of birds. Still, I went back to sleep. I finally woke around 7:20, and Lisa wasn't far behind. Breakfast was served in our room at 8:00, and we were barely ready for that.

We made our way down to the reception area at 9:00 to head out to the Cascadas (waterfalls) trek. We drove about 5km and arrived at the "office" where the trek would begin. We immediately saw the cable car that would be taking us across the valley to the hiking trails. We paid the man and hopped into the car without hesitation...along with two dogs. I guess they needed a lift to the other side too. We were then whisked across the valley, high above (seemed like 1000') above the canopy. A rushing river flowed as one would expect during rainy season. About a minute later, we reached the other side.

We stepped out of the car and a young man walked us over to a map of the trails and proceeded to speak of them in Spanish. I interrupted him and said, "No hablo Espanol." He continued in Spanish, as one would expect. We plotted our route to a trail that had something like 9 waterfalls along the way. We went up steps, along trails, down trails, up steps, elevated switchbacks, etc. You really had to watch your step. After about 20 minutes, there was a turnoff for the first one. We went over toward it, crossed a bridge over a rushing river and looked at the force of the falls. A few pictures later and we headed back to the main trail and went up (and down) to the next one. On this one, the trail ended at the edge of the river. From there you could walk along the rocks in order to better see the falls. I quickly noticed some steel cables along the rocks on the side. This made it easy to not get swept down river. We plodded on until the 4th one. As we made our way to it, it began to rain. Not wanting to get stuck in a downpour, we decided to head back. We knew we were in for a long trek at that point. I couldn't imagine making it to all 9 falls. Maybe 20 years ago, but not today. As we walked along, it stopped raining. There was one more falls (the biggest) off to the other side and on the way back to the cable car. We (Lisa, begrudgingly) decided to take it in since the rain had subsided. About 15 minutes of mostly downhill (you know what that means) we made it to the big falls. It wasn't that big, but it was sure rushing. There was yet another bridge across the river which made for a good photo angle. I took a couple of pictures while Lisa waited in a large shelter along the river. When I was done, we headed back up. Along the way, we saw a guy perhaps in his 60s with a couple people. He was having a hard time with the climb. When we passed him, he had his hand on his heart. All we could do was hope. I told him, take it slow. Even we had to take it slow due to the terrain and the altitude. Back at the cable car, we waited a bit and did see the man make it up to the landing. Good for him!

We caught a taxi to town and looked for pizza. We had seen may signs for pizza when we drove through the previous day, so it sounded good. Instead, we opted for a more traditional meal. I had grilled chicken, fries, rice, beans, and fried plantains. Lisa had beef fajitas. Both were pretty good, although Lisa's serving was massive. I helped her out but still only at about two-thirds of it. As we sat wating for the check, the rain kicked in. Not having any small money for a taxi, we wandered the streets looking for a place to buy something in order to get change. Sure, we could have got a beverage, but I didn't want to see the look on their face when paying with a $20. We found a chocolate shop and got a bag of cocoa powder and small money in change. Standing under an awning, we waited while it poured. Not too much later, we were found a taxi and were taken back to our accommodation. The roads outside of town are horrible, with potholes and puddles all over. We were just glad we didn't have to drive. About 4 minutes later he dropped us off. Now, it's time to relax, write blog, watch TV, and have dinner brought to our room.