Mindo’s fresh air made us thirsty for adventure. Setting aside our fear of heights for the exhilaration of gliding above the cloud forest, Laurene and I set out early to go ziplining.

Making our way through the cloud forest

A local named Giovanni picked us up in his truck for the winding drive up the hill. We were racing against time since I had to return to Quito to work in the afternoon so I was glad we had decided to fork over the $3 for the lift up the road.

Learning the important safety rules - in Spanish

That daring Laurene on the flying trapeze

The views were vast and endless. It was hard to imagine that just over the mountain lay Quito in the distance. Mindo was a world away.

My friend Amy arrived with our new video camera the night before and I had been carefully observing her to see whether she was experiencing any signs of altitude sickness or jet lag (and nagging at her to keep drinking water). When she professed that she felt fine, I set our Mindo plan in action. Amy, Laurene, and I raced to find a bus to take us the 2-hour drive to Mindo.

The bus ride to Mindo was nearly as beautiful as the town itself: a windy hilltop road snaking through the lush forest. The surrounding mountain range was draped in fog.

Mindo is a small one-street town with rustic guesthouses open to the forest and the incessant wake-up call of roosters shrieking long before dawn. Children race bicycles through the town’s small plaza and babies climb in the trees.

We stopped by an orchid farm specializing in minuscule orchids and strolled through the grounds as the owner used a magnifying glass to describe a few of the 200 various species on the farm. He informed us that Ecuador is home to an astounding 4,000 species of orchids.  Although the tiny country covers less than 0.2% of the planet’s surface, it is home to 18% of the world’s bird species and orchids.

The next morning we woke to the sound of roosters imploring us to get out of bed. We tried to ignore them but finally decided they were right, so we rolled out of our colorful $4 guesthouse and into the verdant world of Mindo.

Gazing at the scenery from the open-air loft of our guesthouse

Select photos contributed by Laurene and Amy Blogs Chow