Ecuador Day 3: Zip-Lines and Steak!

Yesterday morning, Jon asked me if there was anything specific I'd like to do while I was here. I asked if there was anything he wanted to suggest anything. He asked if I was interested in going on a zip-line in Mindo. I had been wanting to go on a zip-line through the jungle for a long time, so this sounded like a plan to me. When the Lamberts realized that Danny didn't have to be at work until 7PM, we made plans to have a guys day zipping through the trees.

Instead of going to the one they typically take groups to in Mindo, Jon decided to try out one that's just before Mindo called Toucanopy (isn't that a great name?). We meandered along a one lane dirt road for a while taking a wrong turn once because we didn't see the little arrow that might have been pointing to Toucanopy.


Once we saw the arrow and followed it, we had no trouble finding the place. There's a sign near where you park that asks you to announce yourself and there's a bell hanging beside it.

We rang the bell, and were greeted very quickly by an extremely friendly black and tan dachshund. A woman, Nina, was not far behind him.

She greeted us and led us along a path to where we could gear up for the zip line. Along the way, she explained how many lines there were, how long the longest was, how fast you could go if you weighed enough, and how much it cost. She explained this all in Spanish forgetting that 1/3 of our group (me) really only spoke English. Thankfully, Jon remembered to give me a brief summary. It turns out I had caught the highlights because I can usually pick out numbers as well as meters. The longest zip-line was going to be over 500 meters long, the tallest over 60 meters tall, and the fastest one could reach speeds of about 60km/hour. By this point, I was quite excited.

They put us in very nice padded climbing harness, gave us zip line pulleys, gloves, leather breaks, and helmets. At this point, I think they figured they had us committed enough that we would now sign the waiver. I'm rather thankful we got to see the equipment before we signed anything. Just as we were getting ready to go, a group started coming off the last leg of the series. It just looked like fun!





They started us off on a fairly short and slow one so we could get used to it and practice braking. It was awesome. I've been on zip lines before, but always ones at challenge courses, and the views you see on those just cannot compare. We were zipping over the tree tops listening to the birds and bugs.

There are a series of six zip lines at Toucanopy that allow us to see different plants and terrain. One of them goes beside several large white palms, a species of palm tree that are endangered here. One took us by lots of bromeliads. My two favorite zip lines were the fastest one, which went by the white palm tress, and the longest once, which was also the last one. Nina, one of our guides, told us that we could reach 60km/h (37.28 mph). The problem is that very light people cannot get enough momentum to attain that speed. Nina took one look at me and assured me that I would have to problem reaching that speed.



Along with seeing all of the awesome plants, we also got to see inch worms, centipedes, and even a spider. I was hoping to see some birds, but it was pretty cloudy and they weren't really showing themselves. On the plus side, there's plenty of humming birds around the house here to see. Jon also has a small aviary with some finches, canaries, and a South American cardinal.

Once we got done with the zip line, we realized that it was only 12:30 and we still had time to grab lunch if we wanted. We mosied down to Mindo to eat at El Cheff. This is the restaurant that has steak on a rock. When the waitress came to take our order, I was still wrestling with what to get. Danny just looked at me and said, "You know you want the steak on a rock." He then ordered it for me. What a good decision it was too. $6.80 got me a steak on a rock, french fires, tomatoes, broccoli, and pickled carrots. It was pretty awesome.


After that it was time to head back up to the house in Quito. Danny drove and we chatted while Jon slept in the back seat. This was the first time I'd really had a chance to talk with Danny. It was a little difficult because he doesn't get to practice his English much and my Spanish is really terrible.

When we got back, I crashed for what I thought would be a short nap. It was a bit longer than I expected, but it was great! Then it was about time for supper. Over all, it's been a very eventful and fun day. Tomorrow, I'm tagging along with Jon and Karen to the monthly meeting with all of the pastors. It should be an interesting experience.