Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Mindo- part two

ZIPLINES:
After our hike we stopped off at Mindo Canopy Tours for an adventure on the ziplines.  Two 500m lines (roughtly 1/3 of a mile) stretched out in front of us over the trees. We told Harper and Cal that we were going to take a ride and they could do it with us if they wanted to.  Neither Danny nor I really thought they would try it, especially not Cal.  The kids said they wanted to do it (although I don’t know if they really understood what that meant) so we all harnessed up and we made our way to the takeoff tower.  The harnesses fit great and we were surprised that had ones in such small sizes for our kids.  The helmets were definitely to meet safety standards only; you can tell in the following pictures that they didn't fit quite properly.

After that we hitched up and Zippee! Along with a guide, one of us and one of the kids sailed out along the line for an exhilarating soar over the trees.  They each were a little panicky for the first few seconds but with our reassurance and a couple silly birdcalls they were all smiles.  We couldn’t believe they did it, and I think Harper still can’t believe it either, but it was great.  We were so high up and it felt like flying.  As soon as it was done I could have done it again.
This was our line

Big smiles post-zip!
Here are a bunch of rapid-fire shots of me and Cal zipping through the air on our way back to the tower: 





BIRDING:
The last morning Harper and I woke early to meet with Efraim (the owner of the hosteria and a naturalist) to go birding.  Up to this point we had seen lots of hummingbirds, some yellow and black orioles, and a toucanette (like smaller version of a toucan.) 
We set out at 6:15am and walked down the road to the river.  Efraim brought his scope and it was amazing how many birds he found hiding in the trees.  Harper kept saying she wished she brought along her crayons and notebook so that she could draw the ones she found.  I felt the same way although I know that I never could replicate their beauty on paper. The bird we saw the most was a lemon-rumped tanager although none of my pictures did it justice. 

A nest perched up in the trees
Efraim helps Harper look through the scope
Cattle egret 
Toucanet

Motmot

1 comment:

  1. I have always wanted to do a zipline...how long (in minutes) did it take? As I read the part about the birding I was reminded of the book "Owl Moon". Sounds like a great adventure.

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