The Sachatamia Lodge

It´s been a few days since I´ve written. Please know that it was not from laziness. Apparently, lightening struck a major power line in Ecuador knocking out electricity for the entire country. Luckily, we were were safely tucked away in the Mindo Valley (aka the Cloud forest). Mornings in the Cloud forest are usually ¨dry.¨ Basically, it doesn´t start raining until around 1pm each day. Once it starts, it doesn´t let up! Fortunately, we had tons of great gear which allowed us to enjoy the crazy climate.

On our first full day, Ashley, (who has become our social coordinator), organized an awesome ziplining adventure. It consisted of a 3 hour hike, a rope swing, and two ziplines. Mary, Mike, and Joe sat this one out. Honestly, it might have been for the best. There were no waivers, instructional videos, or even simple explanations. When we got to the zipline, our Ecuadorian guides strapped us in and motioned for us to run off of the cliff. John went first, then Adam, then I, than the rest. One at a time, we flew across a huge ravine. Nothing to it. As we approached the other side, the Ecuadorian guides would slow us down by stepping on our rope. The first zipline went off without a hitch. The second one....well, I wasn´t so lucky.

Lexi, Professor Shriver, and Sarah bid me farewell as I took off for the second time. Everyone on the other side had cameras ready to catch an action shot of my landing. Unfortunately, I didn´t make it that far. Later, Professor Shriver told me that the Ecuadorian guides had stepped on the rope a little too soon catching it on the top of the zipline. This caused me to stop just a few yards shy of the landing. I have no doubt that as I helplessly dangled over the crevice, Professor Shriver felt a fear that I have never known. He says the guides offered no solution and that one merely whispered the word ¨nooo.¨ At the time, all of this was unkown to me. After laughing for a second and posing for some sweet pics, I took a second to collect my thoughts. Realization hit that the guides might begin to pull me backwards and make me go again. I was definitely not having that. With the determination to make it just a few more yards, I removed my pink polo baseball cap, put it in my mouth, and bounced a bit to get my hands around the zipline. I tried to pull myself forward but quickly found that a safety would not allow you to do this. So, UD´s finest came to my rescue. Katy and Ashley put down their cameras and picked up a long dried up vine. It was conveniently located parallel to the landing. I grabbed hold. From there, you can gather the rest -- I survived! After that incident, the guides did not slow anyone down. Professor Shriver, Sarah, and Lexi came zipping in like lunatics. I guess it´s better to have a crash landing than no landing. All and all, I felt totally safe. When Professor Shriver let me in on the details of the near catastrophe, I wondered why I wasn´t more scared...

After our ziplining adventure, we had lunch and went to the Shade Tree Coffee Farm. Our guide, Brian, explained the history of the farm. He wore a thin fleece, cargo pants, and baseball cap. Meanwhile, we were decked out in rainboots, waterproof pants, and waterproof jackets. I guess the locals are used to the rain. After another short hike, we picked some coffee fruits. Brian showed us how to extract the beans and eat the fruit. We got back to our lodge, still no electricity. We played a few games of pool by headlamp. The hotel´s generator allowed us just enough light to see our dinner.

The next morning, we enjoyed free time. Mary, Katy, Stephanie, and I hiked back to the rope swing. We spent all morning perfecting our cirque de soleil moves. We made funny Tarzan calls until Professor Shirver and Sarah approached letting us know that their bird microphone was picking us up. Ooops! On our way back to the lodge, we spent a while sloshing through the creek and waterfall. The cold of the pristine water could be felt through our rubber boots. So nice! Later that afternoon, we went to the Butterfly Garden in Mindo. Professor Shriver seemed unimpressed, but I had a blast taking pictures of exotic butterflies, skipping on the flowered paths, climbing up rays of sunshine, and sliding down rainbows...juuust kidding. Honestly though, it was totally enchanting. We used watermellon to catch butterflies on our fingers. Katy decorated almost every finger with a different species. She was even brave enough to put a bit of watermellon on the tip of her nose.

On our way to and from, we rode in the covered beds of pick-up trucks. The rides were always a little hair raising. It took two trucks to carry our whole group. Each truck could hear the other bunch screaming and laughing as we made our way through the mountains. Usually, we were screaming about passing vehicles and laughing about random cows in the road. Becca inhaled her fair share of ¨road mist.¨ The group wanted to stop in the village of Mindo; however, upon driving through it, we realized it might be a little awkward. Professor Shriver decided that 15 Americans invading the village for an hour would cause too much of a stir. After seeing it for ourselves, we sort of agreed. It was just a ¨vibe.¨

Today, we left the Mindo Valley. On our way back to Quito, we went to the equator. We got to do some sweet science experiments with water, ballance eggs on a nail, and walk the line. Basically, it all made for some touristy pictures.

Everything has been totally amazing so far. Please trust that we are in good hands. Our group has become a family on all of our hikes. We´re looking out for each other and will continue to do so in the Galapagos. Tomorrow we leave for our 8 days at sea. We are all in agreement that the best is yet to come. Love you all!