Man I am a total slacker on these posts! But here is what happened not this past weekend but the one before:) I was actually really fun because we explored two new cities! Mindo and Puerto Quito. In Mindo we explored parts of the rain forest which was gorgeous! We went to this butterfly farm, which actually wasn´t my favorite because I am not the biggest fan of butterflies, I know I´m crazy! But they were beautiful and I have to admit awfully cute! Right after that we went rafting down this river. So fun, from far away it looked pretty calm, I thought it would be a sort of lazy river ride from a water theme park, but man was I wrong! I should have known when they gave us helmets to wear that it wasn´t quite like I expected:) We got bumped around quite a bit but it was so much fun and well worth it! After this we went to our hotel for the night. I can´t even describe how beautiful this place was! It is hidden in the rain forest and full of exotic flowers, hammocks, tropical fruit and juices, and it also had a pool! I felt like I was in a dream! Absolutely gorgeous. I shared a room with Lindsay and a cabin with 4 girls total. There was a mosquito net around our bed which always makes me nervous, be the bugs really weren’t that bad. When we arrived we got briefed on where we were and how our stay helped maintain that area of rain forest, how cool! Later we went down to the river to try and swim but it was really high and rough since they had been getting a lot of rain so we opted to go swimming in the pool! Lots of marco polo was played:) All the meals were delicious and at night we were taught salsa dancing. We all danced the night away!
The following day we went to Puerto Quito where we hiked through a bit of forest and came to this breathtaking waterfall. The best part about the hick was being able to jump off the top of the waterfall before we headed back! It was so scary but I´m so glad I decided to do it! I mean when else was I going to have an amazing opportunity like that, I had to take advantage! After playing by the falls we walked back and explored a small farm of a local family. It seemed like they had everything they could possible need there from rubber trees to healing plants. The only bad part about that was getting eaten by lots of bugs! We survived though no worries!
That is my weekend in a nutshell! I can´t get over how blessed I am to be here and experiencing all these new things! I love you all and hope all is well!!
Jess