Chicky Park

We just got back from two days in a cloud forest.  It's a beautiful, dense, wet, place. The guy that coined the term, "rainforest" was right on the money. It does a lot of that. They had a zip line course that was unlike any I had done before. It was 13 lines way up in the hills at some points maybe a hundred feet off the forest floor. Every line was a blast except the time when the guide was giving us options for how we wanted to travel and I heard "mariposa" and thought "ooh, I like butterflies, lets go that way! "  I found myself upside down, lying flat, arms and legs outstretched kind of like the wings of a butterfly I suppose.  For anyone trying this, I would recommend the "Superman". That was fantastic.

We also went repelling down some waterfalls. We weren't quite sure what was involved, and the lady in the office told us there was no need for a bathing suit. Clothes still in the drier. Only understanding maybe a third of what they are telling you always keeps things interesting.

In the forest, we hung out with a disillusioned German neurosurgeon. He had just spent the last 6 wks living with an indigenous community and had great stories about hunting toucans and shamanistic medicine.  One of his most acute observations from all of the houses he had visited in Ecuador prior was that these people have no concept of decorating. All walls white, empty,  not even area rugs or interesting fixtures. We are currently staying in a family's apt in Quito and that was the first thing that struck me. If every place we stay at is like this, I could eventually go nuts.

The most intriguing thing we can view from our window is the largest KFC I have every seen. Next to the KFC logo are the words, "Chicky Park".  We call this place El KFC Ultimo.  Can't wait to check it out.