We went horseback riding in Costa Rica and we visited the cloud forest in Costa Rica. So now we decided to visit the cloud forest in Ecuador on horseback. Edmundo said it would be about a 4 maybe 5 hour tour. As we walked to the bottom of the BSI driveway we finally saw the advertised 'slide of death'. This was the BSI's own water slide that ends in a big pond. We never saw anyone use it, but this probably wasn't the season for it. That wouldn't have stopped Liam though. He would have been down that in a second.

We met our guide and our horses just down the road. We also met three other BSI patrons that would be joining us on this tour. There was a couple from Canada who had moved to Ecuador several years ago. Their daughter Pasquel was visiting them and they were all traveling around Ecuador together. Fortunately for us, Lise and George both spoke fluent Spanish and thus became our interpreters for this tour.

Liam has his Buff (orange cloth) on to protect him from all the sun, dust and wind.

I'd say we climbed uphill for about 90 minutes. I was getting used to the horse, but I wasn't too comfortable taking pictures. We watched the endless hills filled with farms. I was still amazed that Ecuadorians can harvest the land on such slopes.

It seemed so sunny that I couldn't imagine where the cloud forest was. Then we rounded a corner and you could see the clouds resting in the mountains.

Our guide, Umberto, was excellent. Well, it helped that we had translators. It was clear he was proud of his country and this land. He told stories about his parents and how hard they worked as he grew up. Umberto now owns some of this land and he is happy to protect it. We dismounted our horses and let them graze. Umberto took us to a different spot to enjoy the view and eat our packed lunches. When we finished, Umberto took us through the forest. He told us about the trees and birds. I didn't tell Michael and the kids about how there could also be snakes or tarantulas. Umberto mentioned that briefly, but made it sound inconsequential. We continued through the labrynth of forest and were led to a small waterfall.

We continued on horseback to the cloudforest. It got much colder. Umberto had fun egging the horses on to gallop more. I was not a big fan of that, but the kids loved it. They laughed and squealed.

All in all, our tour took a good 6 hours. I paused on several occasions to take this all in. We were riding horses through the cloud forest in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. We were learning about the land and the people who live there. We met new people from all over the world. The kids were having a blast. This is what it is all about.

Half selfie with the cloud forest in back