Mindo

If Quito is purgatory, then Mindo must be heaven. Lying just 2 hours west of Quito, but halfway down towards the coast, Mindo is a birder's heaven at least. Quito's elevation is 9,300 feet. It's the 2nd highest capital in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia. But Mindo is at about 4,000 feet, or 1300 meters. The warm and moist air from the Pacific make the Mindo area a cloud forest and that means lots of birds and warmer temperatures. We're not huge birders, mostly because we can't see them that well. But we're willing to give it the old college try again. We've seen some great birds in South Africa, Costa Rica, and Panama.

We immediately liked Mindo. It's warmer, it's easier to breathe with the lower elevation, and it has clean air. It's a typical small Ecuadorian town with a main street and a Plaza. But it's a tourist town offering bird tours, ziplines, waterfalls, horse-riding, etc. Given that, it still is quite charming. Our neighbors in McFarland have been here, along with a few other friends. We got a recommendation for the "Yellow House" on the edge of the village and we couldn't be happier. We rented a 2 story "cabin" on a rocky river with a full kitchen for $44/night or $54 with an amazing breakfast.

But it's the property that is the really amazing part. The lot is huge and boasts 5 long hiking trails with varied, lush terrain and lots and lots of birds and flowers. They charge people to hike if they're not staying here.

After checking in, we went on a 2 hour afternoon hike and within 15 minutes saw a juvenile Capybara, leafcutter ants on the march, Toucans, Tanagers, and many other birds we couldn't identify. It's lovely. Halfway through, a neighbor on a white horse rode by saying "Buenas."

The pleasant town has lots of local and foreign owned restaurants. We opted for an "almuerzo" or set lunch for $3 which is a hearty soup, main course of meat or seafood, 2-3 starches, and a juice. We both got the trout, because who the hell would pass up fresh caught trout for that amount? The soup alone was worth the price. That night we had a set dinner meal at a Persian place and the spices were amazing. Ecuador isn't known for it's cuisine and sometimes the food can be basic, so we tend to eat at the exotic places when we find them. We'll be eating lots of rice, chicken, and plantains soon enough.

The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast at the main house on the property. It's perched on a hill looking over many large treetops at eye level. There's 3 hummingbird feeders right in front of us, so we enjoyed seeing dozens of them feasting while we did the same.

Then, it was off to the nearby waterfalls and some freaky and creaky cable cars. A short taxi ride up the mountain is the "teleferico" an old ski resort cable car. This thing must be 50+ years old. I assume they bought the equipment from a ski resort in Chile or maybe even the States. But it worked. It had open air ski lift seats and they whisked up and over a large valley. The views of the trees from above were amazing, and to top it off, we saw another Toucan from up there.

At the other end, we started a trail that led to about 6 waterfalls. We met a couple from Holland that was on our bus and we did the hike together. It was their 2nd day of a 6 month trip and we gave them some good advice. They'd never heard of the Almuerzo, so I just saved them $200 on their trip at least.

Later, we took the "Tarabita" lift, which is kind of like a big basket that holds 4 people. We met a young couple from LA and shared the ride down with them. The funny thing about that lift is that it's powered by an old Nissan truck engine that sits in a concrete shelter. We walked back to town and grabbed some Venezuelan Arepas and a couple beers for dinner. What a great day. And we're just starting.

On our last 2 days in Mindo, we explored the trails on the property and paid for a night tour guide through the cloud forest. We did this once in Costa Rica and it's fun. We saw tarantulas, a scorpion, lots of small frogs, some sleeping motmots, and the only mammal, a Kinkajou.

The trails on our property are amazing and better than many trails I've been on in national parks in various countries. We didn't see a whole lot of birds, but the lush cloud forest starts about 35 minutes from our cabin. There are lots of mossy trees, grasses, and bamboo lining the trails. Right near the end I did get to see the fabled Cock of the Rock for about 2 seconds. It was raining pretty hard and he landed on a branch near us. They have a huge round red head.

Our next stop is Puerto Lopez on the coast. It will be a long travel day. To shorten it, we're hiring a driver to take us to Santo Domingo 2 hours away. That saves us a few hours of waiting for 2 buses. From Santo Domingo, it's an 8 hour bus ride. But Puerto Lopez is worth it. We were there 2 years ago and will stay at Hosteria Mandala again, where a quaint cabin awaits us in a lush garden setting across the street from the beach.

- Breakfast with the Colibri (hummingbirds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/h2Ps1rPJ1mJTdc1R9
- If you're into Orchids, check out this album https://photos.app.goo.gl/gYAanG523MoTY7j5A
- More photos and videos are here https://photos.app.goo.gl/73Y4V1oE49VMSzwc7Read more