Up in the Clouds

Anthony Serrano sent us a “Top 30” list of places to visit in Ecuador, when we first got in touch with him from Toronto. The Mariposas de Mindo was on the list and after a little research, we decided we would take a short trip to Mindo from Quito. Mindo is a very small town, about two hours west of Quito and is a hotspot for ecotourism and birders. The town is nestled in the Mindo Nambillo Cloudforest, between two ecoregions- the lowlands and the Tropical Andes, which is the reason behind the abundance of biodiversity in the region. I also wanted to visit the rainforest in Ecuador but with budget constraints after visiting the Galapagos, we decided to go to Mindo. You never know what you will see in the rainforest and I was pretty sure that we would be able to see at least a lot of beautiful birds in Mindo.

After checking in to our room we took care of priority number one, lunch. Then we headed to the Mariposas de Mindo, which is a long walk from town but the pleasant warm weather made it an enjoyable walk. At the entrance to the butterfly garden, was a garden attracting hummingbirds. We saw so many beautiful, vibrant coloured hummingbirds zipping from one feeder to another! We just sat on the benches and snapped away as they arrived to feed. The prospect of upcoming rain, forced us into the butterfly garden. This one was smaller than what I expected (and a bit expensive with an entrance of 6 dollars) but lovely with lots of tropical butterflies like the Blue Morpho Butterfly. After the visit, we rushed back into town just in time to avoid the heavy rain.

We stayed at the Biohostal Mindo, and one of their staff, Irman Arias was a bird watching guide. After having an early breakfast at 5:40am, we headed out for a morning walk (early bird catches the worm) with Irman. Going with him was totally worth it because he was able to listen for bird calls and noticed so many birds that we would never have seen. Using his telescope, we were able to get a close-up look at birds that were just a coloured dot in the distance. Irman has a special skill. He knew the names and calls of more than 700 hundred birds and because of this, he has travelled all over Ecuador to be a guide. I really don't remember the names of all the birds we saw but some of them are: Red-billed Parrot, Crimson-rumped Toucanet, Paled-mandibled Aracari (Toucan Family), Golden Tanager, and Blue-neck Tanager. By 10am, we were back in Mindo, just in time to have a second breakfast :-)

That afternoon we headed back into the cloudforest. This time to see a series of waterfalls, known as the Santuario de Cascadas. The only way to get there is take the Tarabita de Montana, a cable-car that crosses the valley above the forest. The Cascada Reina, the first waterfall was able a 50 minute walk, through lush forest with some lovely bromeliads and flora. The trail was muddy in some spots and when we arrived my shoes and socks were soaked because you had to cross through flowing water to get to the waterfall. Ramanan's advice was to “just jump quickly over the rocks and you won't get wet” but did didn't really work out for him either because both our feet were soaked on the way back. The view of the waterfall was beautiful!

We didn't have enough time to see all of the waterfalls so we headed to the Cascada Nambillo. The trail was all downhill, for about 20 minutes, which meant that the way back was going to be brutal. We were hoping to go for a swim there, since we had seen photos of people in the water but the water was moving fast and it was pretty rocky so we decided against it.

Once we got back into town, a drink sounded like a great idea. The guys at the table next to us, invited us over and asked if were from Sri-Lanka! We were pretty surprised that these Ecuadorian guys could tell! There were three of them, one who had lived in Denmark, one who lives in Germany and the last doing his master in Ottawa. They were childhood friends and were there to visit family during Christmas. A good conversation and beer-a nice way to end our hike.

The next day we woke up early again for another morning walk before going back to Quito. This time we had two surprise guests, two dogs joined us and stayed with us the entire time. Dogs in South America are supper friendly, even the strays. People take their dogs everywhere-to work, to restaurants, to the mall. As puppies, they are bundled up in a blanket and carried around with them like babies. I really miss having a dog!

We were looking for something to do in Mindo a little before our bus left, and walked by the Mishqui Quinde or the Sweet Hummingbird, an ice cream shop with so much character. The shop is actually a van converted into kitchen with a open area for relaxing, and a tree-house made with bamboo just beside it. The owner, Oswaldo Proano, lives in the house and operates the shop. What's so special about his menu? Quinoa! He makes a Quinoa burger and a delicious Quinoa pudding, that is served with different flavoured ice creams and sauces. Oswaldo suggested that we order Quinoa pudding with a serving of fig and berry ice cream and peanut sauce. It was DELICIOUS! That's why this photo was taken halfway after we starting eating this tasty treat!