The Less-Traveled Road to Mindo (Ecuador)

Tags

Canoa Ecuador, Hummingbirds, Mindo Birds, Mindo Ecuador, Riding the Bus in Ecuador, Sarah Dettman Tours

Mud boots are mandatory for this trip! Are you ready?

If people were ‘tailing’ me this week,  I probably lost them before I reached the end of my journey!  On Friday, my friend Sarah Dettman and her tour group drove from Quito to the Pacific coast.    After a late lunch break with a few local friends at Palo Santo Cafe, we toured the Jama area, the Riverhouse and El Matal Fishing Village then drove to the popular beach destination of Canoa.

Luchy’s Palo Santo has come a long way in a year. (See: “It Started With One LIght Pole.“)

“Are we there yet?”

Luchy smiles from behind the bar!

The very-lovely Canoa Beach Hotel provided a perfect oasis after a long day of travel.  The next morning I waved farewell to the early risers before embarking on a ten-hour journey to the cloud forest!

Travel by bus allows one to view the landscape from a high perspective, and the  recent flooding provided interesting views along the farming belt.

A summary of the trip: the local bus in Canoa took me about ten miles to the bus terminal, where I boarded another bus bound for “Tasagua,’ where I boarded another bus for the major terminal in Santo Domingo, where I boarded another bus for the the sweet cloud-forest area known as “Mindo.”

The Crazy Hubbub of Santo Domingo de los Colorados

The Dragonfly Inn – Home for two nights!  $25.00 for a single room

I reached Mindo at 8:30 Saturday night!   My reasons for visiting the area were to experience Mindo and to see a property that some good friends were interested in buying. What a trip, only to turn around and leave for home at mid morning on Monday!  After all, I had to return for my date with Gatito on Tuesday and hoped that he honored his promise!

“Do you think he will show up for work on Tuesday?”
…..”It depends; if it’s raining he will probably stay home.”

Mindo Ecuador

Home Sweet Home! Life on the shrimp farm is blissfully quiet!

I arrived home last night, and everyone will be pleased to know that Gatito did indeed show up as promised!   Yes!   After scribbling down dimensions for a doorway in a cement wall and discussing options for water management issues, he waved goodbye and promised to return ‘Manana’ for a full day of work!

After the brutal hours on various buses, I have been happy for a quiet day at home!  I will close with a few more images of the Mindo Experience!  Z

John, a new friend in Mindo, served Maracuya Curd – Wow! What a treat!

May I introduce you to Moana, John’s lovely cat that spends part time in the country and part time in Quito?  When she was a forlorn street kitten, her cry was quite moanful!  Her Cinderella life left her quite regal, don’t you agree?

Moana The Cat

Perhaps Moana would like to chase some hummingbirds!

Mindo boasts one of the highest bird counts in the world, with over 470 species.  Each year it tops the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count.  Thankfully it is a quiet haven for naturalists and isn’t overrun by tourists.  Perhaps that 10-hour bus ride weeds out the folks that don’t belong there!

I hope that it never changes!

Z

“Pardon me, but do you have any maracuya curd?”