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?”
You win, Lisa! I’m tired now. Back to bed.
But the humming birds were worth it.
thank you so much; i’m glad you enjoyed those lovely hummingbirds! they were amazing to watch!
I enjoyed your trip. And yay for Gatito, true to his word.
ha! he showed up and promised to return the next day, and guess what? he’s yet to return. as much as i like him as a person, i am sorely disappointed in his work ethics.
thankfully someone else stepped in and helped with the work so that barb and i could get started on the bodega.
Wow Lisa, it was an amazing trip. Thanks for taking us with you 😉 and you know what? Nunca había visto un colibrí posado y no volando incansablemente… Impresionante! 🙂
hey amiga! thank you so much! nunca will be one of the words that i use for this week’s story alphabet for ‘n.’ some words in spanish are so much more expressive than ones in english!
thanks! z
Nice glimpses from your life, Z! 🙂 Favorite photo: the begging bird (last).. 😉
hey!
thanks so much; that’s a great name for that image. it was hypnotic standing there and watching those hummingbirds dart back and forth at the feeding stations!
Looks amazing!
that’s a unique part of the world, and the arduous bus ride was worth it!
Love the hummers.Nothing like the peace and quiet of home to return to.
So pleased to travel along with you and also pleased the work is now once more under way. Did he say “Manana” ????
Great photos! Love the hummingbirds.
Wonderful photos and journey
Jealous! I love the second to last hummingbird picture! Sweet! And I really like the one taken from the bus that shows the Peligro sign – the way you see both inside & outside the bus – and the guy on the horse – wow – what a perfect moment you captured there! (Oh and the boots!)
i have a bulging folder of photos of boots! there’s something ‘about’ boots, isn’t there?!!!
you are very observant! the photos did not capture most of those ‘peligro’ moments! the heavy rains have washed away sections of highway.
Enjoyed taking a trip with you, z! Wonderful bus tour. I love the hummingbird photos 🙂
thanks for tagging along, though next time remind me to pack some peanuts! bus-stop food is not very appealing!
Love those hummingbirds too! And Mindo sounds like a place I might want to add to my list.
you certainly are seasoned enough to endure the travel by bus to get there! it’s not that far from quito, but is a long way from the coast!
Another adventure and more perfect pix. 🙂
thanks! you would enjoy mindo! z
Four vehicle changes in ten hours?? Wow, you have some energy 🙂 But Mindo does seem to be worth every hardship! Wonderful, wonderful post Lisa 🙂
thank you. the bad thing about so much travel is how little time i have online. i’m way behind on reading posts and answering comments.
yes, the trip was worth it, and next time (gasp! my body asks, ‘next time?’) i will plan to stay for three or four more days, as this time i rushed back for the ‘manana’ work!
grrrrracias!
What a lovely adventure!
si.. there’s so much to see in this world! you do a great job of traveling/exploring your area as well!
I love an adventure!