This past weekend we visited Mindo (a two hour bus ride from Quito) and we fell in love with the place! We arrived on Friday evening to find a cute little town neslted in the cloud forest of the Western Andes. The one main street and welcoming faces (who were accostomed to tourists) provided a needed break from the overcrowded and crazy Quito!
Our fabulous hotel, The Dragonfly Inn, was right in the middle of things, on the main road with a little hummingbird garden out back and a private balcony for people watching. This relatively new hotel sported polished wood floors, to the point of having us remove our shoes before entering the main part of the hotel- a great idea! The town is full of expats, locals, nature hungry tourists and great restaurants!
We found ourselves in the middle of the festivities of Mindo´s 140th anniversary, complete with prarades, battle reinactments, marching bands, singing and dancing well into the night and a great crafts market. Saturday we rode the longest cable car in Ecuador, called the tarabita, above the tree line, and followed hiking trails to beautiful waterfalls. Sunday morning we rose at 5:30 AM to meet our bird watching guide, William, for a morning of more rigourous hiking and incredible bird sightings. Mindo is the best place in the world for bird watching; 25% of all of the bird species in Ecuador can be found in Mindo. We were able to see toucans, parrots, fly catchers, tanagers, kites and woodpeckers- a very successful first bird watching experience for both of us!
Yesterday was a holiday in Ecuador, the 24th of May, honoring their independence from Spain in 1822, so we didn´t have to get up early for work, hooray! We did a bit more sight seeing in Quito with our co-volunteers. Miss you all
Love it! Jake wants me to tell you both that Maren would love to have stayed at the Dragonfly Inn and to go birdwatching--since she is obsessed right now with birds & bugs. :-) Glad you guys are getting much needed R&R, as the days at the hospital are demanding I am sure. Hugs & kisses to you both. Talk to you soon...
ReplyDeleteSounds breathtaking. I am glad the pictures on the website do it justice! miss and love you both.
ReplyDeleteWow! Rides above the tree lines; parrots flycatchers and toucans; Independence Day celebrations and parades; barefoot Contessa hotels with hummingbird gardens - what an amazing few weeks you are having.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure you're not there with the Today Show on location?!
Love, Jane