Exploring Mindo

When we were doing research for Mindo the guide book said that there were more rooms to rent than people living in the city. We thought this was an exaggeration until we got to the city. From the second we stepped off the bus to the moment we finally agreed on a place to stay we were accosted by hostel owners trying to fill rooms. Around every corner there was another hostel with open beds. We stopped by many of them, one of which had us sleeping next to the manager in an open room where she had a mosquito net and we did not. It was getting late by this time and we were desperate to find something, anything to get the packs off of our backs. The next place we stumbled upon was basically some woman’s home in which she had three rooms for rent. She had children running around and the house had a somewhat wet dog smell. Not the greatest place but we were tired and needed somewhere to stay at least for that night. When we got into the room Christina would not sleep with the cover and was disgusted in the condition of the sheets. We both slept in our travel sheet and still felt somewhat gross even after a shower. Something good did come out of our stay at this hostel though, we meet some American med students who gave us some great advice on things to see in Mindo.

That morning after breakfast we walked out to do the zip lines in the cloud forest and we met this great Australian girl named Joe who was also traveling through South America and we spent the next two hours on the zip lines as well as the rest of the day sharing travel experiences. There were 13 zip lines to ride and short walk through the jungle in between each one. On several of the lines you could ride with one of the guides and do interesting positions while flying through the air like the superman and the butterfly. I did the superman and Christina as well as Joe did the butterfly. Both positions were overtly sexual and made us uncomfortable at first, but when we saw the guides performing the positions with older overweight men as well, it made it somewhat comical. After the exhilarating zip line ride we thought we would check out the butterfly farm but unfortunately it was no longer warm enough to see lots of butterfly activity so we decided to go to the chocolate factory instead. I know, what a horrible replacement for butterflies … gooey brownies and hot chocolate. The place which is called El Quetzal has an amazing brownie as well as a guided tour of how they make the chocolate that goes into making the brownies and everything that they offer in the store. Unfortunately Joe had to catch the early bus because she was headed back to Quito.

The tour guide, also the owner, is a nice man with a genuine passion for making great chocolate and great coffee. We stuck around after the tour and drank coffee with him as well as two Canadians Roz and Trond. They were on a year long road trip from Vancouver to the tip of Argentina and back drinking coffee in every country. We had a long conversation and got great tips on traveling and heard some great stories of travel mishaps. They were also raving about their hostel saying it was like a resort and it was only three dollars to camp there. We were desperate to get out of our hostel but since we had left our bags there all day and the owner was holding a room for us we thought we would have to spend the night again. This time she left early the next morning and did not leave her mother anything to cook us for breakfast. This poor women was frantic trying to figure out what she was going to do all the while kids are screaming in the background. Let’s just say we were very glad to get out of there that morning. We were eventually fed and after that we moved to the hostel the Canadians were at, and as they described, it was like a resort.

The place was called Cabinas Bamboo and it was beautiful and the guy running it was friendly and helpful. After setting our stuff down we went to the Butterfly Farm and saw lots of butterflies emerging from cocoons and flying everywhere as well as humming birds flying all along the outside. I have never seen so many butterflies and so many different species of butterflies in one place. The rest of the day was kind of a recuperation day and we sat in town and watched the locals and tourist walk through the streets. At night we went to the Frog Chorus at Mindo Lago, which I think was my favorite thing we did in Mindo.

The Americans we met the first day were disappointed in it because of all the kids making noise throughout the evening, but when we went there were only about four college age Americans there. We started the evening with a small glass of wine and a talk about the species of frogs they have in the area and then we listened to all the different songs. He then called in a beetle that lights his way as he flies. It had two little yellowish, red lights on its face, making it look like its eyes were lighting its way. We were very lucky since they are only seen fifteen days of the year. After we went on a night walk and found frogs and insect life as well as some bioluminescent bacteria that makes wood glow in the dark. Oh how could I forget we also saw a little bird sleeping on a branch. It was really fun and the guide was very knowledgeable on the flora and fauna of the area.

The next morning after a great night in our hammocks we woke up to birds calling and cows mooing and hummingbirds feeding above our heads. About an hour after waking up I felt horrible. I do not know why I was so sick but Christina had to put my stuff away and drag me to the bus station to catch the 2 hour bus to Quito so we could catch the 11 hour bus to the Amazon. It was a long day.

Laura