Weekend in Mindo

From Mindo

Mindo is a small town about two hours northwest of Quito famous for its waterfalls, flowers and birds. More than 400 species of birds have been identified in Mindo and in 2006, it was voted Audobon's birdwatching capitol of the world.

For our stay in Mindo, we were fortunate enough to meet through a mutual friend Edgar and Manuela, who own a house in Mindo and generously agreed to let us stay with them for the weekend. This not only gave us an insiders guide into this otherwise touristy destination, but also forced us to speak Spanish all weekend long.

We met Edgar and Manuela at a trolley station in Quito for the ride to the North Station and a connecting bus to Mindo. After crossing the equator, we descended from the Sierra into the lush cloudforests that flank the western slopes of Pichincha. As we descended, the weather turned wetter and warmer and the vegetation took a remarkable turn for the tropical. After a short delay due to a landslide onto the highway, we arrived in Mindo at lunchtime.

Following a lunch at a local restaurant, we hired a pickup and headed out of town to the local fishing hole. Eve, Mary and I each caught talapia in small, stocked ponds using simple bamboo rods with heavy test tied crudely to the end. After about an hour of fishing, it began to rain, so we took the two biggest fish and sought refuge under a canopy at the outdoor bar, while drinking beer and waiting for our ride. There was an abundance of colorful hummingbirds at feeders and I counted at least seven different species from where I sat. Eventually the rain stopped and the pickup came and we all headed back to Mindo. That evening, Edgar, a chef by trade, transformed our meager catch into a mouthwatering feast, complete with rice and a salad.

The next day, Sunday, we got up early to hike to the cascadas (waterfalls). We wanted to beat the afternoon rains, so after breakfast, left the house at around 8:00 am. After a walk through town, we hitchhiked up the mountain from where it was a short walk to the entrance to the park.

Cultural Note: Nearly all the land in and around Mindo is privately held and for this entrance fees must be paid if you want to explore anything off road, which would include the river and waterfalls.

After paying the entrance fee, we headed down a steep path, through a cloudforest of ancient trees, sweeping vines, over-sized ferns and banana trees, into the river valley below. The river was quite beautiful, full of rocks and overhung with lush vegetation. There were numerous small waterfalls streaming down the steep sides of the valley and evidence of recent landslides was plentiful. Eventually, we made our way to a developed area, where small pools for bathing had been constructed from concrete. There was also a 9 meter (30 feet) high diving platform above a narrow and deep section of the river, as well as a tobagan (water slide) down the steep side of the valley wall, into the swift current below. Ultimately, Eve was the only one courageous enough to dive into the river, Mary and I preferring the slide instead. We spent a good deal of time swimming here before heading back up the trail to the entrance. We all noticed that after spending so much time at over 3,000m (10,000 ft) at our house in Quito, the hike here, up steep terrain but at the relatively pedestrian 1300m (4200 ft), felt relatively easy.

It soon began to rain, so we caught a ride back down the mountain and into town. We bought groceries for dinner, which again, thanks to Edgar, was excellent.

The next day, we split ways. Mary went to the Mariposaria (Butterfly House), Eve worked in the internet cafe, and I headed with Manuela to see some more hummingbirds and then to the centre de rescate (animal shelter). The centre is not normally open to the public, but Manuela (who is a bit of a naturalist) knew the owners, so we could get in. Housed there are numerous species of exotic birds, monkeys, snapping turtles, dogs and other Ecuadorian mammals previously unknown to me, that have been rescued from pet owners around the country. Many of the animals are eventually re-released into the wild, but some, having grown too accustomed to humans, and held until suitable homes can be found, usually in zoos. Though the birds were incredibly beautiful and entertaining, repeating "hola" whenever we would walk away, I found the howler monkeys the most intriguing.

We all met back up at the house, at lunch, and then headed for the bus back to Quito. After an equally beautiful ride, we arrived, perfectly on time at 4:00 at the North Station. We took the trolley back into town and said our good-byes to Edgar and Manuela. Thus ended a wonderful trip to the magical town of Mindo.

If you would like to see a slide show of photos from my trip to Mindo, just go to my Picasa Web Album.