Mindo is a
lovely little town in the Andes and is where I’ve
spent the last three days with Nicol. Just over two hours from Quito, it’s such a stark contrast to the
capital. The people are so friendly and everyone greets each other in the
street, regardless of whether they know each other or not. The atmosphere is
incredibly relaxed and the town is set in stunning countryside in the Andes. The place is famed for its bird-watching and we
took the opportunity to go on an early-morning tour with our hostel owner,
Marcelo, who is a very good guide (Hostal Rubby, behind the stadium, owned by Norma
and Marcelo Arias, lovely people). After an early start, we set off into the
forest armed with our binoculars and were not disappointed. We spotted three
different varieties of toucan, lots of different tanagers (not sure of
spelling), some kites, a barred puff bird and many more. We also visited a
butterfly farm, which served very good coffee, and went for a very long and
arduous hike to several waterfalls in the nearby Mindo Nambillo nature reserve.
My feet now ache quite nicely as a result. On the walk, we not only spotted
lots of native birds, but also came across a tiny viper and an enormous tarantula.
Both seemed to be far more scared of us than we were of them, thank goodness! The
only downside to the trip so far has been the bites I got from some nasty
little blood-sucking flies. I’ve been really fortunate that the mosquitoes have
pretty much left me alone so far but I’m obviously a very tasty treat for the
flies. Hope I don’t come across too many more of them.
This
morning was mostly spent relaxing in a hammock and writing my diary before we
headed back to Quito.
I was loath to come back here, as Mindo was such a lovely place and we met some
really nice people, my favourite so far being Toby from Australia, who’s just
spent 5 months researching Darwin finches in the Galapagos. I like meeting
people and spending bite-sized parts of my life with them. It’s fun. I’m
excited to be heading to the Galapagos bright and early tomorrow morning, too. I’ll
be meeting Natasha on the plane and have the feeling that it’s going to be a
really fun trip with her. I’ll let you know all about it when I get back.
Donna –
when are you going to Canada
and how long for? Will you be at home when Perry and I come over? Hope so!
