January 14 – Elsewhere than Quito

We had a restful night at the Hotel Sebastian in Quito. I spent the morning booking our airline ticket back to the U.S. Kathleen and I then looked into spending our final days in the Galapagos Islands. We found out you can’t book a flight within 24-hours of your desired departure. We had to book our flight for a couple days down the calendar. Well now what?

Our flight to the Galapagos was not until January 17th. So, we decided to spend a few days elsewhere than Quito. Kathleen and I had toyed with the idea of seeing the area around Mindo as that was cloud forest and considered to be the best area in Ecuador for birds and wildlife. We packed up and by 2:30pm we were in a taxi for the bus terminal.

Our Foot Print guidebook said the bus for Mindo would be at a particular terminal, however, our taxi driver said otherwise and was correct. Word to those who travel . . . South America often switches terminals for various destinations. You had best check. Our guidebook was a 2009 edition, and has been wrong on a number of occasions.

Our bus ride was pretty tame compared to some we had been on. We would have enjoyed the trip a little better had the young ladies behind us changed a couple of their children’s diapers; bathed them once-in-a-while; and stopped eating near rotten mango.

We had the bus driver drop us off at the Sachatamia Lodge just before the junction to Mindo. We had been told by fellow travelers this was a good place for birding as they had hiking trails. For us, they had birds and trails, but no room. Tomorrow night, yes.

The kind lady behind the counter called a place in Mindo. Soon a taxi arrived and drove us down to Mindo and beyond to Hosteria Mindo Gardens. Mindo was your typical touristy town known for whitewater rafting, kayaking, zip-lining, and partying for the backpacker tourists and weekending Quito-arians.

Kathleen and I quickly realized we could be in for a treat at Mindo Gardens. We were taken to a cabin on the banks of the Rio Mindo and our 2nd floor room. Oh, this was a great place!!
We spent the rest of the day walking about the nicely groomed paths among dense cloud forest vegetation. By dark, we found ourselves the only people dining as we were the only people staying for the night. We had excellent plates of pasta and deserts made on the premises. Kathleen and I marveled at the quality and craftsmanship of the dining room and cabañas. Back in our room, we had the symphony of the Rio Mindo playing just below our windows.