Quetsals, toucans, butterflies and hummingbirds - Mindo, Ecuador

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On Tuesday we travelled 3 hours north from Quito to Mindo, on the edge of the escarpment which overlooks the Pacific Ocean.

Mindo is still quite high up at 1700 metres in a warm and very damp cloud forrest. The hot air from the coastal plain hits the Andes near Mindo, rises and the moisture condenses, so for much of the year the area is blanketed in dense cloud, and most days it rains in the afternoon....

We came to Mindo to see the birds and to walk in the rainforrest......

The forrest is teaming with all sorts of wildlife including sloths, frogs, spiders, possums, pumas and even an Andean bear, but the area is especially famous for its birds, which we saw lots of - quetzals, toucans, parrots, an owl and its baby, a falcon, a woodpecker and many more....

However, it was the hummingbirds which really made is stop.... they are so beautiful and prolific in Mindo. And so fast, agile and mesmerising.... The locals put out bird feeders with sugar and water which brings them in....

We took an early morning tour to see the birds, and spent a day with the hummingbirds and butterflies. That's gotta be the sort of day which sooths the soul....

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