Blogs from Mindo, North, Ecuador, South America

Sunday’s adventure was to Mariposas de Mindo. It is a park where they grow and release butterflies that are native to the area. The drive is through curvy mountainous roads with dramatic scenery (these are tall mountains with steep inclines). Esteban was our driver and Ellen, Simone, Susan and I were the passengers. Esteban was an excellent driver. Even though we drive the mountains, we could not have driven like him. The vegetation and scenery changed during our drive. As we left Quito, we got into an area that was very arid and gets very little rain and you could see little vegetation. As we got closer to the middle of the world (more about that tomorrow), we saw more vegetation but this area contained a lot of ashfall from a nearby volcano. You could see ... read more

Suzanne here... Mindo was a bit of a last minute decision. We'd done cities and beaches. So when we read about a small town in a cloud forest two hours from Quito, it sounded an ideal finish to Ecuador. We arrived at 11.30am, a bit early to check in. We'd not eaten so found Mindo Bio cafe and had a hearty breakfast. It was still early so we sat in the square for a while. It was hotter than Quito, but not unbearable. Our hotel was about ten minutes walk from town. We had to cross a river via a narrow rickety bridge, which added to the fun. We arrived at where we thought the hotel was, only to be faced with a locked gate. So near yet so far. Neither of us fancied trailing back ... read more

Paluu Etelä-Amerikkaan Jokunen vuosi on jo ehtinyt vierähtää siitä kun viimeksi on tällä mantereella oltu. Edellinen Etelä-Amerikasta kertova blogimme päättyi Ecuadoriin ja Quitoon johon myös sen kertainen yhteinen matkamme päättyi. Jo silloin oli ajatuksena, että tuo kerta tuskin oli viimeinen Etelä-Amerikassa ja etenkään Ecuadorissa koska yksi pitkäaikainen haave jäi sillä kertaa toteutumatta. Nimittäin Galapagos. Nyt vihdoin on koittanut paluun aika ja pääsemme toteuttamaan tämän unelman. Galapagos Galapagos. Ihan oikeasti - Galapagos.Jo tuo nimikin kuulostaa minusta jotenkin epätodelliselta. En tiedä miksi, mutta tuntuu siltä, että olen 'aina' tiennyt mikä on Galapagos. Aina on tietenkin suhteellinen käsite, mutta jotenkin nyt ainakin sen ajan, kun ympäröivästä maailmasta on käsittänyt jotain muutkain kuin ihan kotikonnut ja oman pienen asuinympäristön... read more

Just a short little blog as we finish our time in Ecuador with the realisation that we have been married for a month (there was a quiet moment of reflection while on the boat for the two of us on the 28th) and that we have spent the majority of our married life so far in Ecuador. And what a month it has been; we have hiked around crater lakes and through canyons, ventured through the Galapagos, swam with sea lions and bird watched more than we ever thought we wanted to, gorged on vegetarian food, mountain biked down a volcano, visited traditional markets, met some great people and stood on the equator. And our final 2 days in Ecuador didn't disappoint us. While we were still on a bit of a downer following the end ... read more

Mindo - Day 20 This hostel is so quiet. We heard only the birds and the falling rain this morning. It rained heavily during the night and early morning, but this is the rainy season here. The rain stopped midmorning and left the air really fresh. We decided to have an easy day and walked one of the town streets past town and past the river. Lots of noisy roosters and chickens as we got to the outskirts of Mindo. The dogs lay in the middle of the street until a car comes, then they may slowly move out of the way. Lots of potholes. We crossed the bridge for Rio Mindo. Many rapids along the river. A few houses high up on the side of the road looked like they might tumble down with the ... read more