Bellavista to Mindo and Back

Slept really well in our out-in-the-country accommodation. We were up at 6:00 for a 6:30 bird watching watch. Birds get up early, so apparently so do we. The birders in the group brought their binoculars and checklists so they could remember what they’d seen. Nicholas and I just tried to take some pictures of the ones we could see. There are lots of birds here, some very colourful, some not, some exotic and some not. We saw lots of hummingbirds, tanagers, warblers, finches, a couple of parrots and lots of other I can’t remember. I guess I need a checklist too.

At 8:00 we had breakfast. Then at 9:00 we headed off in a minibus to the town of Mindo. It was a 23km ride over the ridge and the bumpy unpaved road. Debbie, George and Sharon were going to an orchid farm and a butterfly farm. Nicholas and I were going zip-lining! He’d never been, so I talked him into it. It was excellent. There were ten lines, all of which were pretty long. We were the only tourists doing it, so we could take our time and we had the full attention of the two guys leading us. We got to do three specials rides: 1) the bat, hanging upside down, no hands, 2) superman, laying prone and facing front with a guide behind you in a rather suggestive fashion, and 3) the surprise kangaroo, where after you begin to descend the guide grabs the cable and jerks it up and down. Actually that was only a surprise to Nicholas as he went first. He squealed pretty good!

The guides showed us a number of orchids as we walked from one line to the next, and on two trees they showed us toucan birds that were nesting in the trees. We saw two different species.

When we finished our bus driver picked us up and took us to the other group and then we headed back to Bellavista for lunch and a three o’clock departure.

When we got back to the hotel area, Nicholas and I decided to meet again for dinner. So, I went to my hostal and did some e-mail stuff. I told Nicholas we should go to the travel agent who set us up, as it were, and thank her and tell her what a good time we had. We did that, and then went to a good typical Ecuadorian restaurant called Mama Clorinda. I ordered lamb stew and he ordered an Ecuadorian speciality that they have on special occasions: guinea pig! There was a man sitting at the table next to us, who laughed with me when I expressed my surprise at his order. We got to talking. Turns out he is a 57 year old Calgarian. He builds and sells playground equipment to schools. He just got here today and is looking to perhaps buy some property here to retire too. His wife is not thrilled! After Nicholas took pictures of his dinner, and yes, I tried it – kinda like chicken or rabbit they say, the three of us went to an outdoor café/bar and had another beer, talked and people watched. The temperature was eleven.

We were all tired, so we split up and went our separate ways. Sad saying goodbye to Nicholas. We had a great time and got along very well. He is a great guy with a terrific sense of humour. Maybe we’ll meet up again somewhere else, as he’s on the road for three months, or maybe in Hong Kong, who knows.