A week ago, Betsy had her first long weekend from school so we took the opportunity to travel outside of Quito for the first time.  Our destination was a town called Mindo.  It’s about a two hour drive west from Quito over an interesting two lane mountain road.  Our rented Chevy Spark let us feel every bump and groove of the road.  We needed all of its 51 horsepower to just keep up with other drivers, let a lone try to pass on blind double yellow curves like many other drivers seemed to enjoy.

Comparing Mindo to Crested Butte is a bit of a stretch, however, both towns did come up in the same conversation.  Mindo is a small, quiet town with dirt and cobble roads centered around outdoor activities including hiking, bird watching, zip lining, and river activities.

Our first day we hiked to Nambillo Falls.  After a thirty minute hike, we were surprised to find that the area around the falls included an observation platform, some man made pools fed by side streams, a concrete slide built into the contours of the hillside, and a pavilion where residents of the property were grilling out and selling food and beers.  This was the first time Lucy got in some real water and she loved it.  She also provided quite a show for the 15-20 locals who were there on their own weekend excursion playing in the water and chasing sticks (video).  I gave the slide a go too (video) but am still waiting to find this warm river water my kayaking friends keep telling me about.

On our second day we went zip lining and were relieved that it was a double cable system for added safety.  I wasn’t sure what to expect for $14.  There were thirteen segments to the whole tour.  Great fun.  On the way back to town we stopped by a butterfly research pavilion.  They had butterflies in various stages of maturity and the highlight was being able to feed them with ripe banana as they sat right on your finger.  One of the most impressive things we learned was how the cocoons mimic their surroundings.  For example, butterflies that live close to water have shiny cocoons to mimic water dropping off of plants (photos of gold pods).  Amazing.

After a lunch back in town we went for a hike with some of Betsy’s coworkers that happened to be staying in Mindo. This by far was the thickest jungle scene we encountered.  Steep hills, thick foliage, vines, ferns, and a ton of humidity.  To start the hike we had to cross the Mindo River in a pulley and rope “cable car” that held two people (and a dog).  Lucy hated every second of it but it was surprisingly safe and efficient.

We had such a great time in Mindo and are excited to return.  The next time we go we will have our own vehicle to explore even more as we are close to pulling the trigger on one.  But that is another post.

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