We flew from Seattle to Miami with a long layover and then onward to Quito. We got in about 10:30 pm and left the airport with our driver about 11pm. We were so tired! And we still had 2hrs to Mindo. After lots of rainy, dark, twisty road, we made it to the lodge about 1:30am and fell into bed.
The cloud forest was beautiful. Birds and bird song everywhere! And our host Marco was the kindest person! We had a great time chatting with him each morning and in the afternoon while we had our coffee or tea. We always stopped by reception to pet Kyra and Dana, the big, friendly dogs who kept an eye on everything.
We walked the 15 minutes into town a couple of the days we were there. We had savory crepes at an outdoor stand, pizza, and our delicious Ecuadorian breakfasts at the lodge.
Our big adventure was a full day in town, including a visit to the ornithological center where we quietly fed hummingbirds and a visit to the Quetzal restaurant where we had a wonderful chocolate tour and sampled cacao in all of its forms and states of doneness.
 |
| Cacao |
 |
| Everybody needs Inca Cola! |
We had some dramatic downpours and thunder and lightning, especially in the evenings and at night. We were almost always inside so the storms were actually really nice. The only thing I didn’t like about the forest were all the bugs. I got eaten alive, even with repellent! My legs are still recovering. I especially love Richard because he bought me the equivalent of calamine lotion once we got here to the Galapagos. I am eternally thankful for the relief. ❤️
 |
| ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😘 |
As a side note, we felt the mid-morning earthquake that hit southern Ecuador/northern Peru. We were getting ready for our day when our room and windows started shaking and rattling. Glad we didn’t experience anything beyond that.
