The Cloud Forest of Mindo and back to Quito, Ecuador

Mindo can be accurately described as a little alpine village in the heart of the cloud forest. There is one main cobblestone street lined with small stores and restaurants, each with the upper stories used as homes or hostals. We stayed at the Dragonfly Inn, a beautiful wooden building next to a river with very comfortable rooms.

Our time in Mindo was very relaxing. My Dad was perhaps the most excited, as he sat out on the deck with his camera focused on hummingbirds for hours. As Michael said, my Dad was like a fat kid in a candy shop. The first morning, Michael and my Dad also spent hours with their cameras in the famous Mariposario, or butterfly house, about a 45 minute walk from the town. My mom and I went walking by the river and then met up with them, but we were mostly interested in watching the butterflies' cocoons hatch open and newborn butterflies dry out their wings - a surprisingly fascinating event.

One picture Michael took at the mariposario

Another picture Michael took, this time of two Owl butterflies

To celebrate Mother´s Day, we went to a nice restaurant for lunch and had the best crepes with chocolate sauce and ice cream for dessert that I have ever had in my life. A rain storm arrived by the time we finished, so we retreated back to our rooms for a relaxing afternoon of napping, reading and listening to the rain.

The next day, my parents woke up at the crack of dawn to go bird watching, for which the area is famous. They saw something like 70 species just walking along a road for 3 hours. They came back exhausted and took a nap while Michael and I fed our internet addiction at the local internet cafe.

That afternoon we enjoyed a local chocolate tour. Like many Ecuadorians, the tour guide had lived in the States for about 20 years and thus, his English was perfect. The chocolate company there basically buys the best of Ecuador´s coco plants, and processes them into "nubs," the basic unit that is combined with sugar and other ingredients to create all kinds of chocolate. These nubs are then exported to the U.S. to make fancy dancy chocolates.

After the tour, which ignited Michael’s hidden passion to become a chocolate-maker, we feasted on an incredibly rich home-made brownie with a hot chocolate drink. We returned the next day for lunch just to get another brownie before we had to leave.

While Mindo was beautiful and relaxing - well worth the trip - we had seen most of what there was to see, so we made our way back to Quito to re-pack and set off for our final leg of the trip to the Cotopaxi area.

The group on La Rhonda street in Quito

After Mindo, we had one night in Quito before heading off to the wilds of Cotopaxi National Park. La Ronda Street is known for its artistry and restaurants, so we ventured over there for dinner. After some good Mexican food, we stumbled upon a wine bar that advertised live music... but was completely empty. We were a bit doubtful at first, but soon the musician (who we believe was the restaurant owner) started to play and all four of our jaws dropped at the same time – he was incredibly good!! He alone was one of the best live entertainers we´ve ever seen. I couldn´t count how many different instruments he played, including several types of traditional wind pipes. Soon a large family of really nice Ecuadorians joined us, and the musician switched to a guitar and more contemporary Ecuadorian music. Within the hour, the place was packed and everyone was singing along. It was a fabulous evening, and we stayed there several hours past our expected bed time.

Sharon and Mike, drinking the Cocktail de Amor, and enjoying the live music