Mindo Cloud Forest

As most days, we were awake early, so we did our German lessons and straightened the room before our trip to the Mindo Cloud Forest to the northwest of Quito. We had breakfast at the Sheraton and enjoyed the selection of South American breakfast foods, especially the fresh fruits and juices.

Waterfall in Pahuma Orchid Reserve

We were picked up at the hotel by a taxi, driven by Edwin, to take us to meet our naturalist guide for the day. The ride was much less hectic than the taxi ride from the airport with Denis. The taxi took us to meet with Richard and we moved our items into his car for the day trip in the Mindo Cloud Forest. Richard Hernandez was very pleasant and spoke English very well. We asked us our preferences for the day and scheduled the trip around our priorities.

Cindy & Mary taking a break

Our first stop was to Reserva Pahuma Orchid Reserve, a private nature preserve where we could see birds, a variety of native plants, and a spectacular waterfall. We hiked up a steep and narrow trail with Richard stopping point out items of interest. We saw anoles, tarantulas, damselflies and tiny frogs. There were lots of trees and other plants that are characteristic of the cloud forest. We were surprised to learn that at less than 7000 feet, the altitude at the cloud forest is much lower than in Quito. Richard was very patient with our many questions and took the time to explain the plants and animals in the context of the local culture. We were interested to learn that Richard had been a Trappist monk earlier in his life. We spent nearly two hours hiking this area.

We stopped for lunch at a small local restaurant in the town of Nanegalito where we all had fritatas (roast pork with hominy) at el Sabroson. We also purchased a couple of water bottles and some local parched corn. We were surprised that the bill for the five of us (including Richard), the water and corn was only $28. Perhaps the most amusing part of the restaurant was the old console television that was converted to an aquarium.

Hummingbird in San Tadeo

After lunch we drove the short distance to San Tadeo Bird Viewing. There was a large feeder where many beautiful species of tanager, oriole and other birds were feeding on bananas. An area with hummingbird feeders attracted hundreds of hummingbirds of several species and all sizes and colors. It was wild with all of the tiny birds flying all around us. This was interesting to us since only one hummingbird species, the ruby throated, is found in eastern North America.

Yumbo's Chocolate

We were ready for a snack so we stopped at Yumbo’s Chocolate in the town of Mindo. Yumbo’s is a very small scale production using the yellow “National“ variety of cacao that are only found in Ecuador. The cacao beans are fermented and dried before coming to Yumbo’s in Mindo. We were shown how the staff removes the shell of the coffee beans after crushing. The cacao is then pressed and ground for several days before adding sugar or flavoring and forming into chocolate bars.

At the conclusion of our visit, we had a tasting of hot chocolate as well the 100%, 85%, 70% and 60% cacao bars. We also sampled their chocolate with orange, lemongrass, raw cacao nibs, hot pepper and ginger. Everything was very good, and we purchased several bars to take back as gifts for family.

Hummingbird at Balkon Tumpiki

After leaving Yumbo’s, we drove several kilometers up a steep narrow road to el Balcon Tumpiki bird observation area. This place had even more birds than the first place we stopped. Hummingbirds were everywhere and seemed to have no fear of humans. Two species of toucans came to the feeder. The first was the plate billed mountain toucan then the toucan barbet. We also saw flocks of red billed parrots making a racket in nearby trees. A light shower urged us to leave, but we could certainly have stayed here much longer. The rain ended soon and didn’t make the drive on the dirt road slippery.

Standing at the Equator

Our last stop of the day was to stand at zero degrees latitude, the equator. The well-publicized visitor center and monument for the equator in Mitad del Mundo isn’t actually on the equator but several hundred meters south. We went to Patricio Villavicencio’s visitor center which is exactly on the equator. Patricio keeps his stop something of a secret with only guides who know him aware of his small display. The government wants to protect the other sanctioned visitor center from competition, so Patricio keeps his operation low profile. We checked the coordinates with our GPS and found Patricio’s line to be spot on within the margin of error for my GPS. Patricio showed us lots of information about how the incorrect location of the equator was established as well as demonstrating the sundial that he constructed in his courtyard. I even went to the toilet to check the direction of the flush and found it to still go counterclockwise right on the equator.

Toucan at Balcon Tumpiki

We got back in Richard’s car and returned to Quito. We learned that he couldn’t pick us up or return us to the hotel because driving in the city center during weekday rush hours is restricted by license plate  numbers to one day per week. This is to reduce air pollution in the city of Quito. We said our goodbyes to Richard and got in the taxi driving us back to the Quito Sheraton.

Mary, Cindy and Mark went to a cafe in the hotel for an evening snack while I stayed in the room to do my evening German lesson and start writing the journal entry for the day. Although we were tired, everyone had a fun and memorable time in Ecuador today.

We meet up with the Road Scholar group tomorrow morning for an informational meeting followed by a bus and walking tour of Quito. We travel to Galápagos Islands on Saturday.