Mindo Madness

Well, with not enough time left in the semester to really justify a ticket back to the Galapagos, I've been landed with a week to kill on the mainland. And since I've sort of been-there-done Quito, I figured I ought to visit some more exotic Ecuadorian locales, like, say, Mindo. My host mother has a cousin who owns an hosteleria here, and miraculously enough, he was leaving Quito to go back to it this morning so I was able to snag a free ride *and* get a discounted room here.

We left Quito around 7 and got into Mindo around 10 AM, having stopped on the way at an awesome restaurant called El Armadillo. Didn't see any armadillos there, but there *were* flocks upon flocks of hummingbirds. We sat down for coffee and there were dozens of them flying all around us--the air was thick with the sound of their beating wings! Unfortunately, I can't post photos now because I didn't bring my laptop, but I'll put up a photo post when I get back on Monday.

Upon getting to Mindo and working out the terms of my room rental, I was set loose on the town and immediately went to explore the trails on the grounds of the hosteleria. As it turns out, the mosquitos here are the size of small helicopters, everywhere, and really, really aggressive. Whenever I would stop to take a photo, I would be mobbed by them. There are also these itty bitty bloodsucking flies that leave welts and little blood blisters when they bite, and they definitely bit the crap out of me today. Honestly, I think I'm going to be lucky if I haven't died of bloodloss by the time I get out of here... So far I've gotten dozens of bites all up and down my arms and huge welts all over the place. I never had problems like this at the nearby Maquipucuna!

Other than censusing the local vampire population, today I also went to a butterfly garden and hiked down to the end of the road, where there were some hand-operated tarabitas (although apparently without anyone to actually operate them) and some more hostels. I also took about a thousand photos of the local flora, explored the town, investigated birdwatching prices, saw the traditional/by-hand chocolate making process, walked home along a road lit only by the moon and fireflies, and hunted for frogs on the grounds of my hostel. Seriously, Mindo is an awesome place. I love little towns surrounded by mountains and it is safe as well as charming (see bit about walking home alone on an unlit road).

More tomorrow; for now, I'm off to go hunt down more frogs!