Mindo, Mindo, Mindo…wow!

Mindo is a haven for birdwatchers. For us, it was a rest stop – some needed down time after 2.5 weeks going non-stop in addition to the craziness of Edmonton (Donna), work (Jim) and packing before we even started our trip! Little did we know what was in store for us here.

We began our stay by checking into a hostel called Caskaffesu – an oasis with a garden, great coffee (finally), lovely music playing in the restaurant and the most welcoming hosts in Susan, Luis, their 3 dogs and all their staff.

We chilled out for a couple of days catching up on our blog writing, reading, and processing photographs. We also did some hiking to the waterfalls including a hair-raising ride on a tram about 150 feet above the forest canopy. We awakened bright and early at 5:30 to go bird watching (saw between 30 and 40 different bird species in a 3-hour period).

Relaxing allowed us to connect with other travellers including a med student from Germany, a delightful American couple and their adult daughter and our Ecuadorian/American hosts. We ate some delicious meals over beer and enlivening conversations.

After a few days hanging out in this area, we started thinking about what next. It didn't take long to figure that out....see our next posting for the excitement that awaited us in the tiny town of Mindo.