Ziplining, Butterflies, and Chocolate: Two Nights in Mindo

We escaped Quito on Thanksgiving day to the cloud forest city of Mindo, Ecuador. A quick two hour bus ride away, we needed to get some nature into Charlie during his brief Ecuadorian vacay. Plus, I’d already been to Baños, so we decided to spend two nights in Mindo as it seemed like the most doable nearby destination.

Following a wild, stressful cab ride to the Quito bus station (according to Charlie), arriving in the nick of time, and a winding ride through the mountains, we arrived to this little town, and finally, FINALLY Charlie uttered the words, “Yeah… I like this. I like how this looks.”

But first, football. Shortly after our arrival, we ventured out to buy an assortment of big beers and snacks. Charlie signed up for a free trial of NFL international streaming, and seemingly by magic, we checked into a place with the strongest wifi on my South American journey thus far.

Okay, there was totally no need for a photo of that, but we were so proud we’d gotten it to work that I felt some proof was necessary. Happy Thanksgiving to us! We relaxed for the evening, had pizza for dinner, and then passed out early after watching some much needed Netflix.

My First Time Ziplining!

I know. I feel like this is something I should’ve done before now, but I swear I don’t think I’d ever been on a single zipline until Mindo. (The ones in your backyard don’t count!)

Mindo Canopy Adventure offered a course of ten ziplines for $20 and we couldn’t pass that up. Two of these ziplines were “high speed cables” and they offered everyone the chance to zip in positions like the “Superman” and the “Butterfly” (upside down with your legs and arms spread wide), both way more exhilarating and um, terrifying than your average zipline experience. I was hesitant at first, but after a couple of warm-up cables, we were ready to try them out.

Oh, what’s that you say? You don’t see any pictures of me in any these strange positions I’ve just described? There’s a reason for that.

I’d been so looking forward to finally getting a few photos of myself during this trip now that I had a travel partner with whom I trusted my camera. But here, have a look. You see what happens when you ask for favors…

So. So. Blurry.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Charlie said, “But at least it’ll be good material for your blog. You can just make fun of me like you always do!”

Not funny.

Even without solid evidence of my bravery, ziplining was a really fun time and such a great value. The guides there were very professional, they use a double cable system for safety, and despite only a super short introduction and demonstration in Spanish before we began, we felt like we were in good hands.

Butterflies!

Okay, I thought I was going to have to literally drag Charlie to anything called a “butterfly farm” but he actually seemed reasonably into it, so we hopped in the back of a pick-up truck and took a $3 ride out to visit this place, the Mariposario de Mindo. I mean, at this point Charlie really needed to redeem himself photographically and I wanted to give him the chance. Also, after some uncertainty at first about how cool this would really be, these photos and rave reviews from Alex in Wanderland convinced me that we HAD to go.

Seeing all of these different species and massive quantities of butterflies in one places was pretty amazing. We watched butterflies that had just exited the chrysalis slowly dry their wings, their new colors dripping like paint. And you guys, did you know that the shape and color of the chrysalis is different depending on location in which the caterpillar constructs it? Some of them look like dried leaves or plant buds, while others look like shining droplets of water! What?!

(Click for a closer view – they’re pretty amazing)

After a brief explanation of the center and the life cycle of the butterfly, we were told by the guide that we could easily pick up the “butterfly of our choosing” by offering it a bit of ripened banana. Okay, so it wasn’t as easy as the guide made it sound, but eventually I GOT ONE!!!

(I’ve culled these photos down to the ones where I look calm and peaceful and soothed by the butterfly’s presence… rather than the ones were I look shocked and overexcited, with my mouth open like I’m about to EAT the butterfly.)

And to make it even better, there are TONS of hummingbirds at the entrance to the Mariposario. As if I hadn’t gotten enough of them in Salento. No really, I hadn’t! Kinda like waterfalls, I don’t think I could ever get tired of hummingbirds.

Oh, and there were orchids. I guess that’s pretty cool too.

Chocolate!

After only a couple minutes of research back in Quito, we booked a room above a chocolate factory. No joke, El Quetzal – the resident restaurant and chocolate factory in Mindo – has a few rooms available to rent for the night on their second floor and we were able to snag one. Charlie (being the diva traveler that he is) wasn’t really into hostel life, so he was pretty impressed by our room with a view at El Quetzal. The food they serve is fantastic, and we grabbed some of their house-made ginger beer, a sandwich, and one of their famous brownies with ice cream as soon as we arrived.

A note about brownies: Everybody who’s selling anything in South America apparently knows that gringos love brownies. You wouldn’t believe the amount of signs you see advertising them in tourist towns… and the amount of mediocre brownies I’ve purchased as a result. Sometimes it’s just chocolate cake and sometimes it’s a rock hard piece of what may have once been a brownie. And rarely are they even heated! This brownie at El Quetzal, however, was the bomb.

Along with our stay we received a free tour of El Quetzal’s chocolate factory (regularly $10), so this was a must-do while in Mindo. The guide showed us the chocolate-making process from tree to pod to bean to roasting. Then we walked past the rooms full of swirling chocolate being mixed, and finally we took part in a CHOCOLATE TASTING!

We were each given pure, unsweetened chocolate and then told to mix in different flavors and sugar to see how the taste of the chocolate changed. The finale was the brownie… well, it was for most people. Charlie ate his as soon as he sat down, way before we were all instructed to by the guide.

Just as I felt on the coffee tour, I’m amazed that humans ever figured out how to make chocolate. It’s such an intensive process to go through when, hell, I thought the bean tasted fine right out of the pod!

Two nights in Mindo was sufficient for our trip, and it really is a cute little town to visit if you’re in Quito and in need of a quick escape. There’s also bird watching tours, tubing, and tons of hiking to be done there so you won’t be short on fun activities.

Where I stayed: El Quetzal de Mindo. Located just two blocks from the main road, make sure to book ahead through their website. The rooms are also listed on Airbnb but you avoid fees by booking directly through email.

Where I ate: Besides El Quetzel, where you should definitely eat, we had pizza at El Tigrillo and a pretty decent dinner of a burger, tacos, and fries at Cafe Mindo.

To get there: Take the Flor de Valle bus from the Ofelia station in Quito. It should cost about $3.10.

Have you been to Mindo? Is it your kind place? Am I the only one who’s taken this long to go ziplining?

I’m linking up for Travel Tuesday with Bonnie and Anna! Check them out!