‘Above all birds, the hummingbird gives me that feeling of the mystery and the wonder of life. Such a vibrant little body, such color, and wings that beat faster than thought. I felt as if I could watch the whole of life if I could hold a hummingbird in my hand once.’- Gladys Taber
My last day in Quito was a jam packed one! I did so many things in, like, eight hours. Terra Sur Travels arranged for a private tour and my guide was really nice. Most of the day would be spent in and around the Mindo Cloud Forest. Similar to a rain forest but instead of getting its water from rainfall, it gets it from the clouds that sweep down into the valley. It was a day full of ‘oh shit, I can’t believe I am doing this!’ moments.
It was a couple hours drive from my hotel in Quito to Mindo. First up, a visit to Punto Ornitológico Mindo to feed some hummingbirds! Apparently the Mindo Cloud Forest is a mecca for bird watchers as there are hundreds of species of birds and like half of the world’s species of hummingbirds. At this spot, you can walk through the a short path and then, see them flying about with stunning views of the valley below. They have little bottle caps of sugar water and the hummingbirds will perch themselves on you to feed from it. It was so cool and I felt like Sleeping Beauty. My new Lumix zoom lens also came in clutch…who knew that hummingbirds will actually stop flapping their wings when eating!
After our stop, we headed out to go zip lining! I don’t have any really footage of this because my go pro died in the Galapagos and you cannot have anything on you while actually riding (Go Pro has since been replaced so hoping that I’ll be able to get awesome footage in Costa Rica when I do it there). I will say, I was the most nervous about this because of my fear of heights and flying hundreds of feet across a valley but to show how much I have grown, it did not phase me at all! I will say this about solo travel, it has made me so much braver. Truly to embrace the moment and that I will never have this opportunity, in this moment again, so do it! Kels of ten years ago would not recognize me now and I love that! There were three ziplines and it was amazing! I appreciated that the first two eased you into it and the third aim was to go fast!
Then we crossed a cable car for a hike. I will be honest and thought the cable car was the one in Quito but it wasn’t. It was to take me on a hike down into the valley. Ordinarily this would be awesome but I was so sore from my four plus hours horseback riding the day before that my initial reaction was ‘ugh’. I did have a great time but I would be lying if the entire way down I just kept thinking I was going to have to climb all the way back up again. I did tell my guide that I have a lung capacity issues (well, I have a narrow windpipe so get short of breath quickly/easily, especially on steep climbs but lung capacity is easier) and that it would take me a bit to climb up the valley (several hundred feet of elevation gain in less than a mile). He was great about it and we could go at my pace. My apple watch worked great to show when my heart rate got high, so I knew to take a breather and wait for my heart rate to drop-due to the shortness of breath, I can sometimes feel quite hot so I heart rate is a great gage. When we reached the bottom, there was a really pretty waterfall. We were the only ones in this part (there are loads of trails and waterfalls) so it was peaceful with just the sound of rushing water and the sounds of the cloud forest.
Last stop in the cloud forest was to Yumbo’s Chocolate! I do love chocolate so did a tour of how they make it. It was really interesting (and a tad gross-I’ll spare you but it involves fruit flies) of how cocoa beans turn into a chocolate bar. I still prefer Cadbury but theirs was tasty too! At the end of the tour, we did a tasting. But the best part was doing a chocolate mask. Now, getting it off was harder than you might think but my skin felt great!
As we headed back to Quito, there was one final stop-the Middle of the World! The equator runs right through Ecuador, meaning there are equal hours of daylight and night. Here’s the thing, there is the famous Middle of the World Monument but that is not actually on the equator. The French mismeasured. It is a couple hundred meters away at The Intiñan Solar Museum but you can see the top of the monument. It is here, at the museum, that they have a lot of the activities you see on socials-the standing egg (very hard) and how water spins on each side of the equator (very cool). Finished off with some shrunken heads and guinea pigs that I hope did not become someone’s dinner.
I had the best time in Ecuador, full of bucket list moments and adventures I never could have imagined.
