Too Many Hours to Ecuador

Why did I book a flight to Quito that required an 8-hour layover in Mexico City? I must have been crazy. My Sunday morning AeroMexico flight required a 5:45 a.m. airport shuttle pickup, 5 hours on the plane, then lots and lots of waiting in the Mexico City airport, where my backpack thermometer said it never got below 80 degrees. Then a 12:25 a.m. flight to Quito and of course I never really slept even though I tried really hard. The only redeeming experiences of the flight were the sight of lightning flashing in thunder clouds a distance away just before the sun came up over Ecuador, and the green mountainous landscape of Quito with two nearby silhouetted volcanoes as the plane landed at sunrise.

By the time the plane reached Quito, I had been awake more than 24 hours and was rather punchy. But things got better quickly. It’s a beautiful, small airport at Quito, I had a fast transit through immigration and customs, then was treated with a clear sunny morning with a view of Cotopaxi volcano and a hearty breakfast at the adjacent Quito Airport Center while I awaited Nathan’s arrival from Cuenca an hour after my landing.

Once Nathan met me at the airport, we took a taxi through Monday morning rush hour traffic to the National Basilica of Quito in the historic downtown. It held some beautiful stained glass and a vista over part of the city.

Since I was lugging my suitcase and didn’t have lots of energy, we didn’t stay long at the basilica. Long enough to walk around the inside and outer plaza, buy some bottled water to enjoy in the sunshine, and for me to experience a public restroom in which I had to pay the male attendant 25 centavos to be able to use it and receive some toilet paper as part of the deal. It was a very clean restroom and entirely worth the price.

As I was running out of steam, we caught a taxi to the Ofelia bus station, from where the buses to Mindo leave. The 2-hour bus ride to the cloud forest town cost only $3.60 total for the two of us and left promptly at 11 a.m. We arrived a little after 1 and found our lodging for the next 4 nights, the Cabañas Armonía in the heart of Mindo. Ours is a little cabin with a bathroom, complete with hot shower, 2 beds, and a little deck with hammock and chairs overlooking a lush garden of orchids and other tropical plants.

After an orientation walk around town, and lunch of cerviche and rice with shrimp in a little restaurant, I took a short nap in the cabin. Then we returned to town to book a birding tour for later in the stay and buy a couple bottles of water. We closed out the evening on the cabin’s deck , listening to birds, cicadas, and crickets as the sun set not long after 6 p.m.