This post is about 6 days late, and I’m writing it while recovering from some ridiculous stomach bug. I know what it was: the lettuce!!!! Never eat the lettuce unless you saw how it was washed! Lousy lettuce….
So we arrived in Quito!
Joaquin assisted us in finding a kick-ass hostel in a safe part of the city ~ for those of you looking, El Vagabundo was amazeballs. For $56, we had peace and quiet, hot showers, wifi and plenty of room to spread out. Other choices when prowling around included a hotel for $146 (no, thanks!), and a hostel for $30 which was 80% sketch-city.
Our marching orders were to be *ready* for 8:30am so that we could head straight to Mindo ~ circa 2.5 hours away, a tropical rainforest area ripe with cool things to see and do. So far we have been demonstrating a complete disregard for punctuality (hold your comments people!), but this most recent blasphemy had everything to do with being locked OUT of our hostel bathroom first thing in the morning. How does this happen, one might ask? Easy. The toilet water “ran” all night despite our best efforts to shut it off. Sam is a light sleeper, so she reefed on the door to make sure it was closed as tightly as possible, only to realize some 8 hours later that it must have been locked from the inside. Darn it!!! How does this ALWAYS happen to me?? We all had to pee, 100% of our toiletries etc were in that room and we were already running late. In broken Spanish and using our now infamous hand gestures, we managed to convince the front desk dude to come up and take a peak and after some time and jiggling he found the right random key amongst his set of 50 to open said hostel bathroom door.
At any rate, we then went on the fastest mission in the West to try and find Saffy some pancakes. She’s really struggling with the food here. As her mom, I just wanted to get something in her belly she would enjoy and eat up. We found the Magic Bean Café and ordered a double round of chocolate chip pancakes with bacon. Eat up, girl!!! But enough of this… onto our day, once Joaquin picked us up we were officially 45 minutes late.
Mindo was lovely ~ damp, but lovely! Our first stop was an artisanal chocolate factory where we all learned that coco leaves and cacao are two different things. After all this learning, we worked up an appetite to sample no less than 12 variations of chocolate creations. The kids were in their glory! If it had been a potato chip factory I’d have been equally delighted in the tastings.
Next we stopped off at a butterfly conservatory, run by some local nature enthusiasts. We spent a minimum of 3 hours there, marvelling at the different species and enticing them with mashed, gooey banana (Saffy, we later learned, even lured them into her hair by smearing the banana juice onto her scalp. Yum). The pictures speak for themselves, it was a magical place!
Finally, we had just enough time to witness the most amazing display of hummingbirds I’ve ever seen. Joaquin and Alvi hunkered down right before them and clicked the afternoon away, capturing these magnificent and curious birds.
All in all, a very full, but fabulous day! Now onto the next blog so we can catch up!!!
Love your blog.Your creative writing skills are amazing…..you could write a book.Looks like you are having the time of your life….a trip for all to remember.Safe travels.
Thanks Lexi! Love and hugs to you and Frank…. We are making some beautiful memories together.
Beautiful pics here… Love them!
Xoxo
Greetings from Orillia! I just read every blog and the time flew by, like reading my favorite novel! I think you are accomplishing your goals/ purpose for this getaway. I love the photos, laugh and enjoy the commentary and look forward to the next blog. I’m so impressed and proud of you guys! What an amazingi gift you are giving your family. Safe travels.
Mitz! Thank you so much for this!!! And greetings back from all of us! Piper asks about Emily and misses her. It’s been a whirlwind adventure… I’m ever so grateful for the opportunity but am also realizing all the blessings we have back home. I hope you guys are all well and adjusting to your new life? xoxox