Northern Ecuador Adventures

Always good to shake things up a bit in life. Be it changing your job, your hair style, or in my case – life-long travel to ever new places. It changes your perspective and illuminates the contrasts between home and elsewhere…

And so it was – after nearly 10 years living here in Cuenca – as I landed in Ecuador’s capital city in the north (population: 4.7 million), I dare say I was acutely reminded why I so adore my sweet (Goldilocks: not too big, not too little, but “just right”) Cuenca (pop. ~500,000). And even though I once/still adore my old hood in Seattle (likewise pop.~4 million), I was nonetheless taken a bit aback by the sheer BREADTH of Quito (not to mention the near-constant traffic snarls!) In short, my immediate reaction to Quito? “No doubt a fine place to visit – but I’d never want to live here.”

That said, my 14 day visit to Quito and the northern surrounds of my adopted home here in Ecuador, proved excellent – chock-full of everything I’d imagined:  fabulous eats, wondrous tranquility and wildlife (in nearby Mindo). as well as an (arguably a good bit arduous, but nonetheless worth the trouble) overnight skip into Colombia to gawk at the amazing “Las Lajas Shrine” – a Roman Catholic basilica regally spanning a deep river canyon just outside of Impiales, Colombia, near the Ecuadorian border.

Some of the particulars:

#1: Sooo glad to be back on my own two feet!

About 6 weeks before my departure, I had a sudden health issue (well, I’ve never denied being dodderin’ after all – so such stray setbacks are to be expected, no?) and for a few weeks I was afraid I’d not be able to make the Quito trip at all. Happily, I have a fabulous doc here in Cuenca (from Belgium!) and she had me back on my feet again (albeit a bit more slowly) in time to make the trip.

Uber – a Revelation!

Oddly enough, Cuenca doesn’t allow Uber, so I’ve not had much experience w/ the (otherwise globally ubiquitous?) app before landing in Quito. We do have a similar (legal) transport app for Cuenca (albeit, only official yellow taxis are authorized to use it, and unlike Uber, you still have to verbally tell the driver your destination, plus make sure the taxi meter is turned on to calculate the fare). And I did use the similar “Didi” app in Mexico City last year. But as Cuenca’s Historic Center is relatively small/walkable (plus I can hop on the nifty electric “Tranvia” for a mere 17¢) I’d not used Uber before. So first item on the agenda after checking into my Quito hotel, was to add a two-week internet plan ($10) to my Ecuador sim card and d/l the Uber app.

And though I don’t presume to know if the “informal” transport scene has any of the (multiple serious! #dontgetmestarted) adverse effects that the giant growth of the Airbnb debacle has produced throughout the world, I must say… I LOVE the security and advanced cost assessment of the Uber app (vs. negotiating/arguing with every stray yellow taxi you hop into).

Furthermore, I met many Uber drivers (both young and old, male and female) that rely on their Uber gig (either wholly or partially) to bring in a few dollars to feed their families. Indeed, one young lad told me that he was using his aunt’s vehicle for Ubering (is that a verb?) while she was at work during the day. And another middle-aged man was proud that his car was fully electric (albeit requiring 2 hr. recharges every 4 hours twice each day).

In any case, suffice hopping around a strange new city (stretching some 30 miles long x 3 miles wide between towering Andean mountains) at ~$3 a ride proved super (“uber”?) 😉 easy-peasy thanks to Uber.

Mindo

As mentioned in my earlier (trip-planning) post here, as a once avid birdwatcher, nearby-ish Mindo has long been on my bucket-list here in northern Ecuador. Thus, after just a single night in the capital, I hopped on a (2 hr.) comfy bus to Mindo. While apparently many youngsters make Mindo but a day trip (for the adrenalin-infused thrills of zip-lining, canyoning, river tubing etc.), this dodderin’ (and happily retired w/ unlimited travel time) lass instead opted for a full 5 nights amid the verdant splendor of this tranquil corner of the globe.

First, 3 nights at Yellow House Trails and Lodge (a.k.a. Hacienda San Vincente), where I had an entire accommodation complex (with multiple hammocks on the balconies and bucolic views from every side) all to myself (see the featured image of the TravelnLass’ “toes-in-situ” atop this post). Recommended by “…researchers, serious birders and nature photographers…”, the property encompasses 400+ acres of rainforest, and boasts a bird list of 470 species (the highest of any locality in western Ecuador) along with 400 species of orchids.

There, I met a lovely European couple (Marianne from Sweden, Richard from Wales) at breakfast on my first morning in Mindo (as we dined but inches away from a constant flurry of iridescent hummingbirds flitting among the flowers and feeders on the porch) . Both (likewise) avid life-long wanderlusts (albeit their travels initially homeschooling 3 children for two decades on a sailboat throughout the World’s oceans). Needless to say – we hit it off instantly! 😉

On my first night I opted to see what Mindo’s touted “Frog Concert” was all about, and it proved to be utterly fascinating. Not so much a musical “concert” of course, but plenty of “ribbit” croaking in the dark from both large and itsty-bitsy “sapos” (Spanish for “frogs”). And best of all – we saw FIREFLIES(!!!) blinking in the night – a most nostalgic moment for me remembering the magic of seeing them twinkle after dark at my Gram’s cottage on the creek as a child in Illinois.

The following day I hiked (nearly 5 miles – not too shabby for a dodderin’ lass who recently had a pulmonary embolism in her lung!) one of the trails around Yellow House. And though I spotted a wide variety of birds (incl. an up-close Toucan) as well as several sightings of a stray agouti along the road into the Yellow House property), if I REALLY hoped to see the legendary Andean Cock-of-the-Rock – I needed to hire a private guide.

So that’s what I did – hired a most excellent guide (Neicer Arias) recommended by the owner of Yellow House ($80 for a private tour) who showed up promptly at 5 am (!) the following morning with an extra pair of powerful binoculars plus a serious spotting scope on a tripod.

And off we went – about a 20 min. drive from Mindo, and a 3 mile hike – initially in the dark, but slowly and majestically the sun rose over a misty landscape as we traipsed uphill and neared the “lek” (a place where male birds gather to carry on display and courtship behavior).

And O…M…Goodness! For some reason I was expecting to (maybe/hopefully/if we were very lucky) see a SINGLE Cock-of-the-Rock bird with its distinctively bright red puffy head and ruff. But instead…

As we neared the top of the hillside that morning – the air was filled with such a chattering ruckus coming from a cluster of trees – the lek was chock-full of not one, but DOZENS of crimson Andean Cock-of-the-Rock birds popping in and out of the trees!

Needless to say – quite the extraordinary, bucket-list event, and one that I shall long remember!

And for a completely different Mindo thrill – after 3 lovely nights in my cozy room w/ private bath amid the glorious nature of Yellow House, I moved to a wholly new Mindo abode – and I dare say, landed in the lap of luxury (albeit w/ a likewise heavy nod to nature).

Now bear in mind that I don’t normally feel the need to drop a c-note or more on a single night to rest my head in my travels. After all, I generally am unconscious for 90% of the time I’m there, and I’d rather divert those precious travel funds to… why to buy additional air tickets and explore ever more new countries, yes?

Nonetheless, for this trip, I opted to divide my sleeps in Mindo and pamper myself for two nights at one of the best hotels in Mindo: Saguamby Lodge.

Um… yes, this will do! 🙂

Needless to say, I reveled in the unique and wondrous natural setting overlooking the rushing river. And delighted in the warm, bubbly indulgence of that amazing private jacuzzi every night.

All in all, Mindo proved to be a truly amazing destination – and one that I shall happily return to for an even longer stay. But before we depart here – how ’bout a collage or two of the many colorful blooms that abound in this special corner of the globe (incl. a handful of butterfly pics that I snapped in my visits to – not one, but TWO different butterfly houses in Mindo:

Las Lajas Sanctuary – COLOMBIA!

Heading back to the capital, I dropped anchor at my Quito hotel only long enough to stuff a small rucksack w/ pj’s and a toothbrush, and rise early the following morning to embark on my super-quick, overnight adventure in… COLOMBIA!

A new country for me, and one that I’ll likely return to for more in-depth exploration. But for this visit, I had but a single quest – to finally set eyes on that majestic neo-Gothic church stretched between the steep walls of a canyon above the Guáitara River in Impiales – just a few miles from the northern Ecuador border: Our Lady of Las Lajas.

Now I won’t lie – 5 long hours on a bus (not to mention a couple of hectic negotiations with collectivo drivers to get me across the border***) isn’t my idea of a fun time. But it was the only way to get to the border and cross into Impiales, so… When on a travel quest to gawk at a singularly unique sight in the World – a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, no?

Besides, I did meet a most lovely fellow solo lass at the Quito bus station (Patricia, from Colombia but working as a Physical Therapist in Quito making her monthly visit to her father in Impiales). Needless to say we had plenty of time to chat and get to know one another as we slowly made our way north to Colombia. And I now have a new friend to visit when I return to Quito.

Once at my hotel in Impiales, it was again a frantic rush to drop my rucksack, exchange a few dollars for pesos (~4,000 pesos = $1) and negotiate with a taxi driver to take me out to the basilica (~15 min. drive and it was already near 5 pm!) Note: he asked for just 20,000 pesos (~$5) for the rt. fare plus wait an hour for me to skip all the way down the (many!) stairs to snap photos of the church. So (relative to the far more pricey Viator/GetYourGuide Lajas day tours at well over $100), um… naturally I tipped him well!

*** Curiously, in the flurry to cross the border, there didn’t appear to be the need to stop for the usual immigration exit (Ecuador) and entry (Colombia) stamps in the ol’ passport. I guess my (startlingly clear) appearance as a gringa marked me as a non-refugee risk. (Note: yet ANOTHER example of my – completely unearned – “White Privilege“.

And Then There Were the EATS!

Oh my yes indeed – the original impetus for this domestic trip north was to dine at the table of the World’s BEST Pastry Chef after all, and I surely did enjoy a most incredible 11 course tasting menu at the lovely Nuema restaurant in Quito. But this post is already tipping more than 2,000 words (not to mention nearly 30 images!) so I’ll save the delicious Nuema details (incl. a pic of every incredible bite, of course!) along with a dazzling array of images from my fabulous La Foresta neighborhood Street Art tour, for a duo of separate TL posts.

Instead, how ’bout I close this one down with but a couple of pics of souvenirs of my trip north. As you all know, I travel light, and choose to drag home only the sparest of souvenirs that will tuck neatly into my carry-on luggage with little fuss. And for this short domestic trip I (initially) opted for a single souvenir.

(Like many?) I enjoy (desperately need?) my caffeine fix each morning, and for me, that’s a tiny cup of espresso (or 3…). I’ve long been sipping my morning brew from a wee espresso cup that I got in Istanbul, Turkey 5 years ago. But lately I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for a new one. And there, on my very first day in Quito I happened upon this sweet honey in a tourist shop on Plaza Grande.

Fine. Just one sweet little souvenir of this trip that I’m sure to make daily use of back in Cuenca. The wee mug even depicts the iconic statue of the winged Virgin Mary (“La Virgen del Panecillo”) that towers above the Quito skyline.

Perfect. A single small souvenir that I could stuff a sock into, and tuck easily in my carry-on.

Dulce inspecting the new convertible “Aoking” ($125) rollie/backpack. Note the small zipper at the top next to the handle – the sliding rollie handle gets completely zipped away when using it as a backpack. Likewise as a rollie, the straps neatly pack away. It also has a padded laptop sleeve and an external cell phone charging plug.

Right.

Little did I know then… that two weeks later – just MOMENTS before heading to the gate for my flight back to Cuenca…

At the Quito airport I stumbled upon… OMG – could it be? Could it (finally) be? A CONVERTIBLE rollie/backpack that I’d searched high and low for (all over Cuenca, and even Mexico City last October).

Perhaps you remember my  “R.I.P. sweet Purple Rollie” post last year, when I tearfully bid adieu to my beloved (15 years by my side, through more than 30 different countries!) convertible rollie/backpack after the sliding rollie handle broke and proved utterly unfixable. I (oh so reluctantly) had to buy a new carry-on size rollie (black, plain vanilla soft-side, no backpack straps) for my Mexico trip. But I continued to hope that one day, I would somehow find a likewise convertible carry-on replacement for Ms. Purple.

And… THERE. IT. WAS.!!!

At the Quito airport – with just moments to spare before I needed to board my flight to Cuenca! At that point of course, my air ticket only allowed for a single carry-on (i.e. no checked baggage), but… Happily, Avianca swiftly checked my original (fully packed) black rollie (for free!) and I was able to board with the new EMPTY rollie/backpack – Hoooo-ray!

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