Mindo, in the cloud forest

We're now in Mindo, about 100k NW of Quito, and a world away in a cloud forest.  A bumpy local bus ($2.50 pp) delivered us safely to this sleepy little town after winding through the Andes for about two hours.  Speeding through the Andes, over recent landslide issues, passing other buses and semis struggling uphill, through twisting, cloud-slicked roads . . . sigh.  Happily, my road views were obstructed but my window access into this land of plant gigantism was delightful.  We walked to our hostel through the lane above.

 Steve in the main house's hammock, overlooking the town of Mindo, hummingbird at feeder.

We went to sleep in our little cabin (views from which above) to the sounds of a dozen varieties of frogs, and a gentle rain (vs. car horns, partying, sirens, city sounds in Quito), and awoke to bird song (bird alert - skip the rest of this PP) ranging from the usual sweet twittering and whistling sounds of a vibrant bird community, to sounds like a cell phone, a squeeking door, CRAAAAK, a baby gurgling, cat about to emit a hairball, and a couple of roosters who still are excited about the day.  In the morning I sat on our tiny balcony overlooking the yard and watched birds -- saw a Little Cuckoo, several tanagers (yellow-rumped, palm, blue-necked) and more hummingbirds than I knew collected in one little part of the earth .  Steve's especially fascinated by the hummingbirds, their varieties, control, noisiness, aggressiveness, constancy. He'll be posting about them.  

Today we'll hike, find a birding guide for tomorrow, investigate ziplining, hang out.  Some kids here have a competitive spades game that may have openings.  Nice being out of the city.  Nice being here.  Life is very good.

Clay feet

Pre-Incan pottery in Quito's Casa de la Cultura.  The two lower ones were vase-like, about 24 inches tall.   Miss the studio these days.  It was a very cool, surprising museum. 

Random Ecuadorian stuff

There aren't many "supermarkets", and the only one we've found was about the size of  a smallish Whole Foods -- huge by comparison to the little bodegas that are the norm.  Among the surprises for me: it had two brands of avacado slicers among its moderately slim kitchen offerings, a whole aisle was given to canned fish varieties, neither the milk nor the eggs are refrigerated here, and Gordon's gin was the top shelf brand, higher than Beefeaters or Tanqueray Sapphire.  The $53.12 is USD -- since 2000 their currency is American dollars, so easy for us.

Monolopy for Ecuadorians. Every country has one.  I'd have loved to see inside the box.

Painted sign outside of a military academy.  

Their mangos are delicious.  Big chunks in the bottom of the cup, swirled ribbons of a more tart mango on the top, then one chooses toppings:  fresh lime, vinegar, salt, pepper, hot sauce, sugar.  Yum.  And the weird, teeny fork makes consumption last longer and be more fun than it otherwise would.

Honoring the local

The churches here are fantastic, elaborate, no surprise.  The gilt, the focus, the detail and upkeep - amazing.  The main Quito cathedral, the Basilica, was designed by a French guy in the 1880s, who cared enough about the local culture to design the church with gargoyles that represented exclusively local fauna.  Interested folks are allowed to climb to the top of the main tower over three fire escape like ladders -- no nanny state here.  It was harrowing, invigorating.  Another church nearby includes a 1753 frescoe of the Last Supper, again honoring local customs, includes a prominently displayed whole baked cuy (guinea pig) as the main course on the table.