The honest answer is we still don't know! We'd read lots of good things about it and so decided to hire a personal guide and driver for the two hour trip to Mindo. We'd been told that the birds were at their best beween 6am and 10am. When we were picked up at 4am we found that the driver had decided to bring his small son along. Said son was sat in the front of the 4WD which meant that HJ, RM and the guide, Diana, were cramped up in the back! We protested and son was dropped off at home: we think he should have been at school anyway! After a slightly frosty journey, we arrived at Mindo just before 6am to find that the breakfast that should have been available wasn't. Diana spent the next 30 minutes trying to find a place in the darkness that would open to provde us with coffee and tostada. During this time it became apparent that no itinerary had been set and we were continuously been asked about what we wanted to do next. We eventually arranged to be driven up the mountain to see the birds and find the promised cable car. Unfortunately neiether appeared and our reward was a 60 minute hike down a steep and muddy track and back up again. When we asked about what type of birds we could possibly see, she said she would be able to tell us when she saw their colours. She also said that HJ spoke English like a German! We then walked down the mountain with the promise of birds, but only caught a glimpse of one which was pointed out by twitchers walking up the mountain! Refreshed by a rather good fruit smoothie, we then visited a butterfly farm where we managed to see masses of the owl butterfly when we had spent 30 minutes trying to see one in the Peruvian Rain Forest! We also visited a place with orchids and hummingbirds. Our trip was concluded with an excellent lunch where RM had baked trout and HJ talapia fish. We arrived back in Quito around 2.30pm poorer, full but still none the wiser about the Cloud Forest.
The honest answer is we still don't know! We'd read lots of good things about it and so decided to hire a personal guide and driver for the two hour trip to Mindo. We'd been told that the birds were at their best beween 6am and 10am. When we were picked up at 4am we found that the driver had decided to bring his small son along. Said son was sat in the front of the 4WD which meant that HJ, RM and the guide, Diana, were cramped up in the back! We protested and son was dropped off at home: we think he should have been at school anyway! After a slightly frosty journey, we arrived at Mindo just before 6am to find that the breakfast that should have been available wasn't. Diana spent the next 30 minutes trying to find a place in the darkness that would open to provde us with coffee and tostada. During this time it became apparent that no itinerary had been set and we were continuously been asked about what we wanted to do next. We eventually arranged to be driven up the mountain to see the birds and find the promised cable car. Unfortunately neiether appeared and our reward was a 60 minute hike down a steep and muddy track and back up again. When we asked about what type of birds we could possibly see, she said she would be able to tell us when she saw their colours. She also said that HJ spoke English like a German! We then walked down the mountain with the promise of birds, but only caught a glimpse of one which was pointed out by twitchers walking up the mountain! Refreshed by a rather good fruit smoothie, we then visited a butterfly farm where we managed to see masses of the owl butterfly when we had spent 30 minutes trying to see one in the Peruvian Rain Forest! We also visited a place with orchids and hummingbirds. Our trip was concluded with an excellent lunch where RM had baked trout and HJ talapia fish. We arrived back in Quito around 2.30pm poorer, full but still none the wiser about the Cloud Forest.
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