Mindo (from Quito by bike)

I joined a bike ride with from Quito to Mindo. All the riders were school teachers from my school and another international school in the city. We live in the mountains so the ride was up and down some steep inclines.

I wasn’t sure my knee would be okay and in the end I did not do the two biggest hills. It was a supported ride, so there was a trailer carrying our bags and also could take you and the bike up a hill. I did do some hills and the knee felt good though tired. I did not want to find out I hurt myself in the middle of the biggest hills.

We first went through Quito at 5:30 am to the point where we loaded bikes to avoid the first hill

At the top of that first hill, I got on the bike but waited for the traffic to clear!
I stopped along the highway going downhill to get this shot. So cold. It was just under 40 degrees.
We stopped at Nono, the first town, to warm up before continuing on.
So beautiful.

From here the road was gravel. On the downhills I went slow as I was not comfortable and also the tight turns. Lots of braking! In the end, going slow let me stop and take some great pictures.

A second stop in Nanegelito. Here I realized the next hill was even steeper and decided to skip it.

At the top of the hill was the next stop at Bellavista. This used to be the old highway and when the new one was put in, the little towns suffered. A foreigner purchased all the land and built the hostel resort and also manages the nature reserve. They had hummingbirds and incredible views.

The hummingbirds were amazing.
They loved my red gloves.

So many more hours of downhill on gravel.

Finally I noticed that the vegetation had changed and we were no longer in the forests but in the jungle.

I was do glad to see paved road finally which was faster but it was also still downhill! Finally I made it to Mindo!

Such a cute very small town.

I finally found a mixed encebollado to try. It’s a fish soup with onions, yucca, and spices. So delicious. It came with plantain chips.
Just a guy and his dog out for a drive.
In the center park.
Service on Sunday.

A new friend from the other school, Cotopaxi, met me in Mindo. We had a good time hanging out, eating, and walking to the butterfly garden.

Those little flashes of blue on the left side were very beautiful and active blue butterflies.
Live music in the park. I danced some salsa with him before boarding the bus back to Quito.
More flash of blue at the door. They did not alight anywhere during our stay.
One butterfly that just emerged from the chrysalis.

We packed up our things but went to lunch to wait for the bus to go back to Quito. Devon and Sergio know great friends of mine from Guangzhou. Kathy and Mitch thought that was great too!

The cacao margarita was fresh (no syrup). We ate at Quetzal, which had amazing food.

It was a great weekend. For a small town there is a lot to do and I will go back. It is only 2 hours by car but was 7 hours plus by bike! The full route: https://www.wikiloc.com/mountain-biking-trails/quito-a-mindo-ruta-del-quinde-por-tandayapa-y-bellavista-cloud-forest-22321050

2 thoughts on “Mindo (from Quito by bike)”

  2. Gorgeous scenery and some pretty amazing pics with your phone! Sounds like you are settling in well.

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