Adventures in Mindo

      While we did spend that first night at Bellavista, atop a ridge and far from civilization, I also wanted to check out the town of Mindo.  Mindo is a more-famous, and more-visited community at the edge of the cloud forest.  Whereas you will feel immersed in the cloud forest at Bellavista, Mindo provides an opportunity to stick your toes in the cloud forest while still staying at a lodge with a well-manicured lawn and a nice, blue-water pool.

      Little did I know that the manicured lawn and bluewater pool would also come with one of the nicest rooms I have ever slept in - at Terrabambu Lodge.  Two floors, ginormous windows, a huge bathroom, and a porch with a private jacuzzi.  Wow… I could get used to this.

     For our 24 hours in Mindo, we enjoyed a handful of different activities and explorations, “dipping our toes” into the nearby cloud forest.

           -  We took a very simple aerial tram a few hundred meters across a large canyon, reaching a trailhead for two different walking trails on the far side.  These trails led to a series of waterfalls tumbling out of the cloud forest.  Each one was more suggestive than the next.  “Get in.”  “Take a dip.”  “You know you want to.”  Of course, we heeded the call on more than one occasion.

         -  We took a tour of Jumbo’s Artesanal Chocolate, learning all about cocoa production and chocolate-making practices… and, of course, sampling more than our fair share of product.  The mandarin orange flavor was our favorite, but the unique Miel de Cacao was the sample we decided to bring home.  It’s a fruit syrup made from the white, fruity part of the cacao that liquefies during the fermentation process.  Imagine a balsamic vinegar-looking sauce with hints of chocolate, pomegranate and other fruits.

       -  We had lunch at the Mariposario, or butterfly farm, and then walked around on the paths indoors and outdoors.  If you ever need to plant a big ol’ happy smile on your face, simply walk in the company of hundreds, maybe thousands of butterflies.

        -  Our guide convinced us to give Tubing a try.  Now… here in Montana we know tubing to be a lazy, beer-in-hand activity - a simple way to float a weekend day away, and stay cool in the process.  But in Mindo, they strap together seven inner tubes, place an unsuspecting traveler at each junction of the tubes, and allow a guide to steer them down a 3-mile section of Class II rapids.  Nothing lazy or relaxing about this trip, and certainly no free hands to carry a beer!  The guide, by the way, is jumping on and off the tube contraption, “steering” by simply bouncing us off of every rock he can find, screaming “vamos” and “muertos” at an un-naturally high pitch.  What a hoot!