Diego is a VERY engaging and knowledgeable guide. He explained many things about living in Equador, its people, schools, housing, immigration issues and the topography of the country. It gave us a knowledge base to ask questions of other guides.
It’s a LONG trip (2.5-3 hours) to the highlands with a dramatic change in vegetation.
The 1st stop was the Hummingbirds. It would’ve been nice if there was a larger viewing area and more time.
You have a number of “adventure” options at Mindo. Most of our party choose zip lining and enjoyed it. We took the coffee plantation tour. We learned about the LONG process, got to harvest beans, crushed them, roasted and made coffee. It was STRONG but excellent! Take insect repellent!
Then you take a long “chairlift” ride over the rain forest canopy. There’s really not a lot to see other than large stands of bamboo.
Lunch is at a local restaurant that also makes chocolate. Learning the process and detail necessary to create quality was an awakening. We found it interesting. The guides are terrific. You get to taste the end product. Chocolate “tea” was a surprise as it’s excellent.
If you’re expecting to see birds, other than hummingbirds, you will be disappointed. Our understanding is you need to be there early in the morning and take a dedicated “birding” adventure. They hype this as the habitat of 300 birds, but on this trip you won’t see them.
This was the 2nd best of the 4 day trips we took. Thank you Latin Adventures!
