Ecuador - Quito and Mindo

Good Friday Parade in Quito

Our group tour of Ecuador finishes in Quito. The next day is Good Friday.

Thousands of people parade the streets dressed in purple hooded robes similar to Ku Klux Klan outfits. Interspersed between the purple marchers are different marching bands and many men dressed as Jesus carrying crosses of different sizes.

Sometimes they are accompanied by men dressed as Roman soldiers. Many carry their crosses with cushions on their shoulders. They stop to change sides or to rest. One cross is as big as a telephone pole. Its bearer drags it through the street helped by friends.

Some don´t carry full crosses. They have large wooden beams across their shoulders. Some drag heavy chains from their feet. It is a solumn occassion.

The parade stretches on for over a kilometre and takes two hours to pass. How do you start a parade of that size? Where does everyone gather before they begin their march?



Mindo

The next day I take Ailsa's advice and catch a local bus to Mindo. Mindo is a small town on the edge of a cloud forest and is well known as a birdwatchers' paradise.

The town is full this night and I have a hard time finding a room. I take what I can get. My "room" is a second floor balcony under a roof alcove. There is just enough room for a single bed and for the door to swing open. The railing is about a foot high. My hostess advises me not to drink as I could fall over the edge. There is no window or curtain. Just open space. There is a mosquito net over the bed.

The view is magnificent. It looks out onto lovely trees and there are sounds of a stream just beyond.

At night I lie in bed and listen to a group of people singing South American songs as someone plays guitar. This would be lovely except they start at 12:30 am and they play until 2:30 am. They are close by and I don't have a window to shut out the noise. I don't get to sleep until four and I wake up at daylight.

At breakfast I watch a hummingbird hover near a bird feeder before flying away.

Late that morning I check into the hotel next door which has a large room with ensuite and a door to balcony with a hammock. This balcony is larger than my previous nights accommodation.

The view is just as beautiful, looking out over the tree covered town and beyond to the nearby hills and forest.

My balcony view, Mindo.

Here I take a holiday from my holiday. There is no need to leave my room to see anything. Everything I need is here. The restaurant downstairs has excellent food at a good price. Pretty Ecuadorian girls smile shyly as they take my orders in Spanish and return to the kitchen to giggle.

I spend two days in my room writting. My laptop stops working unexpectedly. I switch to pen and paper. I will have to wait until I return to Melbourne before I can get the laptop fixed under warranty.

I return to Quito. My photos are all safely stored on an external harddrive. I buy a second harddrive for backup.

An hour before I have to leave for my flight to Lima I receive an email and learn that a friend has died.