My South American summer trip started with a flight from Chicago to Quito. After acclimating to Ecuador for three days in the capital, I ventured to the Mindo Cloud Forest. I grabbed a bus from the Terminal Carcelén, which is the northern bus station in Quito. I bought a ticket to Mindo for $5.00. My destination was Refugio Paz de Las Aves Lodge.
A three day tour full of beautiful birds at Refugio Paz de Las Aves will bring a smile to your face.
Exited the bus at Nangelito and took a cab
I actually did not take the bus all the way to Mindo. I got out of the bus at Nanegalito, and then took a taxi. The lodge told me that a taxi would cost 15$-20$, so I started off high in order to not worry about negotiating. I offered $20, but due to my lack of comprehension of Spanish, I was confused and thought he was asking for $50.00. In my phone, I entered $20 in my phone calculator and showed him. He took my phone and deleted $20 and entered $15.00. Quince in English is $15.00 not $50.00. This is the first time in all my travels that a taxi driver negotiated a lower rate for himself.
One of my first birds at Refugio Paz de Las Aves Lodge was this red-headed barbet.
Initial confusion about my reservation
During my initial research, I saw that the lodge offered guided trips along with their stay. I contemplated booking one of these, but I was not absolutely sure how long I planned to stay. While looking for places to stay, I saw options to book there for approximately $55.00 a night. With this price, I knew it did not include a guide, but I thought this would be a good option for a place to stay, and I could book guides when I got there.
My initial welcoming to Refugio Paz de Las Aves Lodge was this view.
One day before my arrival, I looked at my booking confirmation, and I noticed it said to contact the property three days before arriving to find out how to check-in. I thought this was strange, but I found their WhatsApp number and sent them a message and apologized for not reaching out earlier. They replied that they do not offer rooms through other booking agents only their website and would not honer the request. I asked if they could cancel the reservation, and they said they could not.
Despite these ominous skies, it did to rain much during our stay in the Mindo Cloud Forest.
Hours on the phone with Capital One
I booked this reservation through my credit card company, so I had to cancel through them. It was past the cancellation period, so I spent over an hour on the phone trying to cancel. This was beyond frustrating. I sent a message to Refugio venting my frustration. They called me and said I could come, but I needed to also book guides through them. This was fine with me, so we came to an agreement where I would pay an additional $300 for the guide on top of the $150 I already spent for three days of lodging. If you see options to book a room through them on Expedia or another booking service, do not book and instead only order through their website.
This golden tanager was part of the Refugio Paz de Las Aves Lodge welcoming committee.
Arrival at Refugio Paz de Las Aves Lodge and waiting for the tour to begin
My taxi driver dropped me off at the lodge and there was nobody there. I sent a message, and they said my guide would be greeting me shortly. There was a table under a wooden canopy near where the rooms were with a beautiful view of the surrounding cloud forest. There was a fruit feeder set up here, and while I was waiting, I started to see some amazing birds even before the guided portion began.
Related: Birding the army antswarm along Pipeline Road in Panama
Flame-faced tanager at the feeder station.
Red-headed and toucan barbets, golden tanagers, blue-winged mountain tanagers, flame-faced tanagers, and many more periodically visited the feeder while I was waiting. I had watched many Youtube videos on the birds one could see in the Mindo Cloud Forest, and I was amazed to see many of these right before my eyes within 15 minutes of arriving. I turned on my Merlin app, and it lit up with some of the species in front of me, and some I had not even heard of before. Merlin picked up the sound of tropical parulas, slate-throated redstarts, azura’s spinetail, and Andean solitaires. I would see some of these birds, but the Andean solitaire remained elusive.
My first mountain tanager was a blue-winged mountain tanager.
My guide arrived to welcome me and showed me my room
My guide arrived on a motorcycle and welcomed me to the lodge. His name was Andy, and he explained that the tour would be starting shortly. We were waiting for other guests to arrive. In the meantime, he showed me my room, and he said while I was waiting, I could check out the hummingbird feeders that were down this trail only a short walk from the lodge. He said lunch and the start of the tour would commence within the hour.
Golden-naped tanager.
Andean cock-of-the-rock
Another car pulled up, a taxi, and deposited the other two guests that would be joining the three day tour. Ifty and Sadia were both educators from the New Delhi International school. I am a teacher also, so it was a joy to be with fellow educators for the next three days as we had a lot in common seeing we had similar occupations and hobbies. Our first objective was to try and find the Andean cock-of-the-rock.
An Andean cock-of-the-rock with a wry smile. Perhaps he knew he was being featured on Traveling Ted.
I visited Guyana and Kaieteur Falls several years ago, and I was unaware that there was an opportunity to see the Guyana species on the tour, but no one told me. A dude that was on our plane was led down to see this beautiful species. He showed us a picture on the plane on the way back, and I was seething with jealousy. This experience made up for missing that opportunity as we were to see over a dozen at two locations.
Related: Kaieteur Falls photo and video essay
Andean cock-of-the rock at Refugio Paz de Las Aves Lodge.
As we approached the viewing point, an Andean solitaire called in the distance. We saw glimpses of orange and black in the forest, but it was difficult to get a clear view. They were skilled at keeping out of clear viewing range. Eventually, they became more accustomed to our presence and became more visible.
Andean cock-of-the-rock going low.
More than just the Andean cock-of-the-rock
We were sometimes disrupted by our pursuit of getting pictures of the Andean cock-of-the-rock by other interesting species. for instance, a golden-headed quetzal kept appearing on my Merlin app, and the sound seemed to get closer and closer. Eventually, Andy pointed where the bird was a little up the trail, so we made a well worthwhile diversion. We also heard the Andean solitaire chiming in faintly in the distance.
Fly Andean cock-of-the-rock.
It is easy to see how a golden-headed quetzal could be distracting.
Another look at the beautiful golden-headed quetzal.
White-and-black owls cap out the evening
Looking for Andean cock-of-the-rock took most of the first day, although we saw much more than that as noted. We went to a second location just below the lodge, and saw more of the beautiful species. After dinner, Andy took us to a location in the dark and shined his flashlight into the eyes of a beautiful black-and-white owl. There were actually two of them guarding over a house being constructed in the rainforest. We shined the light on them just enough to take pictures and then left them alone. As much as I love to sit in gawk at an owl for hours at a time, it can stress them out to be so close for too long.
Black-and-white owl caps off a perfect day.
Black-and-white owl, Refugio Paz de Las Aves Lodge.
This was the end of the first wonderful day at Refugio Paz de Las Aves Lodge and the corroborating tour. There was one more full day of the tour and a half day after that, but those stories and pictures will have to wait until the next post. Get ready for more Andean solitaire calls, and the highlight of the tour was the search for antpittas.
Adventure on!
Read Part II of this adventure at Refugio Paz de Las Aves
Part III – Mindo Cloud Forest birds beyond the lodges
