Tori's Travels: Mitad del Mundo y Mindo

Spoiler: my weekend just might have been cooler than yours.

Totally teasing, but I did have a wonderful weekend of traveling to amazing places, places so unlike anything I (as a Floridian) had ever seen. Friday began with an uncommonly clear sky, so we decided to take a spontaneous excursion to Mitad del Mundo, the middle of the world. I stood on the equator!! And…it felt pretty much the same as when I'm not standing on the equator. Which is, like, all the time.

Guapulo is a boho little town, and a crazy, twisting drive up the mountainside.

Little hut on the equator, est. 1875

Balanced an egg on my first try. Plus a few.

I also ate cow stomach. More on that later.

On Saturday, we took a trip out to a little town called Mindo, nestled in the Andean cloud forests. Mindo is, officially, my new favorite place. The drive in itself was a visual feast. After leaving the last town behind, we drove out into the desert, winding through mountains that looked like massive sand piles scooped up and forgotten.

This lasted for several minutes, until––within a few twists of the road––we suddenly found ourselves in Andean farmland. The mountains were flecked with cows gazing on the emerald grasses. It was beautiful…and seemed to pass just as quickly as the desert: we veered around a few more turns and the viridescent landscape became swathed in clouds.

In Mindo I immediately set about finding a farmacia. The day before I had been mercilessly attacked (bug spray has no power here) by biting flies. EIGHTY-FOUR BITES. ON MY BODY. It was bad, guys. My ankles were so bitten up that they became painfully swollen. Hence the need for a pharmacy.

Sorry, that's a little graphic. I should've given warning.

After buying and lathering my ankles in crema, we went in search for the next most important commodity: food. Hobbling around the cobblestone streets of Mindo (with my ankles muffin-topping over my shoes) we found an exotic little gem of a restaurant and ordered two pizzas (because that's what the cool kids eat when they visit the rainforest). THEY WERE SO GOOD, fresh sauce and crust, topped with garlic, onions, eggplant and carrots. Ahhh.

The pizza here was flawless…even with eggplant, which I once swore I'd never eat.

Soon, the clouds surged in and tiny droplets of mist filled the air. We took a drive out into the forest, jolting over the rough, jungle road and through a stream. I hung out the car window with my camera, shooting hundreds of photos. I even made Emme stop several times, in order to vault from the car and take closer shots. We finished the day with helado, a treat which has always been dear to to my heart, and the General Womens Conference. Perfecto.

Though, every bathroom I visited was either lacking in toilet paper, soap, four solid walls or all of the above. Which I did not appreciate. So, okay, your weekend might have been cooler than mine.