Travel by number

I'm an English teacher. You know this. I love words. I enjoy inventing new ones. Today, though, I'm going to recount our excursion to Mindo with numbers. Try to work the other side of my brain perhaps.

$7.20: cost for 3 one-way tickets to Mindo
2: number of hours in the bus from Quito to Mindo
$15: cost of 3 tickets for chocolate tour at El Quetzal

Our friendly tour guide, Jake (who already knows me by name because I may have an obsession with El Quetzal), explaining...something...I don't remember exactly what it was because I was intoxicated by the smell of roasting cacao.

12, or 17, or maybe 23: number of chocolate items purchased from El Quetzal between Mom, Dad, and me

The sampling at the end of the tour is brilliant. Sure, we'll take 6 bricks of cacao to make these delicious brownies you've just teased us with.

3: number of meals we had at El Quetzal within 48 hours

Pollo with chocolate sauce. Like I had just stepped into the birthday scene from Chocolat.

59: number of times I pondered the chocolate bars, chocolate caliente, brownie and fudge at El Quetzal within 48 hours
5: games of Hearts we played as we watched countless raindrops fall outside of The Dragonfly Inn's windows
2: hours of hiking in the bosque behind The Yellow House
0: number of monkeys and bears we spied as we hiked

Oh, but we did run into 1 herd of cattle and had a stare-down with a calf and his mama. 

10: zip lines at Mindo Canopy that Dad and I ventured to cross...or ride...or fly on

Dad, me, and some pretty hunky zip line guides. I learned later that someone died on the zip lines in Mindo last year, but that was the other company, so you know, no big deal. 

4:45: por la mañana--time the alarm went off to go bird watching
5: number of male Cock-of-the-rocks that we saw putting on a show to win the affection of one female

See the three red spots? Cock-of-the-rocks with their fannies facing the camera.

8: number of butterflies that landed on Mom and Dad at Nathaly Butterfly Garden

11: am--time we left Mindo to return to Ecuador on Friday

As I finish the blog tonight (4 days after I began it), it's just Mom and I hanging out in my living room. Dad left Sunday night to head back to the States. I've enjoyed every minute of having them here. Feeling a little twinge in my heart as I have to send Mom back to Minnesota tomorrow (where it might reach 5 degrees in the afternoon). The next countdown: 2.5 months until the three Baci sisters are unleashed in Quito together!

Les extraño, mi familia y amigos.

Jame