Things to note

Dear Mom and Dad,

1. I´m so excited for the Spirit Lake football team! WIN THE DAY!!! I remember when it was a big accomplishment to not get 50 pointed during a game. What a great football program S.L has. I bet dad and his friends call the plays and/or flags before the anouncers. I wish I could be there.

2. Always wear pants when hiking. Charlie and I are miserably scratching our legs from our waterfall excusion. I bet we have 20 bites a piece from where our legs were bare. These bites itch worse then any mosquito bite I've ever experienced. Our only saving grace is the anti-itch spray our good friend Susan gave us. She is such a sweetheart and  really took the time to think about us when giving us our going away present. We use some of the items DAILY.

3. We visited Cotacachi yesterday. It was a cute little town with far fewer people then Otavalo. The people seemed to be from indian decent because they wore the typical dress. The men all had long hair in braids and this town is known for their hand made leather. Charlie bought a couple gifts for his mother and sisters, and then poked fun at me because the first two gifts I bought were for me. He says it's because he is the youngest, so he is more giving, and I'm the oldest, so I'm more selfish. This could be true or I think it's because I'm a girl and I just love shopping. :)

4. Charlie is officially developing a sweet toothe. :) I would like to take credit for that. We finished dinner yesterday, and it was HIS idea to get dessert. I even said I was too full to eat anything, but he said he wanted a small piece of chocolate cake. Don't worry, I didn't let him eat it all himself and managed to find room to eat a few bites.

5. We have been joking nightly about the woodwork in our room. If you look close enough in a picture from my last post of the hostel. Look at the one with the TV and round door. You can click on the picture to enlarge it. We really like the woodwork and think the arch in the doorway is really pretty; however, it isn't a perfect arch. The left side isn't as round as the right side. I laugh and joke about how this is NOT up to "Tim Mitchell standards." I even do the tapping on the wood like dad does. Mallory and Mom, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The small things make me miss home the most.

6. Today we are venturing to Cotacahi Vocano. We have to take a bus to the town Quiroga, and then a taxi the rest of the way. It should take about 4 hours to hike around it, and we are really looking forward to it. I'm sure Charlie will take too many pictures, and I'll want to bomb the internet server for not letting me upload them fast enought again. I promise though to update the next post with the pictures no matter how frustrated it makes me.

Love always,

Matti Jo