Hello from Japan!

Day 2: Tokyo

Updated: July 18, 2026

The day after a trans-pacific flight, we thought we did pretty good by getting up at 7:15 am! But by this time, the Corindas already woke up, got breakfast at 7-11, walked to the Radio Tower Park near the hotel, and then — “for fun” — Cordwood went on a run. Impressive! Meanwhile, we got ourselves ready and headed down to the lobby for coffee and a breakfast of the hotel’s complimentary squid crunchy peanut snack mix. The Cordinas met us and we headed off to the train.

Shiba Park Hotel IS really nice!

The first stop of the day was Meji Jingu Shrine. The train stations were much more crowded this morning as it was rush hour on a weekday. A quick visual survey confirms the locals all know how to pass the time on their phones — playing cat games, watching boy bands on YouTube, and watching anime and Friends.

The Meji Shrine is located in a forest within the city. You can walk through the temple gates and wander the paths. We also saw a display of sake and French wine. During the Meji period, the people were somewhat taken by European influences, hence the French wine.

Meji Jingu Shrine

Sake in the Shrine

Shimenawa (hemp ropes) and Shida (paper bolts) at Meiji Jiingu

After viewing the sanctuary, we went to the gift shop and cafe. First, from the gift shop, we picked up a magnet of Maneki-neko (aka. waving cat), an iconic Japanese figurine believed to bring good luck, wealth, and prosperity, etc. Plus, this particular Maneki-neko has a cat as a hat, so that must be some kind of extra luck multiplier.

The second item was a special matcha ice cream cone. How it was different than the regular matcha cone, we have no idea. But it was certainly special on this very hot morning. Also confirms that Jo does actually like Matcha — at least in ice cream form.

Lily is a fan

Next on the agenda was the Studio Ghibli Museum. We had more than enough time to get there for our noon entry, but we figured might as well head in that direction. We walked back from Meji Jingu to the train station, and hopped on the train. When we reached the stop, there was a bus, but the walk was only 20 minutes, so we took a stroll.

First of many vending machines

As we made our way towards the museum, we found a Don Quijote store, famous for cheap snacks, souvenirs, and all sorts of other random crap. We were on a mission to find nail clippers – something we heard are amazing in Japan. After scouring the aisles, we found a few options. We added tweezers to the haul and moved on to the snack section.

Cordwood and Charles found strawberry KitKats, a liter of Fanta and some wild energy drinks branded “X-ASAP Synergy.“ The synergy was obviously because all the cans featured anime characters. The engery, while effective, remains a mystery because the cans said the drinks were caffeine-free and the rest was in Japanese.

To dream the impossible dream of shopping in Japan

Sad news… shopping took a while, so there was no time to visit the nearby Capybara Cafe! But now that we know such a place exists, we will keep it in mind for a later date.

Turns out the old ladies were nearly running us over

We continued walking through a park to get to the Ghibli Museum. We were there about 10 minutes before our entry time, but they let us in. We made it into the covered ticket line right as it started raining. Good timing!

Hottest ticket in Japan

Our friend Totoro

The building is fantastic and whimsical, much like a Studio Ghibli movie. The exhibits included displays on how animation works, art, and a screening of an original Ghibli short film (we saw Monmon the Water Spider which is about a diving bell spider who falls in love with a water strider). Eventually we made our way onto the terrace for lunch at the Straw Hat Cafe. Two sandwiches and two ice cream floats later, and we were ready for the next stop on the agenda.

All those cabin Ghibli movies paying off!

Mitaka neighborhood street art

We had a food tour scheduled for 5:15 in the Shinjuku area, so we headed to that area of the city by train and hit a few stores we had in mind. First was Onitsuka Tiger. Our youth correspondents Lily and Melanie said this is a popular shoe store store. Jo, Lily, Mel, and Cordwood all bought a pair while Charles and Belinda went to the claw machine arcade.

Jo’s new kicks

The correct yellow Kill Bills

New Onitsuka Tigers owners

With our footwear purchases secured, we sought our next objective: the Suica penguin store. Fortunately, this store is located in the Shinjuku station. We managed to navigate the maze that is the mall/train station/supermarket and found the store. A few penguin souvenirs later and we were on our way.

We completed all our shopping and agreed a hydration break would be nice. We found the Starbucks designated as the meeting point for our food tour and grabbed ourselves some yuzu and peach-based refreshments. At 5:00 pm our food guide Ken arrived and we were off to eat some local dishes.

The first restaurant was called Nanjamonja. We sat on pillows around low tables with flattop grills (DIY Ron of Japan!). We prepared two types of Japanese “pancake” dishes. First, monjaykai, a mix of cabbage, beef, flour, water, and seasoning. Ken said during the war, when there were no writing utensils, preparing this dish on the grill would also be used as an opportunity to help teach kids how to write their letters. So, the alphabet soup of Japan.

Food Tour stop one for Monjayaki and Okonomiyaki

The second dish was okonomiyaki, a similar mix, but this time with pork, squid, shrimp, egg, cabbage, and, flour. We mixed it up and cooked it on the grill in pretty much the same way as the first dish. Ken showed us how to use the toppings like barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, fish chips, and seasoning. When we finished our food and drinks, we moved on to the next stop.

Preparing the Monjayaki

Before going to the next restaurant, we stopped at a photo booth business to partake in some Shinjuku youth culture. One entire floor of this building was dedicated to multiple, large photo booths with the most ridiculous software filters. There are also costume rentals, changing rooms, and vanities to prepare your whole hair and makeup look for the booths. Worst case, the hair irons are somewhat useful until to venture back outside into the humidity!

Wild photo booth cultural pit stop

The next stop was Izakaya, a pub with a bunch of chicken-related food options. We stuck to the fried and skewered varieties. This place was certainly less traditional than the first, but just as good. It was very popular with tables filling up quickly as people left work to start their Friday night.

Shinjuku by night Part 1

Shinjuku by night Part 2

Food tour stop two for Yakatori

Finally, we went to a third restaurant for dessert. This was a unique store that sold some regular menu-item foods, but the main attraction was the nostalgic candy section. When you order a drink (and pay a little extra), you get unlimited candy. Since it was all Japanese candy, Ken helped us pick out what we would (probably) like. We supplemented the candy with a couple sweet bread ice cream sandwiches — which is definitely the equivalent of having a cat as a hat on top of another cat.

Food tour stop three for sweets

By the time we were done, it was 9:00 pm and we were beat. We made our way back to the train and went straight back to the hotel for the night. Tomorrow, we’ll do some more shopping, but most importantly, baseball!

Back to the familiar Oedo line jingle

Day 1: Chicago to Tokyo

by Joanna

Updated: July 18, 2026

1 Comment

Today is travel day! Our flight was scheduled to leave O’Hare at 12:15 pm, so we didn’t have to wake up too early. We got ourselves ready and took a cab to the airport. There was a bit of morning traffic, but our driver navigated it expertly and we made good time. Security was quick and easy (no yogurt this time) and we made our way to Terminal C to press our luck with the United lounge.

Good news! The lounge was open and accepting day passes (which we had). We relaxed with some breakfast, coffee, and mimosas. The lounge was also right next to our gate, so no extra travel time.

Hanging in the lounge

We went next door to our gate for the start of boarding. While in line to board, the agents made an announcement that the private first class jetway was 99(!) degrees, so even the Polaris folks would need to use the peasant-class jetway. Guess we are leaving one hot place for another.

When checking our seats a few days ago, we noticed the flight wasn’t full. We had an aisle and middle in the middle section, but moved Jo’s middle seat to the aisle in hopes that no one would pick the middle. It worked! We had enough space to be pretty comfortable for the entire flight. Plus, we arrived an hour early.

Economy life, but with an open middle seat!

Meanwhile, Cordinas flying in style

The flight went well, except for the dog a few rows back who barked at any turbulence (really???). We both caught a few hours of sleep and/or finished off Season 2 of Andor. When we landed, we made our way to customs with all of our paperwork completed ahead of time. This let us go into the “priority” line. Great! Until you realize this is also the line for the families with little kids. Still probably shorter than the regular line though. Once we picked up our bags, we used the QR code at a kiosk, and walked through the exit without any trouble. Kind of a long global entry-like of process.

Hello!

Next up! Let’s get to the hotel. Having arrived an hour or so earlier, Belinda tipped us off to get some cash first for the train card. We easily found an ATM, then we went to buy the Suica card. Be sure to ask for the regular card, not the welcome card, and you will receive a very special penguin card that will soon be retired.

Suica Penguin!

With Suica cards in hand, our last task was locating our train. Once we asked an agent and spent some time looking at Google Maps, we had it figured out. We arrived at the hotel and settled in as the Cordinas made their way back from shopping. We met in the lobby at 5:30 pm for our evening.

Even Jo feels tall in Japan! (But to be fair, the desk staff is a couple steps lower)

Shiba Park library hotel

Our main goal the rest of the day was stay entertained long enough to (somewhat) reset our body clocks to the local time — 14 hours ahead of home — by checking out the Odaiba shopping and entertainment district. To do this, we ventured back out to the massive Tokyo train system.

Stay awake for a few more hours

The train stations in Tokyo are absolutely wild. They are essentially huge department stores with multiple train lines. One station can be multiple levels and span several blocks.

We took the Yurikamome line, which runs over the Rainbow Bridge, and arrived in Odaiba. Everything in this area looks vaguely futuristic/dystopian. The buildings are big and have multiple levels. We made it to the mall with three objectives; Dinner, Giant Robot, and Water Fountain show.

First was dinner. We found a noodle soup restaurant that looked tasty, was kinda busy, and not too expensive. We split into two tables and ordered a tsukemen bowl (pretty much ramen, but with different noodles) and a couple pieces of fried chicken. I know hot soup when it’s 100 degrees outside doesn’t sound great, but it was really tasty.

Bibs came in clutch and didn’t embarrass Lilly at all

There was also a McDonald’s right across from the restaurant. We’re obviously not in Japan to eat at Mickey D’s, but it is worth checking out what crazy pie flavors they may happen to be selling in Asia these days – which are almost always delicious.

Morinaga Milk Caramel pie is solid

Just outside of the mall is a giant robot. I mean a 65-foot tall, light up, moving robot. Several times throughout the day, there is a short show with a video screen and a robot “transformation.” The face and horns move, and the lights change, but that’s about it. Still, it was pretty cool. When we went outside to the are where the robot is, there were hundreds of mostly teen girls and what appeared to be a boy band on stage. We couldn’t tell what they were talking about, but they were kind enough to pause for the robot show (which the crowd had zero interest in).

Unicorn Gundham

The giant crowd is here for the robot show, right? Right??

The final cool thing we waited for was the Tokyo Aqua Symphony. Basically, it’s like the Bellagio fountains, set to hip Tokyo music and synchronized to lights. The harbor was just a few minutes from the robot. The water show is 820 feet wide, and the center spout can reach almost 500 feet. It was impressive and a fun show.

Tokyo Aqua Symphony

Having hit all three objectives, we took the train back to the hotel and called it a (really long) day. Tomorrow, we have some ideas of how to spend the morning before going to the Studio Ghibli museum.

End of day check: Two points for eating at a tasty ramen restaurant

Back at the hotel for the night

Lets Go! To Japan

by Joanna

Updated: July 15, 2026

Day 15: Mindo to Chicago

by Joanna

Updated: June 27, 2026

1 Comment

Today may be our last day in Ecuador, but it’s the first day we don’t have to do a darn thing until after noon! Conveniently, check out from Las Terrazas is also at noon, so we slept in until the sun woke us up and had a leisurely breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, we finally figured out the perfect breakfast order. Always start with coffee and yogurt and granola. But then, order the authentic hot chocolate drink and the homemade bread along with the scrambled eggs — in order to make a delicious egg sandwich. Too bad it’s our last day. Pro tip, also order a second pot of hot chocolate to go.

Perfect breakfast

We heard reflecting pools were in the news lately

After breakfast, we finished packing all of our bags into their travel-ready mode — gaining further appreciation for our super-light Galapagos packing mode. Shortly after noon, we said goodbye to Las Terrazas de Dana and met Santiago who drove us to a nearby butterfly farm. A butterfly expert told us about the life cycles of butterflies. We saw all the stages from egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly. We then went into the butterfly garden where there were tons of butterflies flying around and snacking on flowers.

Hanging with the butterflies

Owl Eyed Butterfly camouflage

Sharing flowers

We took some time to admire all the different kinds of butterflies and flowers. We also were told how to get them to land on you. Dab your finger on the fruit, and then hold it close to them.

Adding to Matt’s Disney Princess status

Employees were trying to catch a bird that got trapped in the garden

Hey, Jo gets princess status too

We were about to leave the garden when Santiago called us to come outside. He spotted yellow-throated toucans hanging around and calling out in a nearby tree. Mission accomplished A great end to our time in Mindo.

We hear you, Toucan…

…And we see you!

From the butterfly farm, we continued along the windy road back towards Quito. Surprisingly, Jo only slept for part of it. We stopped at Mitad Del Mundo, a monument and museum complex that is located at 0 degrees latitude – aka. “The Middle of the World.” There is also a park area (bouncy-house castles) with stores nearby, and as a bonus these days, a giant monitor set up to watch the World Cup games.

Street-side vendors and World Cup fans

Middle of the Earth Monument

In the museum, we learned how explorers and scientists from the 1700s used triangulation, stars, and mapping to figure out the curvature of the earth, and thereby locate the equator. Ecuador was uniquely suited for this endeavor because it’s one of the few locations on the equator with mountainous terrain. But, it turns out they were slightly off. The monument is technically about 300 meters from the actual geographic equator, but hey, for the 1700s they did a pretty good job.

Santiago explains triangulation, vantage points, and the Avenue of Volcanoes

Latitude Zero

The monument itself also has stores on the inside, with stairs to the top featuring more information about Ecuador’s history. Of course, we went up there.

View from the top of the monument

The monument

One local is very unimpressed with Santiago’s ability to balance an egg at the equator

In unrelated news, the lightning port on Matt’s (apparently ancient) iPhone 14, stopped working — claiming there was water inside the port, which is not true, but then again, it’s REALLY humid in the Cloud Forest, so who knows. As a result, following our visit to the Middle of the Earth Monument, we went on a side quest to find a magnetic charger that would not require plugging in the phone.

Santiago suggested the mall we passed on the outskirts of Quito. Since it’s Saturday, the mall was crowded. But we managed to get a good parking spot. After wondering around for a bit looking for an electronics store (hey, is that Radio Shack?!?!), we were navigate to a store called Smart Buy. With a helpful sales associate, the mission was a success and Matt’s phone was functional again.

Rainbow greets us at the Quito airport

We arrived at the airport just after 6:00 pm, and said farewell to Santiago. Since we’re not allowed to check in until three hours before flight (which would be around 9:30 pm), we went across the street to the Airport Center. It’s on the other side of the drop off lanes, and is part of the airport. We found a restaurant where we could charge our electronics, order some food and drinks, and most importantly, watch the Ecuador World Cup game.

Bye, Santiago! Thanks for everything!

World’s second best trilogy

Watching our second Ecuador World Cup game with the locals was fun. But, turns out we might be bad luck. Since becoming Ecuador World Cup fans, the team has failed to score a single goal. At least they didn’t lose this time, as they battled to a 0-0 tie. Progress! (But I don’t think they are gonna advance out of group play)

0-0 Tie!!!!

Once we were able to check in, we dropped off our bags, cleared security, and passed thru customs. We then located what might be the best Priority Pass lounge we’ve ever accessed. The bartender crafted of the best Amaretto Sours we’ve ever tasted.

Amazing lounge, but what kind of scam requires so many card readers? lol

Our flight from Quito to Houston departed at 12:35 am as scheduled and everything was smooth. We successfully slept for most of the fight as intended (in order to not be too sleep deprived tomorrow). The extra legroom we had the exit row was worth the upgrade.

Mostly to not be annoyed by other passengers

The last leg of our journey from Houston to Chicago was delayed a couple hours due to weather, but, if there was ever a good time for a flight delay, it’s on the final flight of a trip when you are in no hurry. Turns out domestic United flights don’t feel as special when they are not part of a Hub Run Marathon. With a quick train ride and bus ride back home, we have another awesome trip in the books.

Day 14: Waterfalls and Rapids

by Joanna

Updated: June 20, 2026

2 Comments

After yesterday’s mid-day nap and a full night of sleep, we were ready for the waterfalls hike today! We ate breakfast, and met Santiago at 9:00 am in order to drive to the trail head another 20ish minutes via dirt road into the rainforest.

Morning walk to breakfast at Las Terrazas

The full “Santuario de Cascadas” features three routes with waterfalls, one auxiliary route, and a cable car. We decided to start with the auxiliary trail to the first waterfall. We were starting at a higher elevation, so it was a nice hike slightly downhill. We could hear the calls of a yellow-throated toucan, but were not able to spot it. After about 30 minutes of hiking, we were rewarded with the Nambillo waterfall.

Maps are helpful

The Merlin app is Shazam for birds

Making our way down

Nambillo Waterfall

We crossed the Nambillo river and continued up the trail on route 1, which doesn’t have any falls, but eventually connects to the cable car. From route 1, you can choose to hike route 2 or route 3. We decided on route 3 because it’s slightly shorter and has multiple waterfalls along the way. Route 1 only has one waterfall at the end.

Guarúmos Waterfall

Madre Waterfall

Made it to the end with Maderos Waterfall

The trail goes up and down, but is well maintained and features steps and railings when needed. We stopped at most of the waterfalls until we reached the end of the trail. These aren’t the biggest falls we’ve ever seen, but the spray was refreshing and they made for a really fun hike.

Maderos seemed like a perfect place for one more Ecuador flag picture

The trail was an out-and-back, so we returned the same way we came in. We didn’t stop at all the falls, so it went a bit faster. We headed for the cable car station to plot our next move. We could go for route 2, but that would add at least two more hours and only one waterfall. Instead, we opted to catch the next cable car, and grab a celebratory Ecuador beer while waiting. In total, the hike was about 4 miles and took two and a half hours.

The cable car is a tarabita, which is a traditional form of hanging basket/gondola transport used in the Andes. It’s basically an open air, people-sized tool box. We loaded in along with another family. Apparently you’re allowed to stand for the ride which seems bonkers. It was quick and we were back at the car in just a few minutes.

Human tool box

The main reason we didn’t want to hike for two more hours in the sweltering heat and humidity is because we wanted to go river tubing in the Mindo River! We drove back to the hotel for a change of clothes and a quick snack, then we jumped back into the car to go to a nearby river tubing company. We were doing this on a whim, so we didn’t have a set time. But we wanted to get there before the afternoon rain, and were hoping another group was there so we could meet the four-person minimum.

When we arrived, a group had left about 10 minutes earlier and there wasn’t anyone else scheduled. But… it turns out the four-person minimum is for the cost, so Santiago negotiated a price ($15 total! usually $6 per person) for a two-person excursion and we were good to go! We put on our life jackets and helmets, literally jumped into the back of a pick-up truck bed (with the raft tied above), and drove to our starting point about 10-15 minutes up river.

Suit up!

Our next mode of transportation

This adventure is a cross between lazy river tubing and white water rafting. The primary watercraft is seven inner tubes tied together upon which you sit — and hold on for dear life — while you move down the river. The river moves quick and there are many rocks, so you actually need to sit where the tubes are tied together, rather than inside the donut holes. If you did that, you’d hit a lot of rocks. The guide does an incredible job maneuvering the raft through the river and somehow not breaking his ankles. The ride lasted about 20 minutes and was whole lot of fun.

Rapidly going down the river

It was, in fact, not calm enough to eat an apple most of the way

Thanks to our guide, who despite his shirt, was not named Ricky

We timed everything perfectly. When we got back to the hotel, it started to rain. But surprisingly, that weather quickly passed and we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting by the pool, blogging, and birdwatching.

See, we vacation like normal people

Heard and spotted a Black Phoebe

This Lobster Claw plant near our room looks fake (but it’s not)

Santiago picked us up at 6:00 pm for dinner and took us to a restaurant in town called Serenity. They had some Ecuadorian food, but also international food as well. We both ordered a version of Paella. They also had Micheladas on a two for $8 special, so we had to try them. They have a kick. Micheladas are beers with lime juice, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Pretty much like a Bloody Mary, but with beer instead of vodka and tomato juice. We ordered one traditional and one with passion fruit beer.

To continue tasting local flavors, Santiago told us about the Ecuador method of eating ice cream with cheese on top. So after dinner, we walked two blocks to a shop selling this concoction. We played it straight with chocolate ice cream, strawberries and bananas — and then covered in shredded mozzarella cheese. Looks ridiculous, but it was pretty good! The cheese adds an extra creaminess to the ice cream without adding any weird cheesy flavor. Is it really necessary? No. It is the definition of “putting a hat on a hat”, as one might say.

Mozzarella chocolate ice cream

Friday night church services in Mindo are hoppin’

We made our plans for tomorrow (last day!) and went back to the hotel for the night. On the docket is a butterfly farm, the middle of the world monument, and finding a bar/restaurant outside airport security to watch the Ecuador World Cup match at 7 pm before we are allowed to check in for our midnight flight back home.

Day 13: Birding and Chocolate

by Joanna

Updated: June 19, 2026

2 Comments

One of the most sought after birds in the cloud forest is the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. So today, we scheduled a bird-watching tour with Anderson, the son of the owner of San Tedeo Birding (where we stopped yesterday). The only catch is we had to wake up at 4:30 am to get there in time to see them when they are active!

We got dressed and met Santiago at 5:10 am. We picked up Anderson along the way and headed to a farm to start the journey to see the birds. The farm owners could clear the forest to make more pasture for the cows, but Anderson rents the farm from them to preserve the forest (and the birds). We walked uphill on one of Anderson’s trails for just under half-a-mile as the sun was just starting to rise. We could hear the distinctive call of the Andean Cock-of-the Rock as we got closer.

Heading out before dawn

The sun is starting to rise

At the end of the trail, Anderson built a protected area with a tarp and a fence where we could stand to view the birds. It’s mating season, and a female Andean Cock-of-the Rock lives here, so all the males are stopping by to vocalize and dance in an effort to get the female to choose them.

Bird watching tent

Anderson is a master at this

The bird is named the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock because these birds are found in the Andes region, their red heads look like a chicken’s head, and they typically live on the rocks of rivers. The sound of the river helps mask the sound their wings make when they fly, giving them more protection from predators. They are up in the trees and bushes in the mornings before it gets too sunny out so they can hide better, but still be visible to the female.

Andean Cock-of-the-Rock

Another good shot

I feel like I’m being watched

We spent about an hour watching and listening to the birds before heading back down to the car. We made a quick stop at San Tedeo Birding to drop Anderson off and say hello to the hummingbirds again.

Fun mushrooms on the tree

Hiking back to the car

Wow, thats a big one!

Early morning in Mindo

On our return to the hotel, we found the restaurant and ordered breakfast. We ordered coffee, juices, homemade yogurt and granola, fruit, pancakes, eggs, and did I mention the coffee?

Even so, we didn’t get much sleep the past few nights and by 9:00 am, we were still pretty dang tired. We called an audible on our post-breakfast plan to hike to a waterfall, and decided it would be best to do that tomorrow morning instead. We took the rest of the morning and early afternoon to nap and birdwatch from our awesome balcony. Mindo is in the top five locations in the world with the highest biodiversity for birds. So, even sitting at the hotel, we could see a large variety of species. And sleep.

Steps to our room

Blogging and bird watching

After resting and recharging for the afternoon, we resumed our activities. Santiago picked us up at 4:30 pm and we drove into Mindo (the hotel is technically just outside of the town) for a tour of Yumbos Chocolate. On the way, we stopped by Mechita’s Restaurant — owned by a woman who specializes in traditional food from the Esmeraldas province. She also typically closes around 7:30-8:00 pm, so we pre-ordered before the chocolate tour.

Mechita drive through service

The Yumbos Chocolate building is not a giant warehouse with huge machines and a ton of people working on assembly lines. This is a small, open air, museum exhibit/production center.

We started the tour with Jonathan, one of the employees. He explained the process of how chocolate is made. First you gather the cocoa fruit from the trees. The yellow ones are the best, but red will also do. The cocoa trees only grow near the equator and in low altitudes. So, the trees do not grow here in Mindo. Instead, they work together with a neighboring community who grow the trees, harvest the fruits, and also dry the beans (the rainforest is too wet for that part).

Jonathan shows us cocoa fruits

Close up of the actual fruit

The inside of a coca fruit is white and fleshy and tastes sweet. It’s almost like a pineapple/passionfruit flavor with a lychee texture. You can eat the fruit, make juice, or use it to make alcohols like cocoa wine (with is sweet, not chocolaty). Inside the fruit is the seed — that’s where the chocolate comes from. The seeds have to be harvested by opening each pod and washing away the fruit. Then the seeds are dried.

The dry seeds are sent to Mindo for the rest of the processing. Here in the “factory” they roast the beans, which allows the shell to be peeled. Inside is 100% chocolate. When using good fruit and going through the proper steps, this is tasty, not bitter chocolate. It can be used to make hot chocolate, pure chocolate bars, or for cocoa nibs. They use a machine to separate the peel from the bean, but all mixed together. They then use a sieve and a fan to separate them. The peels can be used along with the chocolate for things like tea, or poor quality “chocolate” candy bars, They also use the shells as fertilizer.

One the pure chocolate is collected, the next step is further grinding into a paste, then mixing until you have a smooth chocolate liquid with the cocoa butter still combined. The can use a press to separate the cocoa butter for other uses (skin care, additional ingredients and such), but all of their chocolate bars include the natural cocoa butter. From there, sugar and additional cocoa butter can be added to obtain the different percentages of dark chocolate.

The next step is tempering the chocolate, which is done by hand on a marble slab in a cold room. natural flavors can be added here ad well, such as ginger, mandarin, coffee, mint, etc. Once it’s tempered and flavored, the chocolate is poured into molds, left to set, then packaged for selling.

When we finished the tour, Jonathan brought us our samples. We started with hot chocolate, made from melting a pure 100% chocolate bar with milk. It was rich, but not sweet since no sugars are added to the 100% chocolate bars. Jonathan also offered us a chocolate face mask (per the aforementioned cocoa butter skin care) which we took up. We sampled the various levels of chocolates from 100% down to 60% along with some of the flavors. The last two samples were a tea made from the cocoa nibs and shells, with lemon and brown sugar added to bring out the flavor. It was great. We now know how to prepare the chocolate tea we have at home. Finally, we had a delicious, rich, and fudgy brownie bite.

Chocolate samples

All of the samples were great, and we learned a lot about the chocolate making process and what makes a good quality chocolate bar. We met back up with Santiago who was waiting for us in the front and took some time to walk a few blocks to check out the town before going to dinner.

Mindo Street Art depicting our morning

Mindo town after a light rain

The food at Michita was amazing, and absolutely huge portions. This was very fortunate for the dog who got a few table scraps. We also had Quinoa Chica to drink, a fermented quinoa (similar to a kombucha). When we couldn’t possibly eat any more, we went back to the hotel for the night.

The restaurant started as an ice cream truck, hence the car

Food for paws

Tomorrow we plan to start with the waterfall hike, and we’ll see where it goes from there!

Day 12: Santa Cruz to Mindo

by Joanna

Updated: June 19, 2026

1 Comment

Today starts Part 3: Cloud Forest. The only planned adventures for today are traveling back to the mainland and driving to the town of Mindo, which is in Ecuador’s cloud forest region. We have an early wake up (5:45 am) to make to the airport for our 9:50 am flight.

As we were only allowed a small carry-on for our inter-island Galapagos flights, we packed VERY light. This makes it really easy to get ready in the morning and have plenty of time to enjoy breakfast. Based on Martin’s recommendation yesterday, we had yogurt and granola. It was, in fact, very tasty yogurt.

Non-endemic LEGO plum blossom spotted

Martin and Higinio picked us up and 7:00 am and we headed north across Santa Cruz Island. The drive took about 40 minutes, where we proceeded to board the ferry. We waited about 20 minutes more until the boat was full before departing. We didn’t see any tiger sharks (as Martin has before), but we did spot a sea turtle. The boat ride only took about 5 minutes, and we boarded the bus to the airport. The driver carefully avoided any land iguanas on the road.

Driving back through Santa Rosa

View of Baltra island from the highlands

Thanks for the ride, Notorious H-I-G!

We made it to the airport at about 8:30 am. Good thing the airport only has three gates. Pretty much everyone on the boat/bus was on our flight. Since we didn’t have any bags to check and we already had our boarding passes, we were ready to go. We bid farewell to Martin and headed through security.

Thanks for everything, Martin!

We had two missions before boarding the plane. The first was pick up a copy of Galapagos Uno. We saw it at the bar yesterday, and they said we could find it at the airport. They were correct. Next mission: relax in the Priority Pass lounge. We found a nice seat outside(!) and grabbed a latte and some snacks. But then we immediately heard the announcement our flight was boarding. Ah well. Still, mission accomplished.

We proceeded to the gate, which was right outside of the lounge (to be fair, all of them are), and boarded the plane. Like the flight to the Galapagos, this one was definitely not full, so we were able to take the aisle and window, leaving the middle seat open. Also, we were assigned “plus” seats for free this time.

Back to slightly larger planes

Flying over Baltra – you can see the road to the airport and the water we crossed

The flight went well, except during our first approach to the Quito airport, we had to pull up just before landing, circle around and try again. The captain said the landing was called off by the tower, and that everything was fine… “standard operating procedure.” We think today’s winds are stronger than normal (and confirmed that later with Santiago). Everything was smooth on the second go-around.

Fun fact, when deplaning, Avianca re-closes the curtain between first class and economy sections until the first class passengers are deplaned. Really guys??? You know we can still see you around the sides of that cheap gray shower curtain.

Approaching Quito

Love they made a sloth the mascot of their health insurance wellness program

We met Santiago outside of baggage claim and found our (upgraded) van in the parking lot. We made a pit stop at the Wyndham to pick up our large suitcases before continuing on to the cloud forest. The winding road that drops in elevation after leaving Quito put Jo to sleep immediately. Our lunch stop was at Mirador Guaycapi, where there were multiple humming bird feeders and bananas set up. We sat outside and watched the birds while we ate delicious fish.

Good to see you again, Santiago!

Lunch stop…

…with a view

…and the biggest juices ever!

Next stop was San Tedeo Birding. We will be back very early tomorrow morning to try and catch sight of the Cock-of-the-Rock bird. Santiago wanted to let the owner know and figure out the best time while we bird-watched. We observed a bunch of hummingbirds and a variety of other colorful species. We also saw an Ecuadorian Thrush that is endemic to Ecuador. One appeared to be feeding a much larger crow, which has been “adopted” by the Thrush thanks to a “swapped egg in nest” behavior from crows… like the movie Elf, basically.

Admiring the birds

We went to a different part of the trail where there were TONS of hummingbirds. We held bottle caps of sugar water in our palms and hummingbirds landed on us to drink. It was all a very cool experience.

How many hummingbirds can Matt attract… so far… Zero…

One…

Two…

Theee…

Four! Disney Princess Level Unlocked

It started to drizzle as we were leaving, and turned to full rain by the time we passed through the town of Mindo about 10 minutes later. Apparently, it’s common to rain in the afternoons. This is the rainforest after all. Fortunately, we had no other plans for the day. We checked in and relaxed in the room for the rest of the night.

Bird lady goes through 5kg of sugar a day to feed the hummingbirds

We’re special!

Relaxing in the rain

Tomorrow we have an early bird-watching and a tour of a chocolate factory. We’ll try not to fall in any chocolate rivers or eat anything we aren’t supposed to.

Day 11: Santa Cruz Island

by Joanna

Updated: June 19, 2026

1 Comment

The first portion of today’s itinerary was once again traveling. We woke up early for a leisurely morning and breakfast overlooking the ocean. The fried plantains were, not surprisingly, delicious (think banana-flavored Krispy Kreme donuts). Add some chocolate drizzle, put them on a stick, and bam. State Fair food. Martin and Jonathan picked us up at 8:00 am to head to the airport.

Our 2nd floor cabana

Morning views

There are two ways to get between the islands. By boat, or by air. Most people take the boat ride (which is longer and usually involves choppy waters). We presume it is the cheaper option for larger groups. But we are obviously the jet set. Upon our arrival, the entire airport had eight people inside when we arrived — including staff and passengers. Like our inbound flight, we weighed our bags, then waited for the plane to arrive. Since the Isabella airport is much smaller than the San Cristobal airport, and only goes between the islands, there was no lounge this time. Alas, we survived.

Yup, that’s pretty much the entire airport

When we were ready to board, Martin said hi to the pilot, Marcello. The Galapagos are very small, and everyone knows each other. Marcello is Martin’s sister’s best friend’s cousin from when they were little. Hence, Martin calls him Marcellito.

Now boarding group everyone

Boarded and ready

The other passengers on our flight were a family of five. The oldest kid (probably about 13) got to be the co-pilot. The flight only took about 30 minutes and we landed at Baltra Airport.

On the way to Baltra… Las Tintoreras in view

Wait, who is flying the plane right now?

While the airport is on Baltra island (a remnant of the US Military base), the main attractions are on Santa Cruz Island. So, from the airport, everybody takes a bus to the pier. While waiting in line, we saw Ariana – the guide from our Kicker Rock excursion from Day 9 — who was waiting for a ~30 person EF Education tour to arrive.

We loaded on the bus, which left once it was full. Since Baltra has flights to and from the mainland, it is much more busy than Isabella. The bus filled fast and we were on the way. The only delays occurred when the driver had to stop, exit the bus, and shoo the land iguanas off the road.

The next step in our travel adventure was a boat ride across the canal from Baltra to Santa Cruz Island. The boat is a large water taxi to ferry us across. We arrived about 5 minutes later. As we were disembarking, we spotted a Santa Cruz Brewing Company sticker with Darwin’s face in the middle. Let’s go there later!

Get in losers, we’re going ferrying!!!

We officially made it to Santa Cruz! Our driver, Higinio, picked us up. We immediately drove south toward the highlands. First stop was a quick viewing of Los Gemelos, a collapsed lava tube causing what looks like a big crater.

From there we drove a little further to El Rancho El Chato, a giant tortoise reserve. Unlike yesterday’s breeding center, where the tortoises are in captivity before they are released into the wild, these tortoises are wild and free to roam wherever they want. They are also a different species since this is a different island and tortoises are fully terrestrial. Before heading out on the reserve, we had lunch at the reserve’s restaurant/gift shop. They were selling a local beer called Reptillia. We picked the one with the tortoise on the label, obviously. As we ate, we overlooked the grounds and could see a few tortoises hanging around.

After lunch, we stopped at the botas hut to switch our shoes to rain boots. The trail can get muddy and/or wet, so the boots were much appreciated. As soon as we started on the trail, we saw a giant tortoise right next to the path. As we walked, we continued to see and admire the several tortoises of varying ages and sizes.

Giant tortoise!

Look, you’re on the flag

This trail has some of the poisonous apple trees that are also on Isabela. Technically, they aren’t really poisonous – but they will make you itchy. There was a family with two little girls near us. When their guide told them not to touch or eat the apples, one of the girls said, “when you tell me not to do it, it makes me want to do it more.” Good luck with that one.

Tortoise friends

Giant tortoise close up

Martin led us to a section that had mandarin trees. We picked the ripe ones that were reachable and had a fresh, sweet, trail treat as tortoises wandered around us.

Teamwork!

Delicious mandarins

From there, we walked through three lava tubes. They were big enough to stand up nearly the entire time. Plus, Martin is about the same height as Matt (maybe a little taller) so he has tall appreciation for him. It also helps when Martin enters lava caves first, Matt knows he can fit.

Entering the cave

Matt (mostly) fits!

The end of the last lava tube exits right back where we started – conveniently near the gift shop. We didn’t see anything particularly interesting in the shop, but we did become one with the turtles by getting into their shells.

Humans in a tortoise shell. Tortoise power.

We got back in the car and drove to the next stop – the Darwin Research Station. On the way, we passed by cattle farms that produce very good yogurt and cheese (according to Martin). When we arrived, we followed the outdoor loop with various exhibits along the way. There is also another tortoise breeding center here, so we got to see some more baby giant tortoises.

We passed by the buildings where the actual research takes place, but couldn’t go inside. It is their place of work after all. The published papers are available online for your reading pleasure. We were able to go into one last exhibit with tortoise shells, a whale jaw (huuuugge) and of course, a Darwin life-size diorama. Here, we did give in to the gift shop and bought shirts. As a bonus, the cost is fully a donation to research (yeah, science!).

The research station was the last scheduled activity of the day. Higinio dropped our bags off at the hotel, so we were able to walk to town. Along the way, Martin pointed out the shops and restaurants he recommends. We made it to the hotel and checked in. We took a moment to admire our giant room, then promptly left to check out those shops.

Blue-footed Jo

We did some souvenir shopping, but agreed we were solid in the magnet department. We did make a point of going to Darwin and Wolf, a trendy, high-quality beach clothing store that Martin recommended. It was designed to feel like you are underwater and smelled great. We focused on the sale section where Matt found red swim trunks with a map of the islands on them and Jo found a cute blue-footed boobie purse (not on sale, but worth it). Darwin and Wolf are the names of two islets where lots of sharks are found. A portion of every purchase helps protect the sharks.

Our new favorite store, Darwin + Wolf

Shopping was officially done, and we still had time to check out the aforementioned Santa Cruz Brewery (with Darwin on the label). We walked through the boardwalk to get there, then found a table on the open air top level. At first we sat in the back, but once some Norway World Cup fans cleared out, we upgraded to a prime location with a nice breeze and a great view of the harbor and street below.

View from the boardwalk

We looked over the menu of drafts beers, and decided that picking one is silly when you can get a flight of nearly all of them (except the Gringo, obviously). We tried everything, ranked our favorites, and agreed on a trade (extra tart cherry to Jo, extra porter to Matt).

Try all the beers! For science!

Before dinner, we made a stop back at the room to get ready. We met Martin in the lobby and walked over together. Dinner was great, but the real excitement was after dinner. Martin suggested we walk back to the pier as you can sometimes see sharks. He was spot-on. We found a sting ray and about six baby blacktip sharks swimming and eating little fish in the low tide.

Dinner decked out for Darwin and World Cup

There are baby sharks (do do do do) in there

On the way back to the hotel, we made a detour to a connivence store to get ice cream bars that we had been eyeing all day. Overall, it was a pretty great last day in the Galapagos. Tomorrow we rewind the route (drive to dock, ferry to Baltra, bus to the airport) to fly to Quito to start Part 3: Cloud Forest.

Day 10: Isabela Island

by Joanna

Updated: June 19, 2026

Day 9: Kicker Rock

by Joanna

Updated: June 17, 2026