Yes, but there is some level of meta-knowledge that you're eliminating. She sees there are 8 statues. She knows that you see either 10 or 12. She knows that

Yes, but there is some level of meta-knowledge that you're eliminating. She sees there are 8 statues. She knows that you see either 10 or 12. She knows that you know that she sees either 8 or 6. She knows that you know that she knows that you see either 10, 12 or 14. She knows that you know that she knows that you know that she sees either 8, 6 or 4. ...etc. That's why the solution takes 5 days, each day eliminates another level of meta-knowledge until you get to a point where you know how many statues the other must be seeing based on how many times they passed.