The Galapagos has been a fantastic experience and a privilege. At the airport in Guayaquil we bumped into the French Canadian couple (Retrand and Sylvie) who we met in Banos. They had not booked a hotel on the island of Santa Cruz as they had only decided to go the day before so Ian and I said we would take them to our hostel once we had landed and they could leave their bags in our room whilst they looked for a place. This was the start of a great 6 days tog...

Since Friday the 11th July, after taking the 3hr bus ride from Quito we have been staying in Banos. Banos is a great place and quite a tourist hub as it close to hikes, rivers, waterfalls, mountains and a volcano. On Friday we arrived in the evening so simply found our hotel (le jardin de Marianne) and I went to bed. Our hotel is lovely - for $55 we have separate rooms for three nights. The rooms are on the third floor with views over rooftops and the mount...

Wow! Today we hiked 14k around the mountains and lagoon of Cotopaxi. We arrived 30mins before the place opened but the kind guard let us in at 7:30am so we could make a start (we were told the winds get harder in the afternoon and to go early). After less than a minute of starting to climb the steps my heart was beating out of its chest and my lungs were screaming for air. This hike was going to be a challenging one! It was only a few minutes later when we...

On Friday 5th July after asking the Equator we caught the bus to Otavalos. For 25cents we drove 2.5hours! Having been dropped off at a petrol station we hailed a cab and paid $2 to go to our hotel. The driver was really lovely and we arranged for him to pick us up on Sunday at 7am to take us to Cotopaxi for our hike around the lake. After a short rest we headed out to explore the town and came across a little celebration of sorts and a local band with people...

Today was a great day! I woke up around 5:40am and got to speak with my bestie on Skype. - such a treat to see Jen and baby Jacob and have a quick catch up. Ian and I then spent time with Gloria to get recommendations on what else to see in Ecuador. Gloria was so helpful and we soon had planned an itinerary to head south once we've returned from the Amazon on Thursday 11th July. So, our new plans are to stay two nights in the cloud forest at the yellow house ...