We flew to Quito from the Galapagos on Wednesday. We are staying in a good hostel which picked us up from the airport. On Thursday we went on a tour of the 'Old Town' of Quito, which had some impressive cathedrals and churches. Then we went to the 'Middle of the World', a monument on the Equator, or not as other places claim. We went to a museum where we did some experiments including balancing an egg on a nail. We spent the next two days in the cloud forest abo...

After our cruise we spent a day on the beach on Santa Cruz and seeing more giant tortoises at the Charles Darwin Centre. On our last day we took a day cruise in style. We went on a luxury boat called the Sea Finch to South Plaza island. This was a small but beautiful island, with cacti and big land iguanas. There were lots of sea birds, including the pretty red billed tropic bird, which had a long white tail. We relaxed on the sun deck on the boat trip home. A ...

We have just finished our cruise of the Galapagos. We had a really great time. Our boat, Yolita, was small but clean and comfortable. Our cabin was tiny with narrow bunk beds. There wasn´t room for two of us to stand up at any one time. But once we got used to the constant sound of the engine and the swaying it was fine. We started off by going to the highlands of Santa Cruz, the main island, to see giant tortoises in their natural habitat. Then we saw som...

We are loving the Galapagos. Everywhere you look there are amazing animals. Have spent half of our time underwater! On our first day we went to Tortuga Bay to swim and sunbathe. The marine iguanas were a bit of a shock at first - massive creatures sunning themselves on the beach and on the rocks. We also went to the Charles Darwin Research Centre and saw giant tortoises, including Lonesome George. He is the last one of his species and will not mate with any other...

In Guayaquil at the moment, in a lovely self-catering place just out of town. It´s got a swimming pool and a garden with mango trees. A part from the lizards (massive), frogs and chickens it´s very relaxing. Flying off to the Galapagos tomorrow.