So Halloween isn´t really celebrated here like in the West. No kids dress up or trick or treat, but when I explained to my students what it involved (sweets, throwing eggs and toilet roll) they seemed very keen to begin doing so.

It is a 3 day public holiday though, because the South Americans celebrate ´Día de Muertos´ (Day of the Dead). My immediate reaction to this holiday was ´Zombies! Where!?´...turns out my mad skills at Resident Evil wasn´t neccessary. They explained to me, as I unloaded my shotgun, its when they pay respect to their dead family and friends.

During this holiday, I decided to visit Isabella Island for 3 days. It is the biggest one, which looks oddly like the UK. The boat ride was the day after the Halloween fiesta, and it did not go well. Half an hour in and I was asking for a sick bag and water. It took the concentration of every fibre in my body not to blow chunks on this over crammed sea vessell...with 24 people giving me ´he better bloody not´looks. After 2 hours of controlled breathing and swallowing I arrived at port and ran to the nearest toilet. All things un-holy were unleashed on that poor unsuspecting bowl. What came out would have easily filled 5 of those sick bags...I felt sooo much better. During the agonising jouney I did make friends with an American who was laughing at my pain, she told me how she loves how the English cook and wants to cook with me. I was like ´stop talking about food or I am aiming this at you, love´.

The organisation of this trip lacked in its entirety, and so I had no idea who to meet, where to meet, what i needed and what was going on over the next few days. once I found someone with a board full of names, I found that I was on there as ´Richar´..incorrect and no surname!? I was ushered to a hotel and still, no one spoke english. I eventually found someone who did and, after some interpretation, I went to visit a flamingo lagoon with my group (who were all at a different hotel!). My group was an Italian man and his Chilian girlfriend, plus an equadorian family of 4. The son and daughter were forced to speak to me by the parents, the dad paid lots for english lessons and wanted them to use it. They were still pretty bad, so I tried to keep things simple. Turns out they were 19 and twins (eurgh, we know how I hate twins haha) at one point the girl asked me ´Whats ´Hello´ in England?´- she learnt in America and thought it was a different english (she thought I knew English and American haha). Sleep was hard that night as some stupid cats were auditioning for cat-factor outside my window, it was definately a no from me.

Next day we were climbing a volcano, 18km´s of walking! The daughter was my walking buddy and we communicated where possible. She was studying business, worked for her dads company, worked in a nightclub, was part of a dance group who often appeared on TV in equador and was a clothes model on occasion....BUSY. She even said to me I should go to her city as I could easily be a model (with a striaght face!), they love me here. At the bottom is was warm, when we walked through the clouds it was freezing and wet, then at the top it was scorching and had epic views and wonderful landscape. Oh, and during the walk our tour guide got arrested by police for not having the correct certifications, and so we were left on our bloody own! (he didnt speak english and was useless anyway so I wasn´t really bothered).

The volcano had a 10km crater and last erupted in 2005, and it very well could happen again. It was very different to what I expected a volcano to be like, when I asked some other groups guide: ´So where is the Evil Genius´s lair?´ (all volcano´s have one.. dont they?) - He stared at me blankly. I put suncream on my neck 4 times during the trek but alas, I was red raw.

When we got back down, we visited some local sharks/penguins/baby sea lions and snorkelled with turtles. After dinner me and the twins, plus the Italian/Chillian couple went to a bar I had previously scoped out. It was on the beach with a fire pit, volly ball nets, hammocks and lots of cocktails. I taught them all ´b****** Brag´which they loved, then me and the twins played that game where we put our beer at the end of the beach and we have to run, down them and run back. The bloke looked a state after that haha. The Italian man paid the bill before he left and then throughout the night, the twins kept insisitng on paying as their parents were rich.

The boat back the next day was at 6am and so I had 2 hours sleep. I was in that drunk/hungover state, and decided to sit near the ouside of the boat so I could hurl over board if need be. Becuase I sat in the corner of the outside I got SOAKED from the spray. Then throughout the 3 hours a kid infront of me kept spewing again and again, made me feel so bloody ill myself. I also hurt my foot during the extensive volcano walk and that was playing up. Although some very acrobatic dolphins joined us on the journey which made up for it all. So I arrived back and was walking home. I was wet through, feeling like vomiting, hanging, limping, exhausted and had a stinging neck from sunburn. What a Trip!.... BED!