I'm not sure how we keep changing temperatures so dramatically! From the relative coolness of Otavalo, looking out onto snow covered volcanic peaks to sweating on a caldera walk, then having to put on extra clothing as we enter cloud forest (and this all in one day), we finally settled near Apuela, being welcomed by ace photographer and birder Doug Edwards and his neighbour Grace.

A few wonderful days were spent gleaning as much knowledge as possible from Doug on the local flora n fauna, plus sitting in Nanguli hot springs, watching bats swoop in to scoff insects from the top of the water.

It was a rough ride to Mindo and we broke our rule of not riding at night. The rain was coming down and the camp site we had been recommended was down a steep mud and gravel track with a few loose rocks in the mix for the unwary. Yup, cue drop number 12, so we hauled arse back to a cabaña for $20 which was warm and more importantly wasn't a dark muddy puddle. Sometimes you just don't want to rough it.

Mindo is yet another top birding destination - Ecuador really is one of the best places in the world for observing the huge number of species here, including over 130 different hummingbirds. Possibly our earliest start of 4.30AM took us into indiginous land with a guide to witness a lek by the superbly monikered c*** of the Rock. What a treat to see and hear this magnificent bird. Imogen was keeping an eye out for Olunguitos, but those little b*****s remain elusive.

Riding to Quito was glorious - lush green forest with rolling clouds covering the hills. We did the standard "crossing the equator" things: balancing eggs, jumping from side to side and watching water spiral round at the *true* equator. Apparently the official one is out by a few hundred metres, but according to the blurb at the Intiñan centre, the indiginous people knew where the real point is so that was where we chose to be daft tourists for a while instead of the government one!

Quito was a necessary stop for us as we have decided to ditch the forever breaking Vango tent and get a shiny new one from Tatoo - a hyper ritzy outdoors shop, which rather joyfully was playing early 90s Indie hits over the in- house P.A. making a welcome change from non-stop Latino pop. $350 worrying dollars later and we exit rather quickly with a Czech made Hannah Sett2. Fingers crossed this withstands Patagonian winds and jungle downpours.

The first big test for the new tent, and its maiden outing was at Cotopaxi National Park. Rather annoyingly, motorbikes aren't allowed in (but all other vehicles from bicycles to enormous trucks and buses are, grrr), but the ranger took pity on us and allowed us to camp at the edge of the park, giving us one of our more memorable nights and early starts. Being alone in an area a little like Mordor, with banks of clouds thundering in over the paramo was a fun experience, capped off with the sun hitting the snow covered peak of the volcano in the morning for 30 whole minutes before clouding over again. Unforgettable.

From the coldness of Cotopaxi causing our Steripen to have the "snowflake" symbol, we hit the hot springs and fun company of fellow travellers and ace campsite kitty at the super welcoming Montano Camping in Banõs before deciding to cross the Andes eastwards for some warmth.

So, moving east what happens? If you've been wondering about how much rain falls in the rain forest, the answer is quite a lot. We were fortunate to be able to pitch our little tent inside one of the Quichuya tall houses at the Sinchi Warma lodge which helps the women of the local community. For most of the first day we were here, we just kept saying to ourselves "holy s***, we're in the AMAZON!" then slightly wondering about exactly what sort of creatures of the night would come and get us, and feeling particularly relieved that we were off the ground and nicely high up.

Hearing the sounds of the jungle change throughout the day and night is an experience we'll never forget, with every fluting, gurgling call getting us excited as to what new bird we're seeing now ("lifer!") and when the rains stop and the heat builds up, the lively chrirrups of the many-legged things begin their noisy chorus and bring the lush green vegetation to life.

Bike drop number 13 came as we chickened out of a fast and deep river crossing. Hey, if you don't HAVE to cross you can always turn back, which we sensibly did, but the steep gravel and loaded bike took a tumble yet again. The great thing about this old Africa Twin is that you CAN just hoik it up and ride off again.

En route to Antisana, we sheltered from a downpour in a barn which was like a nativity scene complete with cow, various animals and a fire, all quite welcoming until the owner came back carrying a slightly more unfortunate animal who it appeared was going to be dinner that night. We left them to joint their evening meal in peace and went condor spotting instead, riding up the Guamaní Pass at 4064m. It was pretty nippy and wet and the bike obviously had had enough by this point and ground to a halt. A slightly worrying moment, so off came the heated grips and lights and we let the old boy calm down a bit, and luckily the AT started again, let's hope this isn't a sign of things to come as we still have 5 months to go!

After the cold but fabulous scenery of Antisana and several Andean Condors flying near our camping spot, we headed to the coast for some warmth and sea, staying for several days at the fabulous La Canoa Campsite, where we became friends with the owners, spending a few unwise but fun nights drinking cocktails and playing Pass the Pigs.

We had a wonderful day trip to the "poor man's Galápagos" of Isla de La Plata, strolling past nesting Blue Footed Boobies, before biting the bullet and deciding that actually what we really needed to do was go to the actual Galápagos.

With the credit card maxing out, we not only bought our return tickets home (get the bunting out, we're back to Blighty from Buenos Aires on 27 June) but bought two last minute tickets to Baltra, the uninhabited island at the north of the Galápagos archipelago.

Next blog, how to spend a few months travelling budget in one easy lesson!

Pics as usual on Imogen Burman-Mitchell's Facebook page.