Before I got to Ecuador I hadn't realised the extent to which Ecuador had been the focus of a couple of major discoveries about the planet we live on. On my first full day in Quito I went to the Mitad de Mundo or the middle of the world centre. It was in Ecuador back in the 1700's that a group of European scientists determined the dimensions of the planet Earth and the Equator around the middle of it. I must say, and I'm not sure why, but I loved straddling the painted line at the visitor centre, a foot in each hemisphere. We then watched the demonstrations about the differences in each hemisphere, for example the bowl of water emptying straight downwards on the Equatorial line, and then in clockwise and anticlockwise directions on each side of it. I couldn't put my finger on it, and I saw it with my own eyes, but I wasn't entirely convinced that it was genuine, although I couldn't quite see how they could fake it either.

I then had a day wandering the about Quito, the walk into the Old Town was nothing special, just another busy Latin American capital city and the historical centre not half as pretty as many other places I've visited. The most interesting part of the day was probably visiting the Basilica up on the edge of town, and getting stranded in there during a tropical storm. I'm not sure that the bell tower of a church was the wisest place to be during a mad thunder and lightning storm passing over head, but I was trying to get the perfect shot of lightning over the city. An hour later, all I really managed to get was wet, very wet, and when the rain eased off I headed back to the hostel. Certain parts of town had had severe hail stones during the storm and the park I passed on the way back really looked like it had snow cover, I certainly had to look twice to make sure it wasn't snow.

And that was it for Quito, short and sweet, for I was keen to get onto what I expect to be the jewel of the Ecuadorean crown, the Galapagos Islands. The following day turned out to be something of an unexpectedly epic day. Due to the previous day's storm and power cuts, my flight reservation to the Galapagos had not been confirmed so I wasn't sure if I was on the 07:50 flight or not. I decided it was worth the risk and after significantly less than my preferred 8 hours beauty sleep I headed to the airport to find that the flight had sold out. So I went on standby and fortunately got on the 9:45 flight, so after queuing to pay the Galapagos tax, luggage inspection, check-in and passport control, I didn't have much time to wait before we took off. On arrival at Baltra, a small island North of Santa Cruz, one of the larger islands, we had to get a bus down to the channel where a ferry tool us over to the main island. Then we had to get a taxi to the main town where I and a Swiss girl found a hotel to stay in and set off to do a bit of tour research.

The Galapagos is an archipelago of islands where the young English Naturalist Charles Darwin deciphered his theory of evolution. There is no freshwater on the islands, so all the animals there are have adapted to life without stream, rivers or lakes, for example sea lions' bodies extract salt from sea water and iguanas filter salt in their nostrils and then snort it out.

Few of the islands are inhabited and you can either base yourself on one of them and explore from there or board a boat for a 4-8 day tour living on board. Due to my tendency to suffer seasickness I hadn't yet decided which way to go about it. Day trips would mean up to 4 hours in small, less stable boats and go less far afield, but would mean sleeping on dry land. However the best way to really see the islands was by touring on board for at least 4 days. After trying 3 or 4 travel agents, I came across a guy who had a room available on a first class boat, but it started from San Cristobal, a neighbouring island and the shuttle across there was leaving in 15 minutes. I had not mentally prepared myself for the idea of spending an extended period of time on a boat and the tour was 6 days long, more than I'd intended on going for. I'm not normally one for impulsive decisions, but was a great deal so I decided to go for it, checked out of the hotel, and jumped straight onto the boat to San Cristobal. Had I realised beforehand that the journey to the boat was going to be 2 and a half hours in a speedboat in choppy seas, I doubt that I would have gone for it, fortunately I did have time to pop a sea sickness pill before I jumped on board, but it was 2 and half very unpleasant hours never the less. I couldn't have been happier to reach terra firm at the other end, although I was seriously questioning what on earth I was thinking going on a bloody boat tour for 6 days when I'd just endured 2 and a half hours of torturous seas. Neither was I happy to find out that we were to jump straight onto a dinghy to take us to the proper boat moored in the harbour. So 13 hours, and 2 taxis, 1 plane, 1 bus, and 3 boats later I was on board the Millenium which was to be my home for the next 6 days.

There were 2 Israeli guys and a German mother & daughter who joined the boat when I did, and there were 6 other passengers who'd already been on the boat for 2 days. We joined an Italian couple, a Swiss/German couple and two American chaps for our first dinner on board. It made quite a change for me to be below the average age in a group-so far on this trip I'm usually the oldest! After the long journey and great but filling meal, I was in no fit state to get to know my new boat mates and fell straight into bed. In the middle of the night I was awoken by severe listing and my wardrobe door knocking as we travelled to our next destination. As I lay there in bed, not able to get out of bed to sort out the wardrobe door, for the second time in the less than 12 hours I wondered what possessed me to think that a boat tour was a good idea. I eventually wedged my rucksack against the door and dropped back off to sleep again.

When I awoke to the sight of the small beach we were to shortly land on and far calmer seas, I was hopeful that I could manage to eat some of the fabulous breakfast laid on and giddy about the day to come. Amazing what a full night's sleep can do! The moment we landed, surrounded by sea lions, the 13 hour journey, the hellish speedboat ride and the mid-night sea sickness all suddenly seemed worth it. We were clearly on the sea lions' turf, but they didn't mind us being there one bit. We walked up from the beach onto the cliffs and saw red footed Boobies (endemic birds), including a nesting chick only a couple of metres from the trail. Going back to the boat for a quick change we then went snorkelling off the dinghy, all in all a great way to work up an appetite before lunch. In the afternoon we were dropped on a different part of the island and walked through the bush, and saw 8 giant tortoises on the way. As we headed back to the shore, the sun was setting and as dusk came upon us and I thought of what I'd done on day 1, it was easy to see just how magical this place is.

Day 2 started so much better as we'd done all of our navigating before we went to bed and so had a much better night's sleep. The morning's walk was a beach stroll along one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been, albeit it 'littered' with lazing sea lions. Crystal blue water, the softest white sand, and there were also a few Pelicans diving for food along the shoreline too. We also went snorkelling off the beach here, and Ori and I one of the Israeli guys were the first in the water and were treated to a swim with a pair of sea lions. They are so playful, they mimic what you do in the water and seem to love human company. Later, when I was on my own I thought I saw a small shark, but had nobody else to confirm my sighting, it certainly looked shark shaped to me. Again, not a bad morning's work! The afternoon's activity was more snorkelling, and I managed to tick off another item on my list of things to do before I die. The snorkelling location was Kicker's Rock, which is actually 2 rocks with a narrow channel in between the two. We were dropped at one end of the channel and swam against the current to the other end with Spotted Eagle Rays and Sea Turtles. The water was really deep here (and noticeably colder, I was glad of my 5mm wetsuit) and before long at the far end of the channel a Galapagos shark was spotted, which looked to me like a much larger version of the one I thought I'd seen earlier. But the highlight of the afternoon came by a short while later when we were joined by a Hammerhead Shark, maybe about 2m in length, amazing. That evening we docked in port on San Cristobal where we started the trip and picked up another 3 passengers, and also gave us the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in town that evening which happened to be Sunday evening. Sunday's are dry days in Ecuador, and the serving of alcohol without food is illegal. Fortunately for us, some of the crew invited a few of us to join them at their friend's 'bar'. I use the word bar lightly as it was more like their house, whose front porch we sat on and they served us (illegal) drinks! We were treated to some impromptu guitar playing and singing from the 3 crew members and then even a quick salsa lesson. I can confirm that 3 months in Latin America has done nothing to improve either my Latin rhythm or my snake hips, I remain a terrible salsa dancer. Time to get back on board and we headed straight off for our next anchor point and the 2 albeit pretty strong G&Ts unfortunately weren't enough to knock me out for the ride.

Everybody on board seemed a little groggy on the morning of Day 3, mainly due to the 5 hour navigation to Isla Espanola during the night on what seemed to me to be pretty choppy seas. Fortunately the Galapagos soon gives you something to make you forget about the rough night and it was no different for us as we set foot on Espanola Island. On the beach was a sea lion pup which was most likely only hours old, the placenta was next to mother & pup on the beach, it wasn't really opening its eyes and still had its umbilical cord and the mother looked exhausted, it was a big pup! But the moment we saw it suckling from its mother, the broken night's sleep was forgotten, once again it all seemed worth it. Stepping over iguanas we walked up onto the cliffs and had to be careful not to stand on Blue Footed Boobies, who were nesting all along the trail, and finally we came upon the Albatross playground where chicks and adults seemed to be hanging out. Once again, it really felt like it was their patch and we were most definitely the guests. In the afternoon we were dropped at a different beach which for once, had nothing new to offer us by way of animals, but gave me a chance to get the frisbee out. I thought that playing Ultimate Frisbee in the shadow of Mont Blanc in Chamonix was spectacular, a deserted beach in the Galapagos is another pretty cool location to add to that.

Day 4 was to be the last full day on board and started with a very refreshing (freezing) snorkel around some coves. No sooner had we entered the first inlet when we were joined by three sea lions who'd come to play with us. Even writing about it now makes me grin, they're so mischievous, nipping peoples fins and darting about us in the water. There were also a few Galapagos Sharks here too although whilst they're not known for eating humans, I was glad they weren't playful like sea lions and preferred to stay out of the way. We then landed on the beach and I wandered to the far end to take stock, I had really mixed emotions, the Galapagos Islands amazed me and I feel privileged to have been here. However I'm not convinced that tourism has a positive impact here, albeit responsible tourism, and therefore I'm not sure that I'll ever come back, which saddened me too. What better way to combat the blues with a post lunch snorkel off Post Office Bay, only a couple of metres away from 3 Giant Sea Turtles, 2 Penguins and then to be astonished by a Boobie diving for fish right in front of me whilst I was head down in the water! 'Right' I thought, 'my work here is done!' and with that went and sat on the beach trying to get the perfect photo of a pelican fishing from the rocks at the end of the beach. Post Office Bay is so named as there was a barrel on the beach where people leave postcards for 'passers by' to pick up and take with them if they are going to somewhere near the destination. It has been a method of mail for those sailing north & southbound up the West Coast of the Americas for centuries.

Back on board we then set off towards Santa Cruz where we were due to disembark the following morning. We had a few hours to kill, and most of us went up to the sun deck on the top of the boat to take in the view, the last few rays of sun and fresh air. I went to shower before our farewell dinner and just as I'd stepped out of the shower, there was a knock on the cabin door and one of the crew asked us to go immediately to the front of the boat as there was a problem. I pulled on clothes, still wet from the shower and when all 14 passengers were assembled we were told that there had been a fire on one of the engines. The fire had been extinguished and had then started again. All fires were then out, but so were all the electrics, and due to fumes on board we were to stay on the deck at the front of the boat. We eventually were given the green light to go back to our cabins in pairs to pack, by torchlight, and would be going on land for dinner that evening. Before we got off they decided that we'd spend the whole evening on dry land and would put us up in a hotel for the evening before visiting the Charles Darwin centre the following morning which was to be our last activity of the tour. Pleased that everyone was safe and that it had happened when we were relatively near port, but it was a shame that the trip ended like that as we didn't have chance to thank the crew, who had been brilliant and everyone drifted off the following day. But boat fires apart, I was so glad that I had done the boat trip as I just don't think that I'd have enjoyed the experience as much had I just stayed on the islands, and I would never say that I was over sea sickness, but it didn't cripple me the way I thought it might have done.

Without doubt, the Galapagos is one of the most amazing places I have ever visited, a true privilege to have to been there and seen so much wildlife in its natural environment. I also loved the luxury on the boat - I unpacked my bag whilst on board, had a hot powerful shower overlooking the ocean, fabulous food, going back to backpacking in hostels was going to be a reality check that was for sure! Back to Quito for a night before heading south to Banos, a small town in the mountain famous for its natural hot springs, en route to Peru.