Made it.We are staying in a hostel on the hill overlooking the fair city of Cusco, relaxing and testing our acclimatisation. - No worries so far.Despite the efforts of the hustlers on the main square, (offering postcards, shoe shine - even though we are wearing tevas, cinema, restaurant, massage) I quite like Cusco. It is a Spanish looking city with domed churches, symetrical parks and columns. Before the conquest, Cusco was the Inca capital, but was destroyed by...

Just a quick stop off for 1 night here.The embassy and consulate really were amazing, and the passport was waiting when we returned from Galapagos. Not so Ecuadorian bureaucracy. It took visits to 2 offices (at different sides of town) and 7 hours of waiting to get the stamp which you legally must have to enter the country, so conversly you must have to avoid huge problems when leaving. A 30 hour bus journey to Lima, and we are already looking forwards to leaving...

Upon finally leaving Ecuador, there is time to reflect on our 39 days in this country, and some of the political aspects. Geographically it is a countryside of great diversity with many different eco systems and micro climates. We really enjoyed these aspect...The countryside is suffering from the degree of westernisation that has so far occurred. Many people use only biodegradable products. Food is bought locally and there is little waste. However, the countrysi...

More on the Galapagos, I hear you cry? The human history of the islands is pretty sad. Their first recorded discovery was in 1535 by a Spanish monk, whoose expedition got caught in the currents I outlined before. They were nearly starving and had no water, when they reached land. At the time, the monk was on his way back to Spain to report to the King on how the conquests were progressing! After the discovery, the islands were used by whalers, traders and pirate...

Swimming with sharks, manta rays and beautiful tropical fish. The clear warm water that you slip into just to keep cool, the golden sun sets and the relaxing pace of the boat.Impossible to count the iguanas, the lava lizards and impossible to express the wonder of swimming with fully grown sea turtles in the wild. No trip to Ecuador could be complete without a visit to the Galapagos. We trawled around Quito to get the best deal. We wanted a boat trip for 8 days, ...