Note from Ed.: It is now 2012, we have been home 2 years and have finally got around to finishing off our tale (Frodo Baggins stylee)! Jen and I are sorry for the gap.

The one vision that sticks in my head as we ventured north into Ecuador is how rough I felt. Hayfever-style sniffles picked up from the Pisco dust bowl escalated into a torrent of roughness. I did not enter Ecuador in a good or helpful place. Poor Jen had to suffer my near-death experience for several days.

Our first stop in Ecuador was the rather unsightly city of Guillaquil- a means to an end rather than a destination of choice. Over the next 5 days we achieved the following:

· Drug Montagu up. Pharmacy experiences were not fun for me- I could not talk without gunge dribbling out of my nostrils, let alone try to translate "I have a really bad cold, pretty severe cough and generally feel like sh*t, can I have some kick-arse antibiotics please?". My frustration at not being able to find any tissues anywhere further added to my pain and Jen seeming to find this situation somewhat humorous did not help! Eventually we found the required drugs which banished the cough within 24 hours although the sniffles remained.

· Mend Jen's new and somewhat sandy camera. For all of Guillaquil's unattractiveness, being Ecuador's industrial hub, it did have every mayor shop imaginable. This included a Panasonic Camera repair centre and in 5 days Jen's camera had all its Huacachina sand and Pisco dust removed and was back to its normal temperamental best.

· Book Galapagos tickets. We searched and searched for an affordable deal. This was in fact the prime reason for our pit stop in Guillaquil, as all flights go via the city. Eventually we found a decent tour agent hidden away in a tower block in the centre. After playing games with the elevators and making enough ATM withdrawals to stash the cash for the trip, we found ourselves on a little 4 day tour of the islands. Timing was everything with this deal as we were about to find out!

The very best thing about Guillaquil? The little French bakery that was discovered on the way back from the tour operator! Jenny was beaming (between mouthfuls!). The second best thing- leaving! We had one weekend to go before our flights to the Galapagos so decided to head out the city along the coast to the sunny destination of Salinas, whereupon we found a very expensive (even after a huge discount) hotel. Despite our massive Galapagos pay out, Jen decided that its cleanliness and delightfulness made it a 'must' so we did! We spent a couple of nights just chilling and enjoying some quiet time on the beach before flying to the magical islands of giant tortoises and blue-footed boobies!