We had a one night stopover in Quito. Next morning we took our bags a couple of streets away to hail a cab. Unfortunately half of Quito was having road re-surfacing so cabs couldn't get to the hotel door. We eventually flagged one and set off for the new north bus terminal. It was about a 30 minute drive. I wonder how the cabbies make a living. The fare was about four pounds. It costs over eight pounds at home to go two miles. As in all South American bus ...

Before we left Banos we saw a very odd sight. As we walked from our hostel there was a car with all four doors, boot and bonnet open. A family were stood around it. A man dressed as a priest was walking around the car sprinkling water in all the open orifices. I suppose it gives a new slant on having your car serviced. The day we were leaving Banos it was raining. I guess if you are in a rain forest area you should expect a lot of trees and rain. Time to ...

We left the boat and went to the airport for our flight to Quito. It had been a bit chaotic when we arrived but like any airport it was capable of surpassing itself. We joined the check in queue for Aerogal. Our American friends were flying Tam. We had been in the queue for about 30 minutes despite there being 4 check in staff. A young chap asked us which flight we were on. He then asked us to move to a different queue. Half an hour later we were still stoo...

So where was I? Oh yes we had done a mammoth bus ride to Lima. Now we had to do an even longer one to cross the border into Ecuador. Our destination was Guayaquil. It's the largest city in Ecuador with over 2 million inhabitants but not the capital, at least not yet. That honour goes to Quito. The trip didn't start well. We asked the hostel to phone a taxi. After 10 minutes the receptionist said 'It's fathers' day our taxi isn't working'. So off we went in...