I'm writing this blog as we wait in Quito airport for our flight home. Yes, our extended trip to Ecuador is coming to an end. We've had a fantastic time. Ecuador might not have quite the kudos of some other South American countries but it packs a lot into a relatively small space. Highlights of our trip have included the colonial centres of Quito and Cuenca, the dramatic train ride on the Devil's Nose, walking the Quilotoa Loop, birdwatching in the cloud forest,...

From Cuenca we have we have come to Otavalo, two hours by bus north of Quito and still high in the Andes. The timing is not accidental. We are here on Saturday and at the end of our trip. Saturday is when Otavalo hosts one of the biggest and best markets in South America and we have come to shop! Markets are important here. Even a small town will have a central covered market selling fruit, vegetables, rice, meat and other staples. Often they will have, what i...

Ecuador's most famous product is something that probably most people think is made in a completely different country. It is the Panama hat, known locally as a sombreros de paja toquilla, and not made in Panama but exclusively in Ecuador and, especially, here in Cuenca. People probably have a picture in their mind of the classic Panama hat, white with a broad brim and a black band, but they come in a bewildering variety of sizes, shapes, colours styles and prices...

One of the things about travelling which is both fascinating but also frustrating is money: how to get it, what to get, how to make sure you don't run out when you're away etc. At least now, with debit and credit cards and the widespread availability of ATMs, we don't have to take travellers cheques and have the hassle of cashing them (I once spent a whole morning doing just that in a French bank being sent from one counter to another). And as there are no long...

We have now finished with our wildlife adventures and are heading south through the high sierra of the Andes. We are travelling along the Pan-American Highway, past snow-capped volcanos, across grassy plains and through deeply incised valleys, for several hundred spectacular kilometres. Our first stop is the small town of Baños. I suspect anyone who has ever been to Spain is thinking 'But Baños is Spanish for toilets!' Indeed it is but the town's full name ...