¡Hola a todos!It was an early wake-up call indeed the morning of my journey to the San Blas islands. I gathered my day-pack and boarded a fearsome-looking 4x4, driven by Alex who sported an assured American twang whenever he spoke in English. We hurtled through the near-deserted 5am streets of the down-town area as I rubbed sleep from my eyes and grew a little more accustomed to the sight of a quiet city centre. Our route out of town took us past Panama Viejo, t...

¡Hola a todos!I arrived in Panama City in the early evening on Tuesday 1 September. Many months ago, when I was planning my flight itinerary with a helpful chap from STA Travel, he made it known to me that my intended flight from Quito to Los Angeles would stop in the airline's hub airport of Panama City and asked whether I would like to continue straight on to LA or enjoy a short lay-over in Panama. Intrigued, I chose the latter and so found myself with an addi...

¡Hola a todos! Well, time is relentless and so the inevitable finally has come to pass. This will be my final entry from Ecuador and so from South America. It has been a truly incredible six months and my mind is still in the process of trying to understand all that has befallen me and all that I have seen, learnt, felt, smelt… I am sure that you see the picture. I write this entry from a blissfully air-conditioned internet café in Panama Cit...

¡Hola a todos! My time in Ecuador and, therefore, South America drawing rapidly, alarmingly to a close, I pressed on with my desire to see what little more of the country I could in my few remaining days. I had been inspired by Mum and Dad’s pictures and words showcasing the natural wonders of the Quilotoa crater and Cotopaxi volcano, both located to the south of Quito and roughly half a day of journeying by minibus away from one another. Although I could hav...

¡Hola a todos! I returned to Quito from the Galapagos Islands on 21 August, intent upon spending a couple of days and nights relaxing with friends from the boat and with my diary. So mellow, so peaceful was this time that my diary finds itself in the unprecedented position of being up-to-date! I wish that I could type the same regarding my blog but, alas; there is much work to be done! After enjoying a fun-filled couple of nights out with some of the crew, as ...