Galapagos So here we are, back in our hotel in Quito again, after 5 days and 4 nights cruising around the Galapagos Islands! It was an amazing experience, especially all the deep water snorkelling - we swam with giant turtles, marine iguanas, penguins and sea lions as well as numerous kinds of beautiful fish. The first time we went out, some people also saw a shark, but luckily I wasn't one of them! We saw lots of birds, including flightless cormorants, pelicans...

Quito We didn't know much about it before we came here, but Ecuador is fabulous!  It has been formed by volcanic action, rather than earthquakes, and even from the air, it looks completely different to other places we've been to in South America. The volcanoes, with their snowy tops, are clearly visible above the clouds. The mountains and hillsides are lush and green, with deep folds, like those in North Island  New Zealand. Up in the highlands, there are num...

Lima Oh dear, not such a good start to the day - I woke up feeling dreadful, and as we were in Lima, I couldn't even blame it on altitude! It would appear that too many Pisco Sours give you a bit of a headache!! Fortunately, as our tour was now over, there was no scheduled departure time, and no itinerary, so for the first time in 6 weeks we could have a bit of a lie in! Tony went for breakfast with Jan at a nearby café, while I (very slowly) sorted out the ruc...

Ballestas Islands and Lima We had an early start from Pisco, as we had a boat trip to the Ballestas Islands, known in Peru as "the poor man's Galapagos". When we arrived at the little port, there was time for a coffee before our 8am departure, so we sat outside a little cafe and watched two men throwing pieces of fish to two large pelicans sitting on a low wall, and charging people money to take photos. It must have been almost impossible to take a decent photo,...

Huacachina & Pisco In typical Peruvian style, they built the Panamerica Sur highway right through the middle of the Nazca lines, and the road actually bisects one of the images! Handily enough, they then built a 20 metre high metal viewing tower, right next to the road, so you can climb up and see what's left of the image either side of the highway. Genius! We stopped for a quick look, but I decided not to go up the tower. At the base of the tower, there wer...