Amazon Rainforest at Cuyabeno – no such thing as silence

My first trip to the Amazon Rainforest will certainly not be the last. I loved it!! I can't believe I nearly skipped it. For this 4-day trip I was with Sharon and Paul from the Netherlands and Elaine from Ireland and we made a great bunch. We left Quito at 11pm on a nightbus transfer...

Quilotoa Loop – finally some fabulous weather!

A group of five of us set out from Secret Garden to hike for three days to a volcano crater (Paul joined us on the first night). We stayed overnight in Latacunga at Hostel Tiana which was actually a fairly decent hostel with interesting split-level rooms, costing $10.50 per night including breakfast.We had breakfast, bought...

Getting high in Ecuador – 5897m Volcan Cotopaxi Summit

The journey to Secret Garden Cotopaxi Hostel from Machachi was so uncomfortable that it was funny. Finn got grumpy about it so I left him to it! The Secret Garden is in the middle of nowhere, across a valley from Cotopaxi, surrounded by other volcanoes. We arrived as it was getting dark so the place...

Cuenca and Baños – adventure central

Finn and I arrived in Cuenca at 5pm. As we drove in above the city we could see just how beautiful it was and we could see the domes of the cathedral. We caught a taxi to Hostel AlterNative for $1.50. Our friends Stijn and Silvan were there and we dropped off our things and...

Montañita – sun, sea, surf and Spanish… And mosquitoes!

After the Galapagos, I spent two weeks in a coastal town called Montañita, learning to surf and taking Spanish classes at Montañita Spanish School. It is a huge party scene as well, with parties on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights, and you can easily stay out until sunrise dancing your feet off. I loved...

Diving in the Galapagos – swimming in shark soup!

This was one of the most memorable weeks of my life! Diving in the Galapagos is beyond compare and it is totally worth learning to dive somewhere else just so that you can safely dive here. The dive sites in the north (Wolf and Darwin) are challenging but the rewards are almost too amazing to...

Island Hopping in the Galapagos – wierd, wonderful and fearless wildlife

I arrived at Baltra Airport in the afternoon of the 21 February with nothing booked. My aspiration was to get on an 8-day liveaboard diving trip leaving the next day. But this wasn't to be so I ended up with a fantastic 10-day island-hopping experience. There were a few things that I hadn't been aware...