Denise and Eric

Today, August 10th is a national holiday - Independence Day. We were picked up at 8 a.m by a new guide for a morning tour of the Cajas Park, a wild area about 30 Km West of Cuenca. On the way out, we saw huge pigs which had been slit then flattened being turned on spit roasts at roadside cafes for the holiday day trippers. The Cajas is a wild area, rather reminiscent of Wales or Scotland, but of course, much higher - between 3500 -4200 metres. It is often cloudy or raining so we were lucky to have a glorious sunny day. We made 3 stops, the first after ascending many hairpins to arrive at the Continental Divide at 4,200 metres. We only climbed a little way, but it left us breathless, and the wind ... read more

We sailed overnight to Santa Fe, going ashore to walk the trail up on to the ridge in search of the Santa Fe iguanas, which are a lighter colour here than elsewhere. This landing beach was home to a number of fairly aggressive male sea lions, which we tried to give a wide berth. On the second part of the trail there were a number of male sealions who had lost the fight for territory or females and who had retired out of the fray to rest up. Afterwards we snorkelled from the panga along the edge of an offshore islet - lots of fishes again, and some very playful sealions. Once again I failed to see the shark which the others noticed just after entering the water. The water was as cold as ever, but ... read more

We travelled down to the South of Ecuador, taking 2 days from Quito, through glorious countryside and mountains, to Cuenca, a beautiful city containing many spanish colonial style buildings, old cobbled streets and many lovely churches and public buildings. There were only the four of us travelling with our own driver and seperate guide, so it felt quite exclusive - real small group travel. The first day involved many hours of travelling down the Avenue of the Volcanoes. Leaving Quito took some time, as the city is so long, but the journey gave a fantastic glimpse at various aspects of rural life in Ecuador. We stopped at the fascinating market in Latacunga, where all sorts of fruit, veg, grain, and some handicrafts were on sale. We then climbed higher and higher ( in the vehicle) skirting ... read more

We sailed in the afternoon - rather chilly and rough - one by one everyone vanished, mostly to lie down in their cabins. Arrived in Santa Cruz - went for a meal where lobster was recommended by Fabricio - but it was off the menu. Nevertheless, a very pleasant restaurant and a change to be off the boat. The next day we went ashore for a visit to the Darwin Centre and the famous Lonesome George, who made an obliging appearance. Then walked back to town and out the other side to the glorious Tortuga Bay - then back again. After a pleasant lunch back in town, Jude and I tried to indulge in a spot of shopping, thwarted by shops being shut till 3 pm., whilst the men stayed with their beers in a bar. ... read more

Have just discovered that in our absence there have been problems with the blog server - will try to restore missing entries later, but for now - Galapagos report follows. We have just arrived back in Quito after the most amazing trip to the Galapagos Islands, way out in the Pacific, off the coast of Ecuador. We were in a small (16 berth) yacht, but nevertheless very comfortable, though we are glad to be back in a bathroom which doesn’t sway and a bed which stays horizontal! There was a good mix on the boat - all ages and nationalities - British, German, Israeli and a Dutch family who, as it turned out, were part owners of the boat. We were sailing for 8 days over a distance of 370 nautical miles, criss-crossing backwards and forwards ... read more