Sand. A lot of it. Pretty much everywhere, including all over my teeth. Today, I went sandboarding just outside Pisco. And it was amazing! I caught a buggy with my group out to the sand dunes and then across them. Better than the best rollercoster I have ever been on! And I screamed a little bit too much on the really steep ones. It got a bit scary sometimes. When we stopped at the first big dune, they got out the boards which were so small! I´m so used to seeing massive surf boards, that I was not expecting such to see such tiny things. They told me that the first slope was the smallest and if I were to do any, I should give this one a go. So after everyone had had a go, ... read more

So after our long bumpy journey to Baños, Merlyn and I jumped in a taxi to a hostel that Merlyn and booked us for the one night. We stepped out of the taxi and I was instantly in love with Baños. The air is so clean and clear with no humidity and behind us was a beautiful waterfall flowing down one of the many green hills surrounding the town. The hostel was great but I somehow managed to lock myself in the bathroom for a while. Couldn´t wait to get to sleep after the very long day we´d had. Woke up quite early and the first thing I had to do was take every piece of clothing I own (except for what I was wearing of course) to the laundry. You don´t realise that when you´re ... read more

Last day in the Galapagos and it has totally exceeded all my expectations! If I hear anyone say that it´s overrated, I will happily hit them. We woke up really early to have a dry landing in Santa Cruz and took a bus to the Charles Darwin Research Centre. There were baby turtles, big male turtles, females - tonnes! They´re so gracious but have a bit of a sad story. If they´re in the wild, they likely to be eaten by rats but in captivity they´re likely to go blind. Damn rats. It was really quite sad to see the blind turtles. Kike said goodbye at the centre which was also really sad - he was really an amazing guide. And we continued onto the airport. No upgrade for us this time though. Got to Guayaquil ... read more

Nice early wake up to be take to the interpretive centre which is a cool little museum that gives you an interesting geological and historical background on the Islands. I think a place becomes much more interesting once you know a little bit about how it became what it is today. After the centre, we had some free time. To shop! Or roam around San Cristobal. It´s a real modern looking, clean place but I have to admit that I did spend almost all of my time there looking in the shops (and yes I can hear the ´such a girl´comments being hurled at me right now.) On the way to the island we passed tonnes of boats all just sitting there, mostly acting as sun loungers for sea lions. They had been apprehended by the ... read more

It´s carnival in Montañita and it´s been crazy! The prices go up and the number of people arriving in Montañita increases by the minute. They get a four day weekend so everyone from everywhere in Ecuador heads to the coast to party. I managed to go out Friday, Saturday and Sunday but lost it yesterday and went to bed early like a loser. I´m marking Sunday as my favourite carnival day though. It started to rain on "cocktail alley" (a long street where they sell cocktails for $2.00) and where at home, we would all run inside at the sight of a drop of rain, everyone here stays out and enjoys it. They take their shoes of, dance in the mud, drink and forget all their worries. Think it had to be the first time I´ve ... read more