Hi guys…..  not a lot has happened but here we go……

2^nd November

We arrive somewhat knackered in Peru’s capital Lima.  This is actually just a night stop in order to catch another flight to Ecuador, to then catch a flight to Galapagos……  (I knew I should have signed up for those air miles!!!..... )  We are staying at a B’nB’ in town which is soooooo  amazingly 70s, it ace…. Right down to the fondue set on a sideboard like my mum and dad used to have!!  The owner harry demands that we go straight out and eat in a restaurant down the road before we go to bed (he’s actually a bit pissed!) so the taxi driver takes us, and even orders us some typical Peruvian food. 

3^rd November

After a  F.A.B. breckie of freshly juiced juice, we’re off to the airport to go to Ecuador……

…..  we arrive….. go to the hotel and dump the kit.  Turn round and go straight up a cable car to the top of the ACTIVE volcano that overlooks the city…..  (bit of a daft place to build a city really?.......  half the city is built on its slopes and gullies….  You now, the ones that the lava flows down when it erupts!!!....  Turns out, it erupted in 2000 and it was only a freak change in the wind direction that didn’t cover the entire city in 3ft of ash…. And the lava found a new channel down the other side of the volcano…. And promptly filled half the valley!.....  fortunately no one lived there!)   At the top we find ourselves looking down on the city from a height of 4100meters (That’s 15000ft dad!) and somewhat surprisingly breathless after walking 100yrds.  We stumble across some locals renting out some horses, so we jump on and go for a trot around the top of the volcano!

4^th November

Guess what….  We’re up early!....  for our next flight to Galapagos!   On the plane, it comes apparent that the town planners In Ecuador really do like to live life on the edge, Quito is surrounded by loads of volcanoes!!....

We arrive and check in to our hotel…….  

To be honest, I wrote that last line on the plane on the way here, it turns out to be a massive luxury self catering flat! Way hay!!...  lucky us!  We ditch the stuff and go straight out to the beech…..  SEA LIONS…..  ON THE BEACH!!!.....  they just don’t care about humans…..  you have to fight for your patch of beech!  Later, when we walk into the

village centre….  There everywhere!... on the street, on the promenade, it quite an eye opener!

5^th November

We are only on this island for 2 nights so we get up super early and catch a cab to Loloberia beach to see the Marine Iguanas……. They don’t care about humans either!

After breakie we go off on our first days diving, first we go for a short dive so the dive master can see what we can do, then we go snorkeling…….. WITH SEALS!!!.....  they like to have fun with the visitors!

Next, Kicker Rock, a massive monolith that rises out of the ocean with a narrow gap at one end…..  we go diving through here and see hammerhead sharks, turtles and a aquarium of different fish!....    and OH MY GOD…. Is it cold!!!....  The current is a bit stronger than we are used too and we have a little fun when we stop as the swell of the ocean has us going up and down the wall of the rock like we are on a trampoline!!     

6^th November

Off we go, to the next island, called Isabella.   It’s a little 8 seater plane, but Will get’s the co’pilot seat!!  Wayhay!!....   I don’t know why, but I find it a little odd that the pilot has a “tom tom” for navigation!.... never mind, we get there.  

We ditch the kit in a lovely hotel looking over an empty beech, no time for that though, quick as a flash and we are back out for a hike up the volcano!.... quite amazing….  And long….. 16km…. 

Once we finish that, we go back to the hotel…. And drive straight past it….  Jump on a boat and go out to an island off the beach.   There are loads of Galapagos marine iguanas and SHARKS!!  All in one little alley about 70ft long.

7^th November

Today we go diving, after a quick boat ride to a nearby island, which turns out to be the top of a volcano!  (just the top, the crater is filled with sea water and a third has been eroded by the sea, making it the shape of a crescent moon!)  after all the necessary’s, we jump in.  the visibility isn’t as good as our last dive, but it is SOOOOO much warmer!  At one point we reach the thermocline which we hadn’t experienced before.  This is where the warm water meets the cold water…. Oddly, they don’t mix?...   they just reach a level where you can literally hover in the warm water and put your hand down into the much colder water below you?...  Again we see loads of marine stuff, turtles, stingrays and much more besides.  

On our return we go for a nice gentle stroll along the deserted beach….  How ro’man’ick!!

8^th November

OMG it’s an early start today, 5:30am and we get taken to the dock for a boat ride to the next island.  We politely wait and end up being last on the boat, this was a mistake, as we sit on our seat, the captain come over and gives us a huge poncho “your gonna need this”.  Indeed we did, the splashing of the bow in the large waves did wonders for our sea sickness, as well as create a constant flow of water coming crashing into the back of the boat…..  still, it only lasted 3 hours!

We get met at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island and immediately whizzed off to see the giant tortoises of the island….. they are really quite big!..... and make a funny whistling sound as they breath!

Later we check into our hotel, a lovely place, with a great view of the bay.  Amusingly, we have to get a water taxi to it, as there isn’t a road, and we spend the rest of the afternoon lying on the beech!  (we laugh as this is the first time in about 1½ months that we are actually doing nothing!) 

In the evening we head into town and stumble on where the locals go for dinner.  The street gets blocked for about 50 yards as 20 cafes put their chairs and tables out on the street, whereby they all open the hatches to the kitchens and start having barbeques.  We ended up having a lobster in a coconut sauce, rice, beer etc for about $20 all in!

9^th November

After a HUGE luxury breakfast overlooking the ocean, we get picked up by our dive boat….. 5 steps away from our table!   So today we are off to dive on Floreanna island……  a long 2 hour boat ride away…. Still, at least we get a dry seat this time!  We manage to see white tipped reef sharks, hammerheads, and turtle feeding close up!   At one point the dive master gets hold of Lorraine and covers her mask so she can’t see where she is going.  When he pulls his hand away, she is inches away from a resting shark!!  Very cool!  (don’t worry Hilary…… the sharks aren’t dangerous to humans!)

We both declare today as the best days diving so far, as we make our way back to the main land.

10^th November

Today we go diving on Gordon Rocks, a dive site that it reputation precedes it, as one of the best places to see hammerhead sharks!....  it doesn’t disappoint as on our last dive we see school of over 30 hammerheads!!  On our way up to the surface we get surrounded by a huge shoal of barracudas…..  literally thousands!  We finish our last dive in Galapagos amazed by the number of different species these islands have to offer!

11^th November

Today we leave for Peru, to start our next journey through south America.  Shortly after we arrive at the airport, Lorraine realizes that she has left her cardigan in the hotel room…..derrr!....  so we send our taxi driver back to fetch it….  Only, this is the Galapagos…. It isn’t that easy!....  The airport is on a different island to the mainland…. So first he has a bus, then a ferry, then 40min drive, then a boat taxi to get to the hotel….. and back again……..  Lorraine goes through to the gate and I wait for him to arrive…..  unsurprisingly, he hadn’t arrived when the airport check in woman comes running out to say the plane is leaving early…… we rush through security only to watch the plane (with Lorraine happily on board!!) have its steps pulled away and its doors close!………… The woman shouts Spanish into her walki talki at one thousand miles an hour…… after a short pause, we run out onto the tarmac, as the guy pushes the steps back toward the plane!!!  OH the drama!  (for a bloody cardi!!??!!....)

We arrive in Quito, Ecuador where we have a 6hour wait until our late night flight to lima, Peru.  So we nip into town for a wander round a market and grab some dinner.

That’s it for now, we are in departures waiting for our flight so, until next time, See ye!

Will and Loz