Ginny and Duncans Big Adventure

Our cabana... We left Puerto Lopez after our morning coffee at Cafe Blanche on the beach, as had become our habit over the few days we had here, Ayampe bound.  Ayampe is a cluster of dwellings about 9 miles south of PL, situated on a long beach, with regular rolling waves.  It's very different from Puerto Lopez.  Besides being clean, it's very much a surfer's paradise and our lodging at Finca Punta lived up to the stereotype.  Individual cabanas made of bamboo and thatched with palm fronds, nestled into the hillside, a 5 minute walk down to the long wide bay.  The dining room/lounge area was decked out with sofas and surf boards where we were greeted by Santiago, the manager and waiter-come-surf-instructor, Sebastian. Our cabana was perfect - views of the ocean, surrounded by palms, banana trees and bougainvillea, with a hammock on the balcony. We unpacked and wandered down to the beach.  Despite the clouds, it was a gorgeous temperature and the sea w...

On the bus! We left our slightly dodgy hotel straight after breakfast, for the Terminale Terrestre; the main bus station.  Guyaquil is the largest city in Ecuador, and the bus station is huge, and located within a massive shopping mall. It was also already bustling at 8am, as we maneuvered our large backpacks through to the bus counters.  Thank goodness we'd done our recce on arrival so we more or less knew where we were going.  With over 70 bus companies running services all over Ecuador, we were very glad we knew which company we needed and quickly bought our tickets, making our way to the bus stands.  We'd heard the buses don't wait long, so you have to be ready and waiting when they pull in, otherwise you'll get left behind.  A bus pulled up in the next-door stand. New, shiny, with air con and WiFi; this bus malarkey was going to be OK.  Then ours pulled up.  So dirty you couldn't see in or out of the windows, and looking a bit long in the tyre...

It's hard to write a diary on a boat which is rocking on the ocean... queasiness might get the better of me, but I'll give it a go... After an early flight and great inefficiencies in Quito airport (getting our Galapagos permits) we arrived in San Cristobel, in the Galapagos Islands, around 10am.  Meeting our guide, Franklin, and fellow shipmates, we headed straight to the marina and our boat, the Eden.  A little long in the tooth, she had seen better days but was spacious and for 9 guests and 6 crew, home for the next week. Franklin wasted no time in giving us our tour and safety briefing and the boat got underway while Walter, our chef, served up a delicious lunch. Within an hour or so we moored up for our first island walk. The boat's tender took us to the shore - which was littered with sea lions!  Not minding us at all, Franklin had to shoo them off the concrete jetty. Literally dozens of them: males, females and loads of cubs.  Huge red and bright blue c...

We were driven back to Quito from Hacienda Alegria after breakfast and some fond farewells with Gabriel, Paty, Veronique, Janet and of course the horses.  Our hotel was very central so we dropped our bags and headed into the city.  Back at our favourite coffee shop, we booked hotels for later in our stay and then wandered towards the Cathedral, through the narrow, congested streets.  Traffic in Quito is terrible and the old town seems to be in the permanent state of gridlock. The cathedral, built in 1926 is an enormous structure with layers of intricate stained glass windows running the entire length of the nave, each side flanked by individual alters to various saints.  Charlotte lit a candle for our travels and we hid inside for a while longer to avoid the heavy rain.  Wandering back to the old town, we stopped to do some shopping, checked into our rather groovy hotel and then back out to La Rhonda.  La Rhonda is a street by the original city wall, whic...

Cotopaxi We were picked up at 7am, to be driven out of Quito to the Hacienda Alegria, where we would meet our fellow riders and start our 4 day horse trek.  Hacienda Alegria is a working farm with 70 horses, owned and run by the welcoming Gabriel Espinosa and his wife, Paty.  Gabriel guides multi-day treks through the Central Highlands of Ecuador.  He has lived here for over 60 years and knows the country, and horses, like the back of his suntanned hands. Me and my Prince At the hacienda, we were kitted out with chaps and hats, met Janet and Veronique, two US and French friends who met on a riding holiday 10 years ago, and were served a lovely breakfast in this old, grand hacienda.  Then we were bundled into a car with Guido, our other horse-hand or 'chagra' (the Ecuadorian equivalent of a gaucho).  An hour later we pulled over in a field and met our steeds; 6 of them with 2 spare.  Mine was a sweet white gelding called Princip, or Prince.  W...