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We´ve been so busy since our last entry so this one may be a bit less detailed as so much to tell!
On 2nd April we bussed down to Salento, a small town in the Zona Cafeteria (coffee region). Beautiful, quaint town with a central plaza full of kids playing and adults drinking beer or eating ice cream. Very relaxed vibe and nice not to worry about being mugged after coming from Bogota. The next day we jumped on a jeep to Valle de Cocora 30 mins away- this is a valley with hundreds of giant wax palms which grow up to 60m tall. Strange to see palm trees mixed in with alpine trees, but completely stunning!! As seems to be a fairly regular occurence for us, we got a little lost hiking and ended up walking 10K all steep uphill and mostly above 3000m altitude. Needless to say we were absolutely done in by the end of the day. Worth it though!
Headed to another Colombian city called Medellin on 5th April for the weekend. We figured after all the trekking and early starts we deserved a good night out. Found lots of bars with never-ending happy hours so plenty of cheap cocktails, some of which were just not right (see our photo of a supposed mai tai). A good night was had, and I even managed to find some chips at 2am. We spent the next day sightseeing around the city, and jumped on the metrocable which goes up several km through cloudforest to a massive national park right above the city.
Our Colombian adventure came to an end and we headed for Quito, Ecuador.
We spent Easter Sunday in Quito. Being such a catholic continent, ´Semana Santa´ or holy week is a massive deal here. Everything shuts down over the weekend,and most places shut down the week before too. There were lots of parades and street performances in the centre so we spent a day wandering around. We missed the Good Friday festivities but apparently there were religious processions where people were crawling along naked wrapped in barb wire, and pinned to crosses! The following day we managed to organize an incredible last minute deal to the Galapagos islands-on a luxury 1st class yacht for 16 people no less! We got it so cheap because it left the next day and they needed to fill the spaces. Perfect!
On 10th April we flew to the main island on Galapagos and got picked up by the boat. It was amazing and such a diffrent class of accommodation to what we´ve had for the last 2 months. Our cabin was huge,and on board there was a jacuzzi and a huge living room/dining area. We met the 8 crew members all in their fancy white uniforms and got a welcome cocktail before a lovely dinner. Good start!
The next few days were spent cruising around 4 of the islands, each with different wildlife. Every day there was a morning activity which was either a hike on an island or snorkelling, then back on board for lunch, then out for another bout of hiking or snorkelling. We saw too much to write down but our photos depict most of it better than words ever could. The highlights though were swimming right next to and playing with sea lions, following sea turtles underwater, giant tortoises, sharks and most importantly, being able to get so close to all of it without the iguanas scarpering or the birds fleeing. It´s an incredible feeling to encounter birds and animals that don´t recognize the concept of fear!
After 6 amazing days the cruise ended, and we stayed an extra 2 days in a hostel to explore the main island on our own including the Charles Darwin research station where they breed and raise giant tortoises until they´re large enough to survive in the wild. For those of you that read the gossip pages,you might have seen that we were in the same town at the same time as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Allegdly they chartered a $1 million yacht for their family, but as Ali put it, they would have seen exactly the same wildlife that we did! Sometimes more money doesn´t result in a better experience! Ha!
Headed back to mainland Ecuador, and went to Cotopaxi national park for a couple of days. Stayed in a rustic hostel which was unblievable for the cost. It had a big open fire, a jacuzzi (yes, another one) and a massive dining table as all our meals were provided. We hiked to a waterfall the 1st day where a couple of guys jumped in-we politely declined and offered to take photos (it was baltic!). Next day we hiked along an Incan trail up a mountain behind Cotopaxi (we didn´t climb it as it was 6000m and involved ice climbing). We got up to 4,200m at the peak so it was hard going for the last hour but great views. On the way down however the weather changed and we spent 2 hours walking in torrential rain, thunder and lightning! Scary!! Brought back memories of the West Highland Way last year for those that remember that. Heated up by the fire with some hot chocolate, lovely.
From there we bussed down to Tena, a town next to the jungle. The main attraction there: the best white-water rafting in Ecuador. Spent the whole day rafting through the jungle on class III then class IV rapids which was great!
On 24th April we left Ecuador and flew to Cusco, Peru.
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Dad and Mum Kennedy You tell the adventures so well. Thanks for doing that. Keep having fun. Keep safe. Lots of love