Day 3 at the Galapagos. Early this morning while we were sleeping the boat we headed to Espanola (Island) with plans for this morning at Point Suarez and in the afternoon on the beach at Gardner Bay...We made a quick getaway after breakfast in an attempt to get onto the island ahead of other groups from boats moored nearby (see pic) and a big group coming in on a day trip. A dry landing onto shore with a very rocky walk for about 2.5 hours ahead of us. The first...

Well here I am, first full day in, on or should I say around the Galapagos? As promised, the boat shifted during the night and we awoke to find ourselves quite close to the Island of Sante Fe. I was aware that the engines started at 4 am and that we were moving, but to tell you the truth the, what was very gentle, movement of the shop was not disturbing at all. As I result I had a great nights sleep and was well and truly ready for a full day of activity.....But ...

Fortunately the hotel early riser call system worked very well and Diane and I were well and truly washed, packed, checked out and a coffee down the hatch by the time our lift arrived at the hotel for the 45 min to the airport.Interestingly until about 2+ years ago, Quito's airport was in the centre of the city. As the city is in a large valley, Quito is only a few kms wide and 14+kms long. It doesn't take much imagination to work out that with more and m...

After a longer and more refreshing nights sleep than the previous night I woke to more sunshine and a more comfortable feeling in my bones. A quick breakfast and Diego was here to collect me for a day's touring.At 9am the traffic was terrible so while we drove to our starting point at the edge of the Old Town, Diego filled me in on some of the history of the Ecuadorian people. I won't go into the details but it is accepted that the Valdiva people who came...

Well, as I had hoped, today brought forth all sorts of adventures so no need for me to charm you with 'rabbit out of a hat' tales, there is plenty to tell.My hotel 'Hotel Le Parc' is rumoured to be one of the best regarded hotels in Quito. It has a wall full of plaques and the staff were very impressive right from the start (see room pic here and lobby below). However, let me say that for all the contemporary decoration, and the space (and with th...