Actually, as I write this, I am sitting in a cafe in a town by name of Lago Agrio, the North Western crossing point into Colombia. The town is basically an oil town, where Shell and the like work hard to convince the local indigenous people that drilling in the pristine primary Amazon rainforest in this area (covering just on 50% of Ecuador) is a good thing for them. The other local business that this particular town is notorious for is Gringo ransoming. This is considered one of the most dodgy crossing points into Colombia, and kidnaps and worse are not unusual, according to my guidebook. Ho hey, it would be interesting to see what you might collect for me down at the pub, should this happen ... on second thoughts, I would rather not know, really!

I am only here for a few hours awaiting my canoe to take me on a long trip into the aforementioned Amazon. The money I pay for this goes to the local indigenous people and is about the only defence of the rainforest that is effective against the oil companies - for now! But I will chart that experience separately in a weeks time once I am back in Quito. So, back to the Galapagos Islands, which I said in my last blog were "just plain ridiculous". Actually that was the line of my room mate for the trip - Frank, an Aussie who has been living in London for the past seven years or so, and, like me, was taking a bit of a holiday from work! Hell of a nice guy. We both wandered around in those first couple of days thinking that the wildlife was pretty amazing and on a scale neither of us had seen or expected ... and we both come from countries with abundant wildlife. I have to agree with Frank, though, that first afternoon was just plain ridiculous - or perhaps incredulous - and so it continued to be for the next seven days on Galapagos. I will not bore you with the details, as I probably went on too much in the last blog re the snorkelling.

On our third day, we had a boat ride in theme park-style, except this ride lasted 4.5 hours, and then a further 3 hours in very rough seas. We headed out from San Cristobal for a 60 nautical mile crossing (approx 120 kilometres) to an island called Floreana for a further snorkel. The crossing should have taken circa 2 to 2.5 hours, but, as said, took 4.5 hours. The boat, although with lots of power, was reduced to a crawl, as the swells were huge and winds and sea buffeted us for the entire trip.

The sea here can get a little turbulent, as three major currents meet at this point, one cold from the south (Humboldt current, I think), one warm from the north and another from some place else, and which pass over an undersea volcanic landscape, i.e. not flat! It is these currents that support such an incredible array of sea life; it is the same currents, combined with strong winds that caused us such trouble on this crossing. To be fair, I quite liked being lurched about, soaked to the skin and with the sensation of the boat leaping off the back of swells, but it was not everyone's cup of tea.The first ride took us to our snorkel site at Floreana, for a another snorkel, this time in an area rich in schools of coloured fish, sea lions and turtles, but no sharks.

The turtles seem so graceful as they pass you by, usually below at a depth of ten to twenty feet or so ... they seem to slowly glide by, with minor movements of their flippers to change direction or propel them along. But they did not just attract our attention as the ever-playful sea lions seemed to think they were frisbees, and dived down to give them a wee bump, each taking a turn. Poor turtles - the sea lions are very mischievous, esp. the younger ones. They not only look like Labradors, but they behave just like them also!

Leaving the sheltered bay of Floreana Island, we had another rough crossing to Isabela Island, unfortunately made a little rougher by the captain of the boat who took a short cut into the harbour, against the better judgement of our guide. Shortly afterwards we were grounded sitting on top of a large rock just a few feet below the water. With some nudging from another boat we refloated, and the captain, suitably embarrassed, took the longer and safer way around the headland and into the harbour channel.

We arrived at Isabela late in the day, so after some rest we drifted toward the bar at the end of the beach, on the way stopping to watch some Pink Flamingos in a local salt lake. Our next day was sea-free. We spent the day hiking instead, up the side of Sierra Negra Volcano. The climb up was hot and sweaty, but very worthwhile. We stood on the lip of the world's second-largest crater, measuring over 8 kilometres across and 25 kilometres around. It still steams and hisses, and in the mists and rain it seems to stretch endlessly. Dashes of sulphur can be seen in among the endless sea of lava.We circled around the crater and went down across a huge lava field. The views out across the island to the sea were great, clearly showing the flow of the many eruptions, with lava fields and tunnels stretching many miles directly into the Pacific ocean. These islands are clearly still forming.

Over the next few days we did more snorkelling, visited a tortoise breeding centre as well as the Charles Darwin Research Station (Santa Cruz Island), which houses, among many others, poor old Lonely George, the last surviving member of his species of tortoise. He is only about 100 years (they live around 180 years), but there seems no hope of finding a breeding partner for him, as he is the last of his particular species. The Darwin Centre has done a great job at bringing other species of Tortoise and Iguana right back from the brink of extinction and releasing these into the wild. On the downside, this is the one place all the tourists flock to see, so all the cruise boats arrive and Team America seem to take off in their tourist uniforms and name tags. Ho hey.

At Santa Cruz, a few miles out of town and just far enough walk to keep the tourists away, is a great beach. I had a go at boogie boarding for an hour or so and managed to catch a few waves for some good long rides. My tutor was a fellow member of our wee band, young Nick, who was here with his Father (Richard) as a getaway celebrating turning 13 years old. Nick, it turns out, is a bit of a dead hand at boogie boarding and was catching five waves for every one that I was catching ... I think I was just being "discerning" in my wave selection, although really it's possibly that I was just a bit crap in comparison. Anyway, it was good fun ... surfing next time!

Our second to last day took us to Santa Fe Island for another snorkel. Very different this one, as it was in an area surrounded by mangroves. Not far from where we snorkelled is a channel that pushes from open sea through lava flows to the inner harbour and mangroves. As we stood above this channel we could see a large sting ray cruising back and forth, along with a reasonable-size White Tip shark. Apparently when the seas get rough, this channel can have 50-plus White Tips cruising here, just ten feet below where you stand ... that would be an incredible sight as the water is very clear.At last we returned in our boat to San Cristobal Island.

Unfortunately I was as sick as a b****** having inadvertently drunk local water (brackish) and spent a very uncomfortable boat ride back doing very unsociable things. That night I stayed in the bath tub for half the night - such was the need! Getting what I term the "Galapagos Gallops" was an unfortunate way to finish, and meant that I missed the last snorkel, which, I am told, like the others, was pretty damned good. Neither was I able to join the farewell dinner. I was right miserable, I guess. I do not really recall that much of it. Great way to lose weight though! but not recommended.

Notwithstanding, Galapagos was definitely worth the effort. I was relieved to see the wildlife I had heard about is truly there, and I was stunned at how close you can approach (although never touching) birds, fish and reptiles.

The group I travelled with were lovely folk, and I was glad to share this part of my travels with them.