Leaving Las Lomas After cooking our porridge in Poki, we checked out and went to find an ATM for some Peruvian currency, somewhere to purchase a Claro SIM card and a supermarket to restock with provisions. As Dennis said yesterday, the place has a very different feel to Ecuador. Less…
Leaving Paul and Pam’s Paul had cooked us a hearty breakfast. It was a lovely, sunny morning so Pam and I sat outside on the terrace overlooking the valley, watching the hummingbirds and drinking our coffee. Paul sent us on our way with a very generous, large bag of assorted…
Leaving El Tambo Unfortunately, another poor night’s sleep. The hostel was great value for money and comfortable, but our rest was constantly disturbed by barking dogs. If anyone was to ask me, at the moment, what my main impression of South America was, I think the first thing that comes…
Leaving Coda Vista Saying goodbye to Swiss couple, Peter and Anita and to our hosts Andy and Gaby, we set off down the mountainside. Andy had given us directions to get to Cotopaxi National Park on a small road. Traffic in the city was quiet and we were out of…
North Santa Cruz To ensure we saw as much as possible on our short cruise, our wake up call was at 05.30. At 06.00 we were on the pangas and on an excursion to a sheltered bay surrounded by mangroves. Except our panga broke down. We were in two separate…
Last night we retired early in view of a forthcoming 05.30 wake-up call. We were due to leave Santa Cruz to sail to Isabela at 23.00. The captain starting the engine woke me up. It wasn’t rough, but there was obviously more movement, so it took me a while to…
I couldn’t get to sleep last night. It’s always the same when we have to get up very early. I always worry the alarms won’t go off. However, we were successfully up at 04.00. Struggling to get dressed in the restrictive space within Poki, without the tent. We had a…
Bellavista I was sitting in the front of Poki and Dennis was preparing breakfast, when a van pulled up beside us. Out stepped a gentleman who came over to Poki. I thought he was a visiting tourist from the U.K. He was, however, Bellavista’s owner, Richard, a quintessential Brit from…
Quito It feels very strange as I sit here typing. In the dark I cannot see the edge of the bank in front of where we are parked and it feels as if I’m stuck on a perch overlooking the twinkling lights of the city. It spreads beneath us and…
Ipiales Saying goodbye to our host, Monica and her old colonial house, we were on the road by 09.30. The border with Ecuador was very close, so by 09.50 we were at the crossing. Border Crossing First to Customs to cancel our TIP (Temporary Import Permit). There was no one…