The last leg of our trip started and finished in style, courtesy of Christina’s mother, Cynthia, who lives in Quito and took care of us while we were there. We touched-down in one of the cleanest, smartest airports you’ll ever see and were immediately whisked off to Osaka, the new Japanese fusion restaurant in town,…

We were welcomed to Bogota in torrential rain! Fortunately, there were plenty of taxis and it wasn’t long before Clo and Dominique had disappeared behind the tinted sliding glass doors of their eagerly anticipated 5* hotel – a little luxury very well deserved after two nights at Casa Elemento in Minca! We headed to Cristina and Nando’s…

On Monday the four of us (plus Clo and Dominique) woke up early to get a bus to playa Palomino – a little beach paradise further east along the coast and not too far from the boarder with Venezuela. Securing transport was chaos and we were separated from Chloe’s friends (Chuch and FJ) with whom…

Travelling from Galapagos to Cartagena was quite a journey! First, we had to take a taxi to cross the island. Then, we jumped on a boat to get to Baltra Island, where the airport is located. (There is no bridge because they don’t want the cats to invade the island and kill the rare species)….

They don’t make it particularly easy for you at the airport. We couldn’t check-in online because there are some procedures that you need to undertake at the airport before being issued with a boarding pass. Suffice to say, the queue at INGALA for our Galapagos transit card was very long, with only a couple of…

Guayaquil is Ecuador’s second largest city and, along with Quito, is one of the access routes to the Galapagos islands and the next big destination on our itinerary. The main purpose of our 2-night stay was to find a last minute cruise (in the nicest sense of the word), which would accommodate us for as…

We arrived in Lima on Wednesday afternoon and headed straight to San Isidro where Lolo’s friend Roxana lives with her family. After her two adorable daughters (Lara and Leonor) had fallen asleep, we enjoyed some refreshing chilcanos (pisco with lemon juice and ginger ale) and an absolutely delicious barbecue, prepared by the expert hand of…

There are many Inca trails which lead to Machu Picchu but the one we opted for is perhaps the most well known and certainly the most popular. So much so that the authorities limit the number of people allowed on the trail at any one time to 2,000. The trek takes 4 days, so that…

Our bus pulled-in at 5am, following Ed’s worst overnight bus journey to date. We were freezing cold and arrived wearing the contents of our small backpack, including the rain ponchos and their covers. Our journey had involved a depressing stopover in Puno bus station, during which all our Copacabana buzz had dissipated. “I’m sorry, your…

The restaurant was just still open by the time we arrived at our hotel, La Cupula, and the food turned out to be good! We slept well and awoke to a blue sky and a warm breeze. Ed went off to explore in his pyjamas, armed with a camera. He returned raving about the exquisite…

The overnight bus arrived in La Paz at 6am in the rain. We flagged a cab and headed straight to our hotel, Cruz de los Andes, which had been recommended by our travelling friends from the UK, Katie and Tom. We arrived to find all of the steel shutters of the hotel closed but luckily,…

We instantly liked Sucre – the constitutional capital of Bolivia – and its whitewashed walls (which are re-painted annually). We checked into our hostel (Kultuur Berlin, justifiably famous for its breakfasts) and were lead to a charming private room at the back of the quiet garden. Unfortunately our plans to go out and have a…