Thursday 6th

We’ve arrived in Quito! It only took two days travelling to get here! But before I tell you all about it, a bit of admin first. Yesterday, as we arrived in Amsterdam, we lost an hour. But today, as we arrived in Ecuador, we have just gained six hours. Therefore, we are five hours behind UK time. More to the point, we will very likely be sloshed by bedtime.

But I digress! What can I tell you about Quito. Well, it’s the second highest capital in the world (after La Paz in Bolivia, where I managed to lose nine pounds in two weeks due to altitude sickness). I’m avoiding the altitude tablets this time and crossing my fingers there are no big hills to climb. The other aspect to note about Quito is that in March, it rains for 27 days out of 31. Those are not brilliant odds and the raincoats will be getting their first outing tomorrow!

Some other statistics we picked up from our guide: Ecuador has a population of 17 million, with four million living in Quito. There are 750,000 cars here in the capital and 50,000 taxis. Hence the traffic jams on the way to our hotel (although to be fair the roads are pretty impressive). The little we’ve seen of Quito so far reminds me of La Paz – colourful houses built on incredibly steep hills.

Thursday 6th (Part 2)

So, after a fabulous 12-hour flight with KLM (absolutely superb business class experience – so much so that we actually contemplated spending our fortnight on the plane!), we’ve arrived at our hotel Casa Gangotena for the next two nights.

It’s an hour from the airport, in the old town, but it was almost dark when we arrived so I can’t tell you much about the location yet. But I can tell you it’s stunning inside.

These two princesses did rather become accustomed to staying in opulent palaces on our last trip, so there is a certain amount of adjustment to be had, but not as much as we might have expected (and we do have to remember that we will be spending the next week on a boat).

The hotel was formerly a grand mansion and still has many of the original features. It’s all very grand and opulent and I think we will be very happy here, albeit briefly. So, tomorrow we have a sightseeing trip around the capital with lots to see and do.

But we’ve been up for over 20 hours, and I am now absolutely shattered.

Friday 7th

Well, would you believe it! Rain for 27/31 days and we woke up to blue sky sunshine! My new lime green raincoat sulked at enforced redundancy! We met our guide Rodriguez after a delicious breakfast and off we went on our four-hour tour of Quito, like excitable little schoolgirls. Quito is absolutely spectacular and really took us by surprise. It is surrounded by green mountains and is effectively built in a steep sided bowl with magnificent views in every direction. The pastel-coloured houses spill down the hillsides in a squashed and higgledy-piggledy fashion and looked absolutely stunning in the sunshine.

Our first stop was The Panecillo’s Virgen, located on a loaf shaped hill high above Quito, with spectacular 360-degree views. It’s made of 7500 pieces and is the tallest aluminium statue in the world. You can climb up inside and the views just get better and better. And then, as suspected, a series of churches. But each one was overwhelming in their own right and we found them all very interesting and each well worth a visit. The Compania Church is one of the main tourist attractions in Quito. The interior has been gilded to within an inch of its life and shimmers in the natural and electric light within. It’s one of those open-mouthed experiences that you’ll just have to take my word for.

We visited Independence Square, the main public square of Quito, flanked by the Palace, Cathedral, a beautiful hotel and a very impressive shopping centre. All very green, with beautiful colonial architecture and stunning views. We finished at San Francisco Square, a UNESCO world Heritage site, with a stunning Catholic Basilica. There just happened to be a chocolate tasting centre there which beckoned rather loudly, and filled a large space in our tummies (we hadn’t eaten for almost four hours)! The sun was still shining when we’d finished so we made a bee-line for the rooftop terrace at our hotel for some cocktails and cakes. We’ve just enjoyed the best weather they’ve had for a month, and we are very grateful.

We’ve just returned from our evening meal and we bravely tried an Ecuadorean Chardonnay. Very nice too! We’re beyond tired and it’s an early start tomorrow as we leave Quito and fly to the Galápagos Islands for a week’s cruise. Excited and apprehensive. Can’t wait to see the wildlife.

Saturday 8th

It’s been a very long day! Up soon after 5am for our trip to the Galápagos. The airport experience was not particularly good but we have finally arrived safely onboard Silversea Origin, sadly three hours late.

OMG! It is unbelievable. From the moment you step on board, it is just beyond belief. A welcome glass of champagne, a quick check in and then we were introduced to our butler and shown to our cabins. Absolutely outstanding and so much better than I had imagined. A lovely sitting room with bar, TV and floor to ceiling windows onto a wraparound terrace with sun loungers, dining table and chairs, and comfy chairs. Then through to a bedroom, with the same floor to ceiling windows opening onto the same massive terrace. A huge bathroom with a jacuzzi bath and rain shower overlooking the sea. And finally a sizeable dressing room with more storage than I’ve got at home!

We are so excited, but it’s been a long day. We had lunch around 5pm (because of the flight delay) followed by a couple of hours on safety drills and how to behave on the boat and the islands. We have a full day tomorrow which is pretty daunting: up at 5am, for breakfast at 6am and our first trek at 7am. Then back to the boat for 9.30am for a quick change into our snorkelling gear before we go off to a beach for instruction and our first lesson. Then back to the boat for lunch and off out again for a trip around the island on a Zodiac. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Wish us luck – I think we’re going to need a pretty big dollop of the stuff!

Sunday 9th

Can someone remind me who it was who chose this Galápagos experience as a potentially relaxing holiday? Because they’ve completely messed up if they thought it was going to be relaxing in any way! It’s a Sunday on our cruise in the Galápagos and these two “energetic” little bears were up at 4.45am! Yes, you heard me right! We were having breakfast at 6am – a superb spread which we could happily have spent the day consuming, but our first trip began at 7am so that was sadly out of the question. We went off on a Zodiac to Bartolome where we were very excited to see penguins, pelicans and Sally Light Foot crabs among other things. Absolutely amazing because you get so close to them and they are totally unfazed by the attention they’re getting! We climbed up 388 steps to the highest peak on the island – it doesn’t sound much, but the heat and humidity are pretty difficult to deal with. Even that early in the morning it was over 30 degrees (feels like 42 degrees) and the curly hair humidity was off the scale! Some wonderful views at the top made it all worthwhile though.

Quick return to the boat so we could change out of our (now wet) clothes into wet suits for a snorkelling lesson off the beach. Fortunately, we didn’t have a chance to take photos during this activity, but take it from me, we both looked absolute buggers! We saw some beautiful fish in a variety of colours, penguins and even a (baby) shark. Karen loved the experience but I have to admit I was relieved to get back to shore in one piece!

So it was back to the boat and it was still only 11am. I felt like we’d been up for hours (well, actually, we had). Lunch was fantastic – the quality and variety of the food is unbelievable and it’s hard not to stop eating (and drinking), but we have more trips lined up this afternoon. No peace for the adventurous! We were hoping to go kayaking, but places are limited so they’re restricting it to people with experience so we’re having to bow out of that one. So we have a spare hour before a Zodiac tour later this afternoon. We were going to spend it on my (huge) wraparound balcony but it’s just too hot to sit out there at the moment.

Sunday 9th (Part 2)

The end of a truly wonderful day. We’re both in agreement that we could happily live on this boat. It is beyond amazing – everything is organised to within an inch of its life and just runs seamlessly. We’ve only been aboard for 24 hours and we feel like we’ve always been here. It is so smooth you can never tell if we’re stationary or moving onto our next location (unless you look out and see an island passing by!).

This afternoon was relatively leisurely (compared to the morning). We had a lecture on kayaking (only to find out we were not experienced enough to participate – let’s be honest – we have NO experience). But we went off on a Zodiac late afternoon and found a few interesting creatures living on the shoreline, so all was not lost.

We returned to a beautiful selection of canapés and champagne in the Suite which just hit the spot nicely. So much food! So many opportunities to drink! it’s hell!

This evening, we had a really interesting talk on geology – absolutely fascinating (although don’t expect me to remember any of it). The Captain welcomed us all on board (more champagne) and gave us some interesting statistics. There are 94 staff on board and 91 passengers. And the itinerary for tomorrow has also been announced. Bliss, bliss, bliss! We have a lie in! Breakfast will be around 7.30am so it looks like the alarm will not be going off until 6.30am We then have a one-hour trek up a volcano in the morning, followed by a lecture on nature photography early afternoon, and then a two-hour nature walk. There really is not much down time! But we’re loving every minute!

PS I’ve just woken to find that I fell asleep mid-sentence last night – light was still on, glasses had fallen off my nose, phone had been abandoned somewhere under the pillow. A sign of just how exhausting all this enjoyment is and how little sleep we’re getting! It’s a tough life!

Monday 10th

Now I know I’m the queen of superlatives, but it really is impossible to convey just how amazing this experience is. Absolutely overwhelming! It just keeps getting better and better. Everything runs so smoothly as we quietly travel from one island to another. The scenery is amazing, but of course it’s the wildlife that steals the show. We’ve been out on the Zodiac again this morning and we’ve seen turtles for the first time, hammerhead sharks, more blue footed boobies and iguanas… the list just goes on and on. We’re permanently in a state of excitement like little children. And when we come back to the boat, there’s coffee and delicious cakes waiting for us (as if the huge spread at breakfast wasn’t enough). We’re very happy here and you might not see me again because I haven’t decided if I’m coming home or not yet!

Well, it’s been a bit of a damp squib this afternoon. Literally! The rain just did not stop and our two-hour nature walk sadly had to be abandoned in favour of a very wet Zodiac ride along the coast (which we politely declined in favour of a well-earned rest). However, we did go to a talk on nature photography which was extremely interesting and gave us some good tips. His photographs were absolutely stunning! Wish I could do that.

We had champagne and canapés in my suite this evening, followed by cocktails during the evening lecture, followed by cocktails during a welcome party for guests new to Silversea, followed by wine (and dinner). We’d only had one glass each at lunch time because we were expecting to walk for two hours this afternoon, so we felt entitled to make up for our self-restraint earlier!

It’s another early start tomorrow – 5am! We have a two-hour trek (moderate to hard) at 7am on Isabella Island, where we’re hoping the blue sky will return so that we can take some decent photos. It goes without saying that we’d much rather have a lie in, but needs must. We also have a Zodiac cruise tomorrow afternoon followed by a sunset cocktail party. I know! I know! You must be feeling terribly sorry for us, but worry not. We are determined to survive the never-ending flow of delicious food and alcohol. Absolutely determined!

Tuesday 11th (Part 1)

We have had another wonderful day, but unfortunately it was another early start! Up at 5am, breakfast at 6am, into the Zodiac at 7am for our two-hour trek on Isabella island. And in that Zodiac, we met the other six Brits onboard.

Despite it being a 7am start, the temperatures are in the 30’s, feels like 40’s. And it’s SO humid! You can imagine what my hair looks like – as if I’ve had an electric shock! Poor Karen, having to be seen with me (perhaps that’s why she gets me to walk at least five paces ahead of her).

Anyway, I digress. The walk was very pretty, with views of our boat in the bay, and the trees and shrubs teeming with wildlife – birds, bees, butterflies. The highlight though is Darwin Lake, which is huge, and green with the most glorious reflections. It was hot work, climbing to the top of the hill for the best views and there was not an inch of my tee-shirt that was dry when we arrived at the top. Well worth it though for the 360-degree views and balmy breeze.

Tuesday 11th (Part 2)

When we returned to the boat, it was still only 9am and everyone went snorkelling (except us). I kind of wish we had, because the conditions were perfect (calm, sunny) but we might go next time. We went to a fascinating talk on penguins and can now tell the difference between adult and juvenile, male and female and healthy and poorly. It’s amazing what you learn on cruises – so much information and all very interesting. We enjoyed another Zodiac tour this afternoon around our new island of Floreana and we saw turtles, penguins, blue footed boobies, pelicans… we absolutely loved it – best trip so far!

It was straight back to the boat for sunset cocktails and canapés (we had to down them in 5 minutes) which gave us precisely 10 minutes to get ready for another lecture on Darwin (very interesting) and a summary of the itinerary for tomorrow (which looks unbelievable). Dinner was delicious (as ever) and we returned to our cabins to discover that we’ve been invited on a Bridge Tour at 2pm tomorrow and dinner with the hotel director at 7.45pm! Help! How do we fit everything in – we already have snorkelling off the beach in the morning, a plunge off the Marina, lunch, and a nature walk late afternoon! I know you will be as concerned as we are… when are we going to wash our hair (and in my case, is it really worth it anyway?). And are there any dresses left that we can fit into!

So, I’m in bed now and for the first time, the ship is rocking all over the place. We are sailing around the exposed western side of the Galápagos and it’s pretty rough. We’ve been told to drink plenty of wine and take sea sickness tablets. As ever, we do exactly what we’re told, so we’re pretty squiffy to say the least!

I cannot tell you just how brilliant this trip is. We’re like children in a sweetie shop. Very excitable (aren’t we at the best of times) and very grateful that we’ve had this opportunity to experience such a unique part of our world.

Wednesday 12th (Part 1)

A very interesting experience first thing this morning as we posted a card at Post Office Bay on Floreana Island. It’s a system used for centuries by sailors. They posted a card or letter in a solitary post box on the beach (no stamp required) and future travellers would look through the box and remove and hand-post anything that happened to be close to where they live (anywhere in the world). So, we’ve posted cards and we’ve brought cards back that had UK addresses (and will use Royal Mail rather than hand deliver!). I can’t wait to see if my card gets delivered at some time in the future!

Just before lunch, they had the weekly “plunge” off the boat for all the Americans that wanted to show off their diving skills. It took place just below our balcony so we had an excellent view of proceedings. More excitement after lunch when a tannoy announcement informed everyone there was a pod of around 600 dolphins swimming alongside the boat! We had fabulous views for around 10 minutes as they played. Beyond spectacular! Apparently, this happens only about once every two months! How lucky were we! We were invited to join the captain on the bridge early this afternoon. Very interesting, particularly if you’re into technology! What a responsibility to be in charge of a boat like this.

Wednesday 12th (Part 2)

We joined a nature walk later this afternoon. It started off with what they call a “wet landing” (as opposed to a dry landing). The sea is unbelievably warm though so it’s not exactly a shock to the system as you slide off the Zodiac into the sea.

But disaster struck as we landed. We BOTH realised we’d left our phones charging – on the boat! So no photos of the 200 flamingos that were feeding in the lake, or all the pretty birds that came so close, or the huge sea turtles mating just off the beach, or the huge bird gliding just above us on the thermals… very disappointing but you will just have to take our word for it that it was spectacular!

Usual mad rush to get ready for dinner and fit in champagne and canapés in the suite, the evening conservation and history talk, and the plan for tomorrow accompanied by cocktails. I’ll leave you to guess which one we were forced to squeeze out for lack of time! We had dinner with the Captain (Pablo – a very funny man) and the Hotel Director (Esteban – a lovely easy to talk to type).

Thursday 13th (Part 1)

Today was tortoise day and, by the end of it, we could probably have answered 30 specialist questions on Mastermind! Most importantly, we had a lie in (up at 6am, which on this holiday is a real bonus!). It was a little choppy on the Zodiac from Silver Origin to the Island of Santa Cruz and rain clouds were threatening to do their business, but we’ve been provided with huge plastic ponchos (and my hair couldn’t go any curlier anyway!). We drove into the highlands, to a private estate where there are masses of tortoises of all ages and sizes (although they can roam free throughout the island and there are no restrictions on their movement other than at the breeding centre). So, what can I tell you about the tortoises. There used to be a population of 250,000 in the Galápagos but that is now down to 40,000, mainly because of man. When sailors arrived at the islands years ago, they discovered that the tortoise could survive without food and water for up to a year, and the population was decimated. However, that is clearly no longer the case and the breeding programme has also helped to reverse the decline.

We wandered around the Reserve for an hour or two, in our fetching ponchos and wellies, ignoring the on/off showers and trying to be quiet despite our excitement at seeing these huge creatures. They can be as big as 700 lbs and two metres long and live to 150-180 years. They are considered adult when they reach 25 years old and start to mate then, but not before a massive migration from the lowlands (where they are born) to the highlands where they live. They have an incredibly slow metabolism – in fact, everything associated with the tortoise is slow. They didn’t seem bothered by our presence but not all of them would extend their heads out of their massive shells.

Thursday 13th (Part 2)

We had a lazy afternoon. After lunch on the boat, we were due to go back to Santa Cruz to the breeding centre but we were just too tired (especially after a bottle of wine with lunch) so we lay on the balcony instead and fell asleep! We’re finding it difficult to keep our eyes open – a combination of very early mornings, lots of exercise, far too much food and even more alcohol. But it’s so hard to say no. We were welcomed back to the boat late morning with a glass of champagne and some chocolates. What could we do? Refuse? It would be so rude!

Well it goes without saying that we never ever say no. So it was champagne and canapés in my suite this evening before the conservation talk and gin cocktails. And then we had dinner with a couple from the US.

So tomorrow is our last day on the cruise and we will be SO sorry to leave. It has massively exceeded expectations. But we do have another nature walk (up at 5am), a beach trip, a cookery demonstration, a film of the week’s highlights, a trivia quiz (we’ll be giving that one a miss), and our farewell toast to fit in. I’m going to try to finish this blog before nodding off, but it’s going to be difficult and I’m not giving any guarantees!

Friday 14th (Part 1)

Our last day on our Galápagos cruise (sob, sob). And guess what – it was a very early start (up at 5am) for a nature walk on Santa Cruz Island. It had rained the night before and the ground was an absolute quagmire. It was awful and hysterically funny all at the same time. Walking shoes and trousers are pretty much ruined… but… it was worth it. We saw lots of land iguanas, had fabulous views of the lushest green landscape, were surrounded by pretty yellow butterflies everywhere we went, and very much enjoyed the whole soggy experience. But I cannot describe the heat (at 7am!). I’ve never felt anything like it. We were all dripping, constantly. We’re on the Equator of course (we’ve crossed it twice during the week) and the sun is unbearably hot and the humidity horribly wet!

Back on board, we went to a summary lecture of all the species we’ve seen during the week. All very interesting and informative. After lunch, we went to the beach for a final swim, but it was a little disappointing. The beach was gorgeous but the heat was just too much to bear. We had to return to the boat within 10 minutes!

So we’re sadly packing tonight ready for disembarking early tomorrow morning (we have to vacate our suites by 7am) for our flight to Guayaquil (pronounced Why-a-keel) where we’re staying overnight before our flight back on Sunday night.

Friday 14th (Part 2)

This evening, we had the grand farewell. A champagne toast to all the staff, a quiz on everything we’ve learnt about the Galápagos during the last week (we didn’t win), and the most brilliant film of the week’s activities and sightings put together by the resident photographer Jorge (who has given everyone a USB stick of those memories). It was a tearful goodbye to our favourite members of staff and then the difficult task of packing the case under the influence of a huge amount of alcohol!

It has been the most amazing experience ever. Firstly, the cruise has beaten all expectations – it’s been beyond brilliant in every sense, and try as we might, we cannot find fault at any level. Expectations of the Galápagos of course were mega high, which is always somewhat risky. It delivered in every way possible. It has to be one of the most special places on earth. Even David Attenborough cannot do justice to this beautiful, serene set of islands, far from civilisation, where so many rare species live in harmony together, finally protected from their biggest threat (man) and positively thriving. It’s one of those rare places on earth that brings tears to your eyes. It certainly will do when we leave tomorrow. It is a very special place indeed and we feel very privileged to have visited, albeit for far too short a time.

Saturday 15th

We tearfully bade farewell to the Silver Origin this morning and started the journey home via Guayaquil. It’s very hot work travelling through airports in this heat… and it’s all very chaotic (technology seems to have passed San Cristobal airport by). But we arrived intact a few hours later at Hotel Del Parque which is a beautiful colonial building not too far from the airport. Exhaustion has taken over though after a hectic week of very early starts, and we could barely summon the energy for dinner this evening. But tomorrow is another day so we’ll hopefully find some energy for the last trip of the holiday – a city tour of Guayaquil. We’ve been incredibly lucky with the weather so far (it’s only rained once in almost a fortnight, which must be incredibly rare). Let’s hope our luck holds out tomorrow.

Sunday 16th

Well this is it. My last blog from Ecuador. We’ve just returned from a morning trip around Guayaquil with our guide Pilar. But the sun more or less held out and we saw some interesting sights and enjoyed a trip on cable cars across the two rivers.

But as we pack now for our trip home, it just leaves me to confirm what you’ve already guessed. We’ve had a fabulous time, from start to finish and really wouldn’t change anything at all (even the early starts). The people are lovely, the weather has been amazing (we would never in our wildest dreams have dared hope for 11/12 dry days in their rainy season), the tours of Quito and Guayaquil were both very enjoyable (but I think Quito wins the prize), the Silver Origin was beyond spectacular (and way exceeded our expectations), the food was delicious (the best I’ve ever tasted on a holiday)… but of course it was the Galápagos wildlife that will leave us with the best and most dramatic and exciting of memories. All the creatures, on land and in the sea, are peacefully enjoying their lives, protected, instead of challenged, by man. They are tame to the point of being totally indifferent to our presence. The whole trip was unique in every way and certainly rates amongst the best. We have absolutely loved it! We are very lucky and privileged little bears.”