When the Wildlife gets too close ...

One evening we decided to indulge in our love of sea food once more and went to the neighbouring fishing village for the catch of the day.


As we were being shown to our table my dad and I clocked a large, brown, scuttling insect run across the floor ... not wanting to freak my mother out we exchanged knowing glances and said nothing.  This is a huge improvement for me ... I hate things that scuttle, they make my skin crawl!  But I am getting better and not flying into hysterics every time I see them now and to be honest South America hasn't been too bad for creepy crawlies ... until now...


We were perusing the menu when we were BOMBARDED by these ...

They're crickets.  Completely harmless but when they fly into your hair or you feel the weight of them land on your shoulder or they land on your hand as you go to sip your beer you don't react rationally. 


At the time we did not know they were crickets and as we were leaping out of our seats every 30 seconds we didn't care what they were as long as they didn't get inside our clothes!


As the crazy gringos jumped and squealed the other tables in the restaurant cried with laughter.  They even took pictures!  At one stage all the staff in the restaurant surrounded our table trying to stop the onslaught of the bouncing beasts.


It's fair to say I've never eaten a meal faster in my life, nor given a faster reply when asked if we would like desert or coffee once we had finished.  We were wrecked by the end of the meal, we twitched and jumped at the shadows and had to be taken back to the hotel immediatley by a very aplogetic restaurant owner.  Needless to say we didn't go out for dinner again after that!  A shame as the food was amazing, but none of us could take that kind of excitement again!

More Whales!

We just couldn't resist going to see the whales again!  

But first, another pelican

This time we saw a pair or whales feeding and a lone male coming to see what was going on. It was a very different sighting as this time they were much quieter and we were able to get really close to them.

I could watch whales all day!  They are so impressive and it's hard to believe you're so close to something so enormous!

Coastal Life

When we weren't investigating the wildlife we were exploring the coast with it's fishing villages... and fresh fish!  The busiest one being Puerto Lopez.

Hungry Pelicans

Freshly caught ... and gutted

Pinch of Salt?

Lunch spot

And when we weren't eating lunch in Puerto Lopez we were appreciating the beach that our hotel was on.

Pelicans playing at sunset

Beach combing

Sunday fishing with the children

Whales and other Wildlife!

Going to the Ecuadorian coast was the perfect choice for us.  It has amazing wildlife, beautiful beaches and plenty of fresh seafood.  The number one on the tick list for my parent's trip was to see Humback whales which come to the coast during their breeding season.  But we knew that were going to be there at the very beginning of the season and that maybe the whales would be late.

When we arrived we asked whether any whales had been seen so far and we were told that they hadn't arrived... so we crossed our fingers that they would come towards the end of our stay.

In the meantime we took a day trip to Isla del Plata, the poor man's Galapagos, to check out the birds and sealife.  As we prepared to leave on the beach of Puerto Lopez, the fishermen told us that they had seen whales that morning... we crossed our fingers that maybe we would see them on our way.

Waiting on the beach for our tour boat ... watching the day's catch being brought in and the birds trying to get their share.

Luck was on our side... about an hour in to the trip we came across a pod of 10 whales and were able to follow them for 30 minutes until we had to get back on track to the Isla.

Whales are pretty tricky to photograph ... I couldn't find whale watching setting on my camera in time!!  I have A LOT of pics of the sea and white water as the whales dived!

The rest of the day was just as successful as we saw Blue Footed Boobies, Frigate birds and Angel Fish.

I've got blue shoes on!

Nesting Frigate birds... amazingly these pics aren't due to my camera's zoom ... we were really close!

And Angel fish too!  These guys came up to our boat as we were having lunch .. hopeful that they'd get a bit of cheese sandwich!

And the day was rounded off with seeing more whales on the way home.  We passed 3 more pods in the distance identifiable by the spouting from their blow holes!

Would you like an upgrade?

Upgrade, you say?  My own room, you say?  A double bed with a proper mattress and pillows, you say? My own bathroom, you say?  My own TV as well, you say?

After 7 months of sharing, I say, 'Hell yeah!'

I shall celebrate by lying in my hammock outside my very own cabana!

Beach Paradise

We were very happy when we arrived at Hosteria La Barquita in Puerto Rico on the Ecuadorian coast.  It's a a lovely place with friendly staff and it's right on the beach!

The boat shaped bar and restaurant!

The view from the boat and out to sea

Swim, swim, swim!

And my favourite bit of La Barquita is this...

A big door peaks out through tropical plants at the back of the property which opens to reveal a wooden walk way all the way to ...

The Beach!  The quietest beach ever where all you can hear are the waves and the only company are pelicans, frigate birds and some crabs!

Cotopaxi ... the top of the World!

From the city of Quito we went for a total change of scene and headed to Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and the second highest summit in Ecuador at 5,897m.

The view of Cotopaxi from the hostel.

Cotopaxi itself is an amazing site, a perfectly symmetrical volcano visible where ever you go and surrounded by the most beautiful countryside.  It is the perfect place for long walks and peace and quiet.

Nearby waterfalls.

Family day out in the Cotopaxi National Park

We stayed at the Secret Garden which has to be one of my favourite hostels ever.  It is very remote and tries it's best to be sustainable with it's own vegetable  gardens and even a composting toilet!  It does all this while being amazingly comfortable ... there is a wood burner in every room and a jacuzzi overlooking the valley and Cotopaxi!  I thought I was in paradise... my parents thought they were roughing it! They still haven't forgiven me for there not being electricity in their room!


But we did have a fabulous time taking long peaceful walks, relaxing in the jacuzzi and sitting by the log fires in the evenings.

The Secret Garden- complete with Lamas

Parents cabin on the right

The cosiest dorm ever ... wood burners and candle light!

 After a couple of days here we were refreshed and ready to head to the coast ... not to mention ready to be back at sea level so we could remember how to breathe properly!

Celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

With a nice cup of tea!