Terryconway2’s Blog

Pete up at 6.30am and on hostal PC – I slept til about 7.30am then we packed for day and caught a taxi to bus stationa arriving around 8.45. Got on bus which left around 9.15 – not the first to leave which a bit irritating. Looked at netbook on way there and saw journey can take up to 3 hours which was longer than bargaining for. Also doesnt seem much more to Otavalo than market – other recomendations in book are trips to neighbourin villages. Sunny day and good views from bus which is quite crowded whole way – Pete gets quite squashed as he is on outside.

Arrive shortly after 12 noon and find our way to market. Pete buys large rug and I trousers at one of first stalls.I also get several pairs of good earings and we also get presents for various people. Stop and have some lunch and then browse further. After a while my back begins to hurt and we try to find a place to sit down – cant find a park or even a bench to sit outside so also on look out for cafe – end up almost back at bus station before find one. Have a drink – a tea and cofee cost $1 together and chat to waiter who wants to practice his english.

Head for bus station and get on bus which leaves in about 10 minutes just aftre 3pm. Two buses from different companies leave at about the same time and appear to race each other at least part of way back to Quito. Not much traffic on way back into city and we are back around rish. Taxi back to hostal, dropped off bags. Out to eat in fast food place with chips that more like roast potatoes – they were good but my chicken was a little dry. Returned via picking up food for breakfast tommorow to go with the large hand of bananas we bought in Otavalo.. Home and on Pc til around 10pm.

Woken in middle of night by people coming home from club – to add insult to injury one of them was having a loud conversation outside our room with some one else. Got up and asked them to turn it down. Pete and I both restless for ages afterwards (this all happened about 3.30am I discovered afterwards) and eventually he put light on (with my permission about 5am and started reading. After that I did get back to sleep and dozed until 8am – got up 8.30am and started slowly. Had bit of sore throat – rash still not completely gone. Had breakfast and went out about 10.45am.

Launderies closed. Headed for old town to do walk from Lonely Planet – got into a number of churches that had been closed previously but only for quick look at back as all had services. There seemed to be music and sometimes dancing in each square we passed – stopped to watch one set for quite a long time and others more in passing. Weather was erratic – short bursts of light rain sent those watching performers to scatter at various points.

Visited Metropolitan House of Culture – Quieteno religious art plus some restored paintings (bad techique) by French 19th c artist I hadnt heard of but which were quite nice. Catherdral shut by time got to Plaza Grande – decided to have lunch in cafe on square just as big downpour of rain started. Afterwards it eased off and we continued to Basilica. Explored rear which is where access bells which i dont want to do at all – too many stairs – and Pete not interested in today as visibility too poor. However front shut and guide implied it always is – maybe only open other day because of devotions. Outside areas interesting – excellent and varied gargoyles – whole thing so very English.

Weather still poor but clearing a bit – came back to Park Alamada and tried to visit Observatory but group already in – no indication of how long would need to wait… Explored park including series of boards about its hitory (en espagnol) and the lake by which time it had brightened up. Headed towards new town and got as far as Congress with its fine frieze of Ecuadorean history (no police or guards in sight) but then mist came down and rain started again so headed back home via supermarket.

Pete fell asleep almost straight away and I went on computer. He woke up about 6pm and we went out for food about 7pm – ended up at our favourte Chinese – thought about trying a different one but it was very crowded so stuck to what we know is good.

We decided to take our bags with us as they are not particularly heavy and its quite a long way back to the hostal from evrywhere else we are trying to go. Pete’s cold seems to be subsiding a bit this morning although my throat is a bit croaky. More to the point, yesterday at some point (I think after the baths but dont really remember) I developed an itchy rash/swelling on the top of my left thigh. I couldnt see any bite marks and didnt know what else might have caused it given it was quite localised. I put some moisturiser on it which cooled it for a bit but it didnt go away.

This morning it has spread to the whole of my left leg above the knee and a couple of patches on the right leg. I have put some aftersun cream on which soothes it a bit and taken some antihistamine to help with the itching but its very irritating and unpleasant.

Walked into town – it was quite hot although the weather forecast had predicted cold and rain – still this is first time we have had a bad prediction from weather underground in 3 months so cant complain too much. Discovered the cathedral has a side entrance – so maybe it was open yesterday – and got in that way. Inside in better condition than outside.

Decided to prioritise going to the botanical gardens so walked there. On arrival discovered that their opening hours were 9-5. We had just arrived and were chatting to Chris an American biologist who is married to Teresa a Shoa indian who was one of the people who set up the park when we were joined by Anna a french woman. Chris gave all 3 of us a guided walk which was planned to be about an hour. All walks in the park are guided – i assume to ensure that people dont wander off the trails and damage anything.

A minute or two after we had started on the trail Anna was attacked by a large bee which stung her on the top of the head. Chris was trying to brush it off but it wouldnt go away for a while and then when it did it flew onto me and then onto him. Eventually after it started attacking his lip he killed it with his hat. However a minute or two later Pete and then I were attacked by another one. Pete wasnt stung although he was quite scared as at one point it flew into his ear whereas it crawled all over my right cheek and lip and eventually stung/bit me on the cheek just above the lip. It was a little sore but not too bad and Chris managed to shoo it away and when we kept walking we were not followed.

We were not sure what had triggered this – Petes brightly coloured hat perhaps or the fact that both he and I had used lavender (bee pollenated) shower gel? At any rate it was a bit of aa dramatic start to the walk.

Chris is extremely knowlegeable about the different plants in the forest and what they are used for by indigenous people. He also spoke about how global warming is resulting in changes – more drmatic weather including this year heavier storms than they have ever known before. He also said that recently they had found jaguar tracks in the forest which wasnr usual and that this could be as a result of deforestation elsewhere.

The pace of the walk was quite quick however and although we saw quite a lot of butterflies – of amazing bright and varied hues, we didnt see any birds. We heard a number further up in the canopy – and maybe we wouldnt have seen them even if we had taken time to stop and look but I did feel a bit rushed.

On the other hand we had said we wanted the walk to be about an hour – on the basis that we thought then we might have time to get to the museum briefly before it shiut for lunch at 12.30pm – so I didnt say anything. We had been walking for about 40 minutes when I noticed that Anna who was just behind me was not moving much but leaning with her hands on the ground. I asked her if she was OK and she said no she felt really hot and strange. I called to Chris and Pete who were ahead and they came back.

For about 10 minutes Anna felt dizzy and hot and completely without energy but had a cold sweat. She was sure that it was not a reaction to the bee sting – which had been my first thought certainly She drank some water and put her head between her knees and eventually felt well enough to allow Chris to assist her to walk to the Shoa house which was only a couple of minutes away.

Once there we were able to sit down and he spoke to us about the way they lived traditionally – and Anna was able to rest and felt much better. Chris told us rhey are rge one indigenous group that had contact with the Spanish but were never conquered by them – which he says is because they were better at warfare in the jungle. One house belonged to each family which was a man and as many as 15 wives/ He explained that although men chose their pincipal wives when they were around 18 and the girl was anything from unborn up to around 6 they had no sexual contact until menstruation. The man had to live in the girls parents house for a year before they would agree to the marriage to see if he had the necessary skills and qualities to be a good husband.

Then if they agreed there was a marraige but from then until the girl reached puberty they lived together like father and daughter. Then there would be another ceremony in which the girl would be given to her husband sexually. The man would then marry the younger sisters of his wife. The children would be brought up in common with no distinction as to who was their mother but each woman cooked seperately and each gave some food to the husband.

No sex took place in the house as that would be the basis for jealousy and a bad example to the children although the man would sleep in the bed of a different wife each night. Sex took place in the womans garden which was her most private place and where she grew both food to eat and medicianl pants. Amogst the Shoa everyone traditionally knew about the healing properties of different plants that were commonly found though some had more detailed knowledge than others. If a man died then his brother would marry and take responsiblity for the wives and children.

By the time Chris had finished explaining this our originally allocated hour had gone – what with encounters with bees and Anna being unwell in addition to the other stuff. Chris asked if we needed to rush to finish and Pete and I agreed that was not necessary. However it did mean that I certainly ended up not asking – actually not even thiinking of – a whole load of questions that have since occured to me about how much the way the 80000 Shoa today live like he told us – in particular in terms of gender roles….

Anway we wandered back towards the begining of the trail. We looked at various plants with different healing properties including one called sagre de dragon which Chris said didnt mean Dragons blood (that would be sangre de dragon0 but didnt say what it did mean. The sap of this tree is bright red but oxides very quickly once it is exposed to air or rubbed on skin and becomes a grey white colour. It is used by the shoa for all sorts of skin complaints. I put some on my bee sting which was still tingling a bit unplesantly before that and within a few seconds the heat went out of it all together and I could no longer feel that anything had happened by touching it.

As we approached the begining of the trail we met Teresa, Chris’s wife and a young man whose name I never heard who were working in the garden. Chris introduced us and started explaining to Teresa what had happened with Anna. He had said at the time to Anna and said to Teresa that he thought it was a case of what indiegnous people call bad air.

When he told Teresa what had happened she started asking Anna some more questions about exactly what the experience had been like and also asked her how old she was. Her tentative conclusion was that it was premenopausal symptoms. As they were having thsi conversation and Teresa was saying that she would get some Anise leaves to cleanse Anna which would help suddenly Anna again had the symptoms having been feeling fine for 10-15 minutes or so.

This confirmed Teresas feelings as she could see that the symptoms complied with her diagnosis but also sent her off to get the leaves straight away. She took several of the youngest leaves and crushed them between her hands and then rubbed the leaves and juice all over Annas head and torso. Then she repeated this with some of the bigger leaves and asked Anna to breathe in the fragrance. She then concluded by using the outside leaves to brush the pieces off Anna. She also did some manipulation of her fingers but I wasnt sure what was going on there.

During the process which probably took 10-15 minutes I could see colour returning to Annas face and her breathing become more normal.All this convinced me to investigate the Sagre de dragon for my irritated skin which was continuing to cause me a lot of discomfort. However when Teresa finished working with Anna Chris shepherded us away before I could say amything to her. He also explained that he was now in a hurry as he needed to go to his sons school for a meeting.

He did however introduce us to another women in the reception area – whose name In now forget – who indeed did sell me some sagre de dragon. More than that she and Anna both looked at the rash and she thought it might well ahve come from the baths at banos and she helped me apply some – and the skin immediately felt less hot and inflamed.

Because she didnt speak English and my Spanish is so poor I was not able to ask more about whether she thought it was a parasite in the water or an allergic reaction to chemicals or what but certainly I was very happy to have some remedy even if I dont entirely understand what caused the problem in the first place. I ahd had nasty mages of having to ring a doctor which would have potentially cost rather more than the $5 I paid for the sap – or of writhing in discomfort until I got home again…

Once all this was done and Anna and i chatted a bit Pete and I decided to make a move. It was now after 1pm and we wanted to catch a bus back to Quito quite soon – but we also wanted some food first. We walked back in the direction of the town centre but the places we past either had a very limited menu that we didnt like the look of or on the other hand were shut.

Eventually we decided to get a taxi to the bus station – we had asked Chris about this and he had explained that the bus station was having work done on it so we figured we had noit been in the right place yesterday – and try and get some food there. We did and found a nice cafe which seemed only to have fish on the menu and ordered two bowls of fish soup – which we expected to be very filling from previous experiences and two cold drinks as we were very hot.

We downed the drinks in a couple of minutes flat before the soup had arrived so then I asked the waitress for two more sodas. Nothing happened for a while and we thought perhaps they were bringing them with the soup. Then the soup arrived and a few minutes later the man who ahd taken our order at first came by with two plastic bowls and asked if we wanted them in that implying that these were to take away. I said no we wanted them at the table here. He went away again and nothing happened for a few more minutes.

It seemed obvious that there was a breakdown in communication but we couldnt for the life of us figure out what the problem was. Eventually I went to speak to him and discovered that she thought I had asked for two more sopas ie soups not two more sodas and they had been cooking more of the extremely filling and pleasant broth!! So it was resolved in the end and we got our drinks and also bought some water to take on the bus.

The days misunderstandings were not hwoever at an end. We crossedthe road and we could see a line of buses with different destinations marked on them. Various guys were hanging about at the front of the queue shouting various destinations and when we approached asked us where we were going. We said Quito and one of the guys said there was a bus at 2.30pm further down in the queue. It was just before 2pm now so this seemed reasonable and we walked down the queue.

A couple of buses didnt have either destinations written on them or anyone with them so we found the first one that said Quit0 and sat by it until someone came. When drivers came to buses further up the queue one of us went up and checked whether they were going to Quito which none of them were. Eventually about 2.23 – as I was getting to the point of thinking we had been given wrong information – a guy came and go into the cab of the bus we were waiting for. I said Quito? he said Yes – or rather Si and we got on.

We have been on loads of buses since we arrived in Ecuador and on all of them without exception so far people have bought tickets on the bus. On some occassions where we have bought tickets in advance they have no been numbered annyway and people have just sat where they liked. And he did not ask us if we had a ticket. So we sat at the front and prepared to enjoy our drive back to Quito.

About 5 minutes after we got on with only a couple of other people on the bus he started to drive off. However he wasnt going far – only moving the bus further up the same road to where we had seen the guys who had told us about the bus in the first place. Once there it began to fill up quite quickly and within a few minutes someone came and said we were in their seats.

We moved and then as we were trying to figure out what was going on – and discovered that the driver was no longer on the bus – the same thing happened again. Clearly you needed to buy tickets in advance for thsi bus. By this time it was also 2.45 – long after we had been told the bus should have gone and the seats were filling up rapidly. We both got off – and managed to leave Petes coat on the bus in our fluster and eventually figured out where to get tickets and got back on and got a seat – and discovered the bus was in fact due to leave at 15.00 hours. Chaos..

The first hour or so of the journey was a bit fraught as it was very hot and we couldnt seem to open the window beside us and there were more people than seats – and of course we were annoyed about what had happened which made us more flustered. However as the journey continued we relaxed and enjoyed the scenetry more and also managed to open the window which helped. We also got to see one of the volcanoes – I think Cotapaxi from where it was – in the twilight as we drove into the city which was quite impressive.

We also got back to Quito slighty before 8pm so we made good time. Neither of us felt the need to eat again after our large lunch so we got a taxi abck to the hostal did some unpacking and sorting of things and then got an early night. My rash was much improved but I used a lot of the sap to really give it a good going over. .

Woke shortly afetr 6am, up and showered and spent about an hour looking at emails. Finished repackng bags and put big ones in storage and then went for breakfast to neraby cafe. Got cab to bus station very easily – Matt had advised this best option given it was rush hour which meant trolleys would be crowded and caught bus to Banos pretty much straight away.

It was very clear first thing so we thought we would get good views of the Avenue of the Volcanoes but unfortunately it clouded over and there was some rain during the journey. It cleared up for a while around Ambato – where it turned out we had to change buses – but then got bad again as we entered Banos and was raining as we arrived.

We checked out times of buses to Puyo tommorow – there are many choices – and then walked to the hostal. I had slept during part of the journey but Pete had not. However he had been feeling increasingly unwell – he had been coughing last night and then had been feeling fuzzy headed with a cold and tired with lack of energy as the journey progressed. When we got to the hostal I sorted out the booking in and he decided that he wanted to go to bed and did so.

I took the lapbook downstairs to reception which is a strange place – its a combination of reception, a restaurant and an internet cafe – oh and it has a pool table in the corner. Its run by an Israeli couple and I think we were the only Goyim there – certainly the majority language was hebrew. O did I mention that theres a TV – and a whole bunch of us watched a Simpsons DVD as the place was pretty full as it was horrible weather outside.

I couldnt get the lapbook to connect for ages but then did and responded to more emails and also updated my blog which had got very behind. I also had lunch of humous and falafall. Then I went and checked on Pete who got up as it had stopped raining and was quite nice out – if still a bit misty on the mountains – decided to go out and check out the waterfall which we can see from the hostal and other local sites.

We walked for around an hour and Pete climbed up a bit of the waterfall. We went into the chuch but didnt stay long as there was a service starting and found two of the municpal baths and several private ones and several nice parks. We came back and Pete had some soup and bread and then went back to bed. I read for a bt but was also tired so went to bed quite early myself. I dont think I have quite recovered from the journey back from Galapagos which I found very tiring.

Woke shortly after 6am and was disappointed on looking out of the window to see it was misty. Pete woke a little later and was still feeling dreadful so we decided that I would go out in a while and go to the baths on my own leaving him to sleep. I failed to get any hot water so didnt bother with a shower there but left for baths shortly after 7am.

Had lovely ht shower and went into middle pool (which i think is 72 degrees). It was quite busy but I think pretty exclusively local people. I had two long converations with Ecadorean women about my age – the first was called Rosita and was from Quito just visiting Banos on holiday. The second didnt tell me her name but told me that she had visited London and really liked the Egyptian Mummies at the British Museum. (actually she didnt remember what the museum was called but described it very thoroughly).

It was obvious that for most people the baths were a social place – many people were not really swimming but sitting around chatting which surprised me. I could float a bit alhough it was not as easy as in the sea – lack of salt I suppose – but also I might have been less confident not being with people I knew. I also was able to hold on to the side rail and let my legs float and move my knees which felt very comfortable.

After a while I had had enough and got out, said goodbye to the two women I had met and got changed. I wandered back via the church which was open but not being used for a service and returned to the hostal. Pete was awake when I returned but still feeling lousy so continued to nap while I read and updated my diary. Eventually shortly before 10am with some persuasion from me he got up and had a shower (and we discovered the hot wazter was the other way round to everywhere else we have been..) and then went and had some breakfast down stairs.

We then went out and found a pharmacy and bought cough mixture and vic substitute and then visited the church and then walked to the San Francisco bridge where you get a great view of the river below on both sides and also of a couple of waterfalls on the right. We came back to the hostal and finished packing and checked out.

We walked back to the bus station getting there shortly before 12 noon and booked onto the 12.15 bus to Puyo. The bus was coming from Ambato and going on to Tena after Puyo. It arrived more or less on time but spent about 15 minutes waiting for passengers eventually leaving with a few people standing about 12.30pm/ the first 45 minutes or so of the journey is along the avenue of waterfalls which is a very windy road with 3 or 4 long tunels through the mountainside – and of course lots of waterfalls.

It may well be wonderful from the back of a mountain bike as our guide book says but it was a bit frustrating from the bus because it went too fast past the interesting bits and because it was too much round bends for my stomach to be happy ( I hadnt taken a pill because I didnt want to go to sleep and miss bits). It also got quite hot during the journey even when we opened the windows quite wide and there were two bursts of rain -the first quite heavy. I did get one or two reasonable photos and it wasnt a bad journey – just not quite what the book implied.

Arriving in Puyo was also a strange experience at many different levels. The journey was supposed to take two hours according to the guide book – and also the price as things seem to be $1 for an hours journey and it was $2 each. So we expected to arrive around 2.30pm. About 1.45pm however Pete saw as we were approaching wgat seemed to be a town a big green sign saying Puyo.

A few minutes after this the bus turned off the road it was travelling to the left and then pulled in and stopped. Quite a lot of people got off the bus – and loads of vendors got on. Although we clearly were not at a bus station I asked Pete who was sitting by the aisle to check with the driver or conductor that this was not our stop. He went to the front and discovered that they were in fact not there – but he could spy them eating lunch at a cafe a few yards away.

When they came back, prbably 15-20 minutes after we stopped Pete went and spoke to them and they said this was where we needed to get off and that the bus station was back in the direction we had been travelling before we took a left turn. Indeed as we got off the bus we could see it in the distance. By this time the rain had stopped and although it was quite hot there was a breeze so it was not an unpleasant 5 minute walk.

We wanted to go to the bus station to check out times of buses to Quito tommorow and because we thought we might be able to get a map there or atleast directions to our hotel. However it was the most peculiar place. There were 4 or 5 buses parked in a car park but no offices of any kind – and then a bunch of people waiting at a bus stop. So there was no way of finding out about tommorows buses.

We did however see some taxis a little way off on the other side of the road and were able to find a cab to take us to the hostal which was only a $1 ride away.We booked in – and thought there had been an error when we were first shown to a room with 5 beds – but no this was our private room! We unpacked and then Pete who was feeling better than earlier had a snooze while I read and updated the diary.

Pete woke about 4pm and we went for a walk into town getting a map from reception. Walked to the centre and looked at the rather delapidated cathedral from the outside but it seemed shut.Although we kept seeing signs pointing in the direction of the historic centre we never found anything which certainly in my book would qualify as such.There was a very evident air of poverty about the place and quite a lot of vacant or delapidated lots. And though its much bigger thab Banos the jungle comes right to the edge of town.

It started to rain quite heavily and I was getting very hungry but we tried seveal restaurants that were shut so decided to have a snack and then return to the hotel and have pizza there. I had a cheese toastie and juice and Pete just a coke and then we walked back to the hostel. Once there we discovered the unwelcome news that they no not make pizza – despite it saying so on the sign above the door. They did offer to order one for us but couldnt provide a menu – the choices were carnivore or vegitarian. Instead I ate a packet of Ritz and read lots. We’d eaten loads on the boat so it certainly wont do any harm to eat a bit less..

Up at 5.30am and finished packing and went for dinghy ride at 6.15am. It was beautifully quiet on the lagoon and we saw three sharks resting (too far under water for me to photograph) as well as several sea turtles, blue footed boobies, herons and various fish including puffer fish. The other boat saw sting ray but I didnt – still not exactly sure what they look like.

Felt sad to be saying goodbye to the islands and to the group. On the one hand the week has flown by – it seems like only minutes ago we stepped on board – and yet in other ways it seemed liked we had spent ages together and got to know people quite well and packed in masses of both chatting and sight seeing into our time together.

Back to the boat for our final breakfast and then disembarked on Baltra. Had a bit of a wiat on the dock for the bus but got to airport shortly after 9am – did more shopping in rather expensive shops and then got our passports stamped with Galapagos stamp. Said goodbye to Fabian who was going home for a two week break and to Toine and Lisette who were only flying to Guayaquil (and therefore were in a different bit of the plane) before going to Panama for 3 nights and then Cuba for 3 weeks.

Finally boarded about 10.30am – flight a bit choppy – amd a little noisy as had large party of 10? year olds who seemed pretty exuberant bt arrive Quito in just about one piece. Said farewells to most people at airport and shared taxi back to San Blas with David who staying in hostal v near us. Got back and collected our bags and repacked for next couple of days. It felt like a bit of a chore as all I wanted to do was crawl into bed but if I had done I would have been awake in the middle of the night so that wouldnt have worked.

Once got that done then had a look at our massive load of emails and then went out to eat shortly after 6pm. Just went to our nice Chinese as its reliable and nearby and we didnt have the energy to be more adventurous. Back and to bed shortly afetr 8pm – I didnt even have the energy to read I was so exhausted

Had agreed that would have early breakfast this morning to pack as much as possible into our last full day so Pete was up about 5.30am and I about 6am in order to breakfast at 6.30am and disembark at 7.15am. James Bay is a black sandy beach with lots of rock pools and the rcoks are compacted ash where the layers show many different colours as well as some lava flows in other parts of the island.

The compacted ash is easy to walk on and eroded into steps in various convenient places as we strolled between rock pools looking for marine iguanas – who were less frequent in numbers than Fabian had expected – fur seals who we watched diving in rock pools linked with bridges and caves – some oystercatchers – blue footed boobies and sea lions and ofcourse thousands of Sally lightfoot crabs.

It was sunny but there was a breeze off the ocean and it didnt become that hot until about 9am. For two hours we had the place to ourselves and it felt vey peaceful knowing that we might well be sitting where Darwin had sat ( he spent 9 days here – longer than on any other island) listening to Fabian explaining the importance of the work he did and how it came about. I could quite happily have envisaged spending several days there but of course that wasnt possible.

Shortly after 9am we made our way back to the beach where we had landed and most people went off snorkelling/swimming. Myself, Alison and Shoshi (who has come down with a horrible cold) did not but sat most of the time under the poison apple tree where we had left our stuff relishing the fact that we had some shade as by now it is quite hot.

We discovered two yellow warbler nests in the tree and were also visited by several types of finches – not sure whether I got any decent pictures yet but Alison did and it was fun to watch at any rate. I also saw a bitern – I think – on the sea shore and followed that and did get a decent snap or two – and generally enjoyed just relaxing while the others were in the sea. People were saying the water was colder than it had been on the previous days so I thought I would rather wait until this afternoon before going in.

After a while we returned to ship – needing to be on board around 10.45 in order to navigate to Bartolome. Id picked up a book about Lonesome George earlier in the morning and when we got back on ship I read most of it before lunch. Id already decided to skip the afternoon walk as Fabian had told us last night it included 360 steps and involved walking quickly to get back in time for a final snorkel session. Tom and I intend to go to the beach for the later but have the boat to ourselves for the former.

After lunch I finished the book, updated the diary and chatted to Tom while he played cards.Then when the others returned after a short break we boarded the dinghys and went to the beach. Some people went snorkelling by the Pinacle rock and the rest of us went swimming/ snorkelling on the beach. I managed to do a little more swimming but didnt manage to see any fish even though I had my googles – but enjoyed myself never the less.

Afterwards we returned on board and set sail for Black Turtle Cove where we go for our final dinghy ride in the morning. Unfortunately it was a bit of a choppy ride and I was really not well and after battling for a while had to retreat to my cabin for a while and missed the final briefing. Fortunately we were only sailing for less than two hours and stopped in time for farewell cocktail and last dinner together.

After the meal Joe told a couple of stories but then people began to drift off quite quickly as we had a dinghy ride at 6.15am and had to pack tonight. Pete was one of the first to go – he was falling asleep during Joes stories – which is not a reflection on Joe at all. I stayed up with Tom and David and Sharon for a bit but gave in around 10pm.

I slept very well last night although I did not take any medication after 3pm – thought I might need to take one later especially as we were navigating around the island at 4am or something but I was fine. Woke a couple of times during the night but only for a matter of minutes and didnt finally surface till gone 6am. Up, shower and breakfast and then landed at Urbina Bay at just after 8am.

Even by then the sun was beatng down fearlessly in a brilliant blue sky. A sea turtle swam right by the dinghy as we landed. The sand on the beach is black (from shale) and white and it was still relatively cool when we landed. We went on a short trail for about 30 minutes together and then Tom and I headed back to the beach while the others continued. I was finding the heat uncomfortable and we were not due to see animals or birds we had not seen elsewhere so I was happy not to argue.

When we got back to the beach there were two young hawks on the sea shore and they stayed within yards of us the whole time. We also saw pelicans and boobies and land iguanas that look just like the one on a t-shirt Pete and I bought in Santa Cruz. Tom and I chatted for a while and then he went for a dip to cool off and I continued with my book which Id taken ashore.

Not long afterwards the others returned and Shoshi was suffering very badly with the heat and wanted to go back to the ship so Tom and I also went back with her. I sat on the deck and finished my book. I decided not to go ashore this afternoon but to use the time to catch up with my diary and play with photographs. This is because the planned trail is quite long and the heat is very intense today so I dont like the idea.

The others come back and we have lunch and also exchange emails so we can keep in touch – and share photographs – afterwards. The others go off to Fernandina and I show Tom some of our photographs from Rapa Nui and tell him about some of what we did there. Afterwards he goes off to take a snooze and I update the diary and then upload and sort my photographs

The others return having had a pleasant time and people are sitting around relaxing. I finally make it up to the top deck – which I hadnt managed before. Pete is up there and Lisette and Toine. Suddenly Toine cries that he can see whales – two spouting some way off to the left of the boat and then suddenly we can see more and we are calling to eevryone on the boat.

Fabian joins us and tells us they are Orca- killer whales – he knows because they are very social animals – and then they start jumping a little – diving for food and we can see the black and white distinctive marking. At times it seems like they are dancing – 5 or 6 together in a troupe following in rhythm with the first – incredibly graceful as if they are weightless in the water. But this is not the only group – I see at least 12 at one time and perhaps more

Everyone is on the three decks of the boat watching with delight – the crew and the passengers united in their fascination with these creatures. Fabian captianed a boat for many years following the sperm whale and has seen Orca many times before but he says that he has never seen so many together. Captain turns the engine off and for more than half an hour we follow them silently steering and then they move away – and then come back a few minutes later in a twirl of mutual fascination.

Eventually I think it was us – the Captain at least – who dragged us away – revving the engine and speeding into the distance to complete the days travelling leaving the majestic beasts feeding in the setting sun. This was one of the most amazing sights I had the pleasure to see not only on this holiday but in my life.

I dont photograph them at first – I want to hold as much of the pattern of their weaving in my head as possible – but then afterwards I want to get it recorded as well but was not satisfied with the result – though enjoyed watching other peoples – and hopefully exchanging some of them afterwards. This was certainly a memorable summer solstice.

All this delayed our crossing the Equator which should have been at 18.00 but was instead about 18.40pm after a lectures on cetaceans from Fabian which seemed more apposite that we could have imagined given what we had just enjoyed. Then we went up to the pilot house to watch and photograph the crossing of that line which gave us 6 0’s on the ships equipment – and drink pina colada to celebrate the moment. It was darker than it would have been had we been on time and I think the captain probably more pushed for time in shepherding us out but it was still fun.

Then we had dinner and afterwards sat round a bit looking at whale photos – and some of us watched Pete’s film of the courting albatrosses but the group fragmented quite early. For me it was a shame as I had more energy – and a better stomach – than on most previous nights – and I stayed around until about 10pm and eventually went off leaving David, Tom and Sharon on deck.

Woke at 5am and read for a while. Pete was asleep and seemed peaceful. He woke up about 6ish and was feeling Ok – the pain had gone. He had slept through until 4am, and then got back off OK. He got up and showered and did some washing and then I got up and showered. Though breakfast had been put back til 7am on Toms insistence we were mostly in the dining room by 6.45am including Tom!

Disembarked a little after 8am – Fabian provided me with a walking stick which will help my balance on the lava. I also decide I prefer to have my sandals because there is more protection in the soles than my shoes. From the dinghy as we came in we saw the flightless cormorant – one on the water and another on the shore line. Browner than the cormorants I am used to.

Its like landing on the moon at Punta Moreno. I have seen lava in Iceland but this is so much more strange – as Fabian said in the lecture last night you could really imagine yourself at the birth of the island before very much came. Mangroves, Lava cactus, candelabra cactus and some other plants like holy stick growing in almost no soil and so little place for mositure to last. In some places the lava was in large flat slabs – in other places it was in small flakes and in other rippled like waves of the sea …

It was much less difficult to walk on than the boulders the other day, I had better shoes and the walking stick – and I had slept better. All in all an improvement.

We came to a lagoon and there we could see 6 flamingos – much closer than yesterday although not as close as those of us without such good zooms would have liked to see, together with pintail ducks ( which spend most of their time tail up burowing in the mud at the bottom of the lagoon) and some nosiy (sic) moorhens. None of us wanted to leave and as soon as Fabian decided we should move away the two closest decided to fly towards us. I think only one person got a photo as most of us had either moved or at least put the cameras away to begin to do so.

Moved on to another spot where we saw more flamingos including a young one which doesnt have the pink pigmment – which comes from eating shrimps which have lots of carotene – but which also has quite distinct black markings on the rump feathers. They are such graceful birds again it was hard to move on.

Came to another lagoon where the water was extremely clear and we ccould see a lot of fish and also several sharks. I only saw the tip of the tail of the later which was a white tipped shark but lots of fish – including a big flounder right at the bottom and also some eels. Then we walked back to where we were to be picked up and while waiting for the boat saw several sea turtles swimming very close to us.

Once we returned to the boat most of the others were going out snorkelling for the rest of the morning but I wanted to use the opportunity of being calm at anchor to update the diary rather than just sitting in the boat watching the others snorkel. Tom and Alison were also on the boat but I didnt really see them as they were in different parts of the boat to me.

After the others returned we had lunch and then navigated to Elizabeth Bay in a different part of Isabella island. Then we went out for a long ride in the dinghy where we saw sea turtles, fishes, rays and penguins as well as the Great Blue Heron and the Lava heron. It was so peaceful – for some of the time we rowed rather than using the motor and we didnt see a single other boat all afternoon. I was amazed how much I could see through the water – and discovered after a tip from David that this was improved by putting on my polaroids…

Returned to the boat afterwards for a briefing on the geology of the islands as well as plans for tommorow and then dinner. Afterwards sat around chatting for a bit and listened to two stories from Joe in a big group but afterwards conversation started to break down into smaller groups. Pete was still a little fragile after the night before and I wanted to read my book so we both got quite an early night.

Slept much better – Florians pill really worked. Woke at 4am – ship was moving gently at anchor – and felt Ok. Read for a bit and then snoozed till around 6.15am and then got up and had shower and then had breakfast.

We had another wet landing which I was still apprehensive about but which was really only two steps off the beach. The water was a little colder than yesterday but the current was less strong and it was still much warmer than the north sea. The tuff cones are quite red and give quite a lot of overhang for fish, crabs and other creatures to hide in. The sand here is a mix of mineral and organic (the later from the coral) and the mineral is mainly olivine – which forms the green gemstone peridot.

Some people including Pete went off to snorkel in the deep waters a way away while others were snorkelling just off shore and playing with the sea lions two of which were pretending to be dolphins so acrobatic where their leaps. I stayed on shore at first but after a while went out to see if I could see anything – borrowing a pair of gogles from Fabian. I did not have the confidence to put my head under the water to see the fish however I did take my feet off the bottom and actually swam a little bit which I have never before done in the sea so that felt like quite a huge milestone. The sea was both a good warm temperature and also very salty and therefore very bouyant so both those things helped I think.

Afterwards came back on board for an early lunch and then back to Post Office Bay – posted a card to Mick in Denmark and one to ourselves and collected loads. Pete, Alison and I took all the British ones between us and I also took some Dutch ones and some for the Philippines. Others went swimming again after that but I didnt feel like having another go so soon so just sat and chilled out.

We then returned back to the ship quite early in order to start the long navigation to Isabella island which we did around 3pm. I had hoped to spend the afternoon updating the diary and got the lapbook out but the current was too strong so I only managed about 5 lines before I had to go an lie down. However I had taken a pill just as we set off so I was much better and did not vomit. I did have a snooze and then got up for the planned lecture on geology.

However it was so noisy and so many people were feeling fragile that Fabian pitied us and only gave us the summary of tommorows journey leaving us some free time before dinner. Ate and sat round for a bit but shortly after 8pm both Pete and I went to bed. He was feeling a bit tired and also said he felt bloated although he had not eaten particularly much.

Woke at 11pm because Pete had his light on and was at first convinced it was the sun and that it was 11am in the morning and had slept all the way through. Then after a minute or two realised that Pete was in the bathroom and was unwell. He said he had been there about 30 minutes and did not want to take any pills. He kept breaking out into a cold sweat. He had not vomited at that point but a little later did so quite violently but after that felt a little better and was able to go back to bed and get to sleep at some point probably around midnight.