| Highlights of Ecuador (October/November 2006) | ||||||||||||
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Ecuador: famous for the Chiquita banana and, err, the Equator!
From west to east it traverses the Andes to the Amazonian basin. Add to that the incomparable wildlife of the Galapagos Islands and this wee place packs a punch! |
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Kung Fu Cross The 'Quator
To celebrate the half way mark on our trip south we also giddily salsa'd and breakdanced back and forth across the Equator. 5 months in and with only 2 months left to reach Antarctica - we had better speed up! |
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Mugged!
The streets of Quito are notoriously dangerous. Here we fell victim to an elaborate scam: a team of well-dressed thieves squirt your clothes with yogurt and then work together to "help" you clean up. While they distract you, someone steals your bag. However, no-one messes with Cheryl. As our priceless laptop vanished up the street she was in hot pursuit, screaming at the top of her (impressive) lungs. The hapless crook could only abandon the computer on the street and run for his life, crying for mommy as he fled! As a result, we have now taken to glueing the laptop to Magnus' body for safety. |
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The Galapagos
The volcanic Galapagos lie around 1000km off the shore of Ecuador. In the absence of man and other predators unique species have developed. Environmental adaptations of species like the humble Darwin Finch helped Darwin develop his Theory of Evolution. For a week we lived-aboard a cruise boat trekking and swimming around these amazing islands. |
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You Lookin' At Me?
Land iguanas show no fear of man, resulting in long contests to see who blinks first. |
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Get Off My Back Or I Guana Get Mad!
Marine iguanas are unique to the Galapagos. With little food on the dry volcanic islands, they adapted to swim using their tails to feed on aquatic plant life - the only marine lizard in the world. |
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Don't Shoot!
A newborn sea lion pup feeds from its mother. Meanwhile, the protective mum faces down a Galapagos hawk, trying to take a sneaky nibble of the placenta, still attached to the pup. |
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So-o-o Cute! |
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A Marine Dream
Swimming with fearless marine life was an unforgettable experience. Among the best parts: * playful sea lions mimicking our twists and turns in the water * tubby penguins zooming around our heads like missiles as they fished * squadrons of colourful turtles, rays and sharks sailing around us |
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A Beautiful Pair Of Boobies
Fantastically quirky signature animal of the Galapagos, the blue-footed boobie! |
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Kids, Make Sure You Eat Your Pinks!
Juvenile flamingos are a pale shadow of their elders who get their glorious colour from a diet of pink shrimp. True or False? True! |
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Paddle At Your Peril
At this beach hundreds of stingrays and white-tip sharks patrol the surf. We decided to take our afternoon dip elsewhere... |
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A Nice Spot For A Picture?
Evil Cheryl clearly knew what she was doing when she asked Magnus to pose "by that lovely cliff"... |
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Lonesome George & Friends
Giant tortoises, weighing 300lb and up to 200 years old live in the highlands of Santa Cruz. Decimated by turtle soup-loving man, sub-species such Lonesome George are on the verge of extinction. So far he has unsportingly resisted all attempts to cross-breed him. Has anyone considered Viagra?! |
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Ghost Crab
Beautiful and weird |
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Volcanic Landscapes
Ultra-light air-pocketed rocks or the world's strongest pinkie? You decide. |
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Ladies... Check Out My Sexy Red Balloon
Male magnificent frigates attract mates by inflating a giant red balloon on their necks. The bird equivalent of buying a big red sports car? |
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Crooning The Night Away
After an overwhelming wildlife-fest, we toasted our final sunset and headed back to mainland Ecuador. |
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Mountaineering Madness
Cotopaxi is the world's highest active volcano at just under 20,000ft. Fired by the impossibility of it all, Cheryl put together a regime to fast-track Magnus to high-altitude mountain readiness. *Step 1: Acclimatize for 3 days at 9,000ft *Step 2: Climb 2 mountains over 14,000ft |
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Coach Cheryl's Crazy Climbing Bootcamp Pt.2
*Step 3: Work out how to use and ice axe and crampons *Step 4: Race up and down the mountain before anything bad can happen! Note: Cheryl decided that coordinating from base camp was the best way for her to participate in Step 4! |
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Climbing Cotopaxi
This all seemed a bit hard-core! To avoid a serious avalanche risk as the snow warms in the afternoon, the final ascent from the refuge at 15,800ft starts at midnight. Crampons are used for glacier climbing and climbers are roped in teams to avoid falling down the gaping crevasses. Above 18,000ft it gets REALLY hard: altitude sickness causing a giddy vertigo and total effort needed to keep ice axe and crampons firmly planted in the snow, to avoid toppling off the sheer slope. |
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Mountaineering Magnus
Barely able to lift an ice axe in celebration after summiting, Magnus could only think of how to get his shattered body down in the mountain in one piece! A shatteringly silly achievement. Next stop Peru and the legendary Inca Trail. |
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- See more pictures from this section - Go to next section : Peru - Go to previous section : Colombia |
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