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Day thirty: Sun Gate, Machu Pichu
Our alarm goes off at 4am – our intention is to get up early and hike to the Sun Gate to watch sunrise over Machu Pichu. It’s 4am, it’s dark and it’s absolutely pouring with rain – as it has been all...
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Day twenty nine: Machu Pichu
Today is Machu Pichu day and we are all excited. The anticipation of seeing the iconic city of Machu Pichu is high as it’s expected to be one of the highlights of our South American trip. For one of...
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Day twenty-seven/twenty-eight: Cusco and Sacred Valley
This morning we spot children in the hotel! Actual children. Blonde haired, English speaking children the same age as ours! Hallelujah! I’m sure my reaction was something akin to the child catcher...
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Day twenty-six: Puerto Maldonado to Cusco
It’s our eldest son’s 9th birthday today. What do you get a nine year old in the jungle, with an already full backpack? We chose… a baseball cap, a new crisp clean t-shirt, a packet of haribos and an...
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Day twenty-four: Amazon Jungle, Peru (2)
This morning Checa takes the children on a jungle treasure hunt. They are taken through the jungle’s trail system to accomplish several tasks, earning them each a prize at the end. We watch them as...
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Day twenty-five: Amazon Jungle, Peru (3)
Last night was our first jungle night walk. In the blurb, there are words about – how biological activity differs between night and day, and the mystery of the animal activity that awakens in the...
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Day twenty-three: Amazon jungle, Peru
Our hearts sink. It’s the next morning in Lima and the same ultra efficient tour guide is waiting for us in the lobby to take us back to the airport. It’s only the airport. And it’s only a domestic...
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Day twenty-one/twenty-two: Miraflores, Lima
The day starts in Quito with a painfully early gift of ‘breakfast in a bag’ (no one eats it). The owner of the guest house drives us back to the airport as today we leave Ecuador and head to Peru....
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Day twenty: Guayaquil to Quito
It’s our last morning at the Eco Lodge… just as we’re getting used to the rain on the tin roof. I won’t lie… we are happy to move on and get away from the damp. We have our last breakfast with Mercedes...
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Day nineteen: Puerto López, Ecuador
We decide on a day trip to Puerto López – the main harbour servicing the whale watching trips nearby. We realise we’ve just missed the whale watching season, but given we have the choice of a damp...
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Day eighteen: Montanita, Ecuador
It’s our first morning waking up in the Eco Lodge. Well, I say Eco Lodge, but this morning it feels more like an unfinished (albeit quite stylish) wooden shed. We have all had a terrible night – it...
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Day eighteen: Guayaquil and Montanita
Today is a travelling day. A harder day. A dull day. A meal management day. A home learning day. Everyone’s mood changes for the worse when we’re hungry and generally our patience levels are low. We...
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Day seventeen: Sierra Negra Volcano
There’s a team from REI staying at the hotel – they’re here to make a promotional video. They’ve brought a load of staff with them and are fully kitted up with cameras, GoPros, drones – the lot. We...
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Day fourteen/fifteen: Cycling around Isabela
We’ve extended! We’re going to stay five nights not four. The luxury of time really hits home this week. We see people coming and going all the time, the turnover is fast, people stay for one night,...
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Day twelve/thirteen: Isabela, Galápagos
Arriving by boat to Isabela island is a bit like playing a game of wildlife bingo. After a two hour boat ride with some serious mind-over-matter-horizon-concentration, we arrive in a gorgeous turquoise...
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Day eleven: Daphne and Pinzon, Galápagos
Sickness tablets: check Snorkel gear: check Wet suits: check More wrong guesses on which two of the children are twins: check An early start today – we’re off on a boat trip to the islands of Pinzon...
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Day nine/ten: Darwin, Santa Cruz, Galápagos
We plan in a couple of quiet days on Santa Cruz, allowing for home learning catch up, general downtime and some battery recharging. One day the children work on a project about tortoises and turtles...
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Day eight: Santa Fe, Galápagos
Today was a truly great day. No home-school (it’s the weekend) and we took a boat trip to Santa Fe, another island about an hour away. We were promised swimming with sea lions, sharks, turtles and...
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Day seven: Santa Cruz, Galápagos
A sea-lion and several lazy pelicans entertained us at the fish market last night stealing off-cuts from the fisherwomen. We were also entertained by the local fashions and the various ‘blue footed...
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Day 6: The Galapagos Islands
We had our photo taken on the plane today. All five of us sat in a row and all happened to be using technology. One of us was creating a movie, one editing photos, two were reading books and one was...
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