Since escaping the desperately mundane tones of Lima, traversing the magnificent landscapes of the Andes and Peru’s Northern Coast has been a wonderful contrast. We have travelled slowly, making the most of the little corners of paradise we’ve stumbled upon along the way. Multiday trekking, azure Pacific waters, a few great dining experiences and the exhilaration of surfing have all been factors contributing to what has been one of our most relaxing and enjoyable months on the road so far.

Continuing with the theme of mind-blowing places, I just happen to be writing today’s blog from a hammock in the Galapagos Islands. We both decided that we couldn’t miss such an incredible place on our travels. Family, friends and even random strangers warned us how expensive the islands were; so we arrived with bags of groceries from the mainland, ready to camp on some deserted stretch of beach to make ends meet. But we seem to have been in the right place at the right time – we’re staying in a beautiful, two storey private home, just out of town in amongst lush forest, with views out to the sea in the distance. We’ve got the entire place to ourselves at a price that won’t break the bank. Amazing! I could go into details of the crazy wildlife we’ve already spotted, or on the two giant tortoises we busted having sex yesterday, or Joel’s ‘run-in’ with a Guiness World Record holding tree, but I’ll save that for the next update.

Before catching our flight to the Galapagos, we spent a few nights in Guayaquil, one of the largest cities in Ecuador. It was very clear we had left Peru. Although Peruvians were somewhat more friendly than other South American countries we have visited so far, the Ecuadorians are far nicer on the whole. We strolled through a park surrounded by tall buildings, restaurants and cafes – and inhabited by approximately 50 giant iguanas. These fascinating critters were in the trees overhead, meandering around on the paths and basking in the sunshine. They weren’t shy either – they didn’t mind being patted on their heads, and they would follow you when you walked away.

I couldn’t believe that such strange animals lived freely in the middle of a city park. To add to the curiosity, the park’s ponds were full of turtles with giant heads – these snapping turtles, Joel told me, could muster a fairly decent bite if you got your hands too close. We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

Lately, I can feel Joel and I relaxing more and more into our nomadic lifestyle. We don’t sweat the small stuff anymore; we find happiness in the little things and we both feel pretty grateful to be able to live a life so colourful.

Cities/Countries Visited: Lima, Huaraz, Trujillo, Mancora (all Peru) and Guayaquil (Ecuador).

Best place: The mountains we hiked through just out of Huaraz (for both of us), and Joel particularly loved his day surfing at Lobitos near Mancora.

Favourite memories: In this last month there are so many! Hiking & camping independently in the Andes, standing up on a surfboard for the first time in Mancora, swimming with turtles, the incredible cheeses we found at Deli France in Barranco (Alli). The first time I found my feet on the surfboard in Lobitos, the pastel-blue alpine lagoon we found in the mountains (Joel).

Favourite people: This is a hard one – we found the locals in Mancora and Huaraz to be pretty unfriendly and frankly a little nasty and dishonest! But meeting our American friends Joe & Kristen was pretty fun, and staying in Lima with Tess & Antonio and friends, through Air BnB, was a good insight into the local lifestyle (which we found to be not overly enviable!)

Favourite meal: Fresh bread, superb cheese and ham at Deli France in Barranco, Lima. An amazing sesame chicken salad in Cafe Andino, Huaraz.

Worst place: Probably Lima – we didn’t see the sun for a whole week straight! The depressing grey skies and monotony of concrete here got us down after a while. A close second goes to Estrella Fugaz in Mancora, due to a shocking bed bug infestation. In fact, Mancora in general was severely diminished as a holiday destination by the nasty, over-charging locals. Of course, there were some very pleasant exceptions.

Worst memory: The bed bugs & the ensuing night from hell.

Worst meal: A horrible sandwich at a cafe called Green Eggs and Ham – the ‘buffalo sauce’ they put on it was inedible!

We’re off for an afternoon snorkelling tour of some nearby islands now. Our next blog post promises to be chocka-block full of amazing Galapagos wildlife photos and stories!