Inca Madness, LA la land and a very special cruise

The last 3 weeks of my trip were mental.. So much so that I didn't even have time to blog, so there's quite a bit to catch up on... I arrived in Cuzco from the Galápagos to driving rain and about a 15 degree temperature drop and I thought, jeez? What am I doing here!!? I've got to go trekking and camping in this?? But then the sun came out and all was ok again. Fate came and intervened again when it came to my trek. I'd booked on the Lares trek you see and when I went to find out when the orientation meeting was they said I was the only one booked on it. What?? So I'm going on my own?? No way!! As much as I'm sure it would of been great I wanted to go with a group, obviously. So I changed to the jungle adventure trek which, as fate would have it, was sooo much more fun and I had the most amazing group (thanks guys!!). So thank you fate, you are pretty cool. We started off at the top of snow capped mountains about 4000m above sea level....

Then we mountain biked down 42 km to the nearest town. It was totally amazing, taking in the beautiful scenery whilst hanging on for dear life trying not to fall off, it was a total rush. We were meant to go white water rafting that afternoon, but the rivers suddenly became too swollen and dangerous so it got cancelled, we drank beer and played super snap instead!!! The next day we trekked for 8 hours through stunning scenery, up huge hills, over land slides and across treacherously narrow paths... 

Which was worth it when we finally made it to the hot springs which were gorgeous.

The next day we went zip lining, which I loved. Head first in superman position was my favourite, it felt like I was flying. Upside down was cool too although I got covered in mud and caught my foot on the wire on the way down. What an awesome experience. 

A few more hours trekking lead us to Aguascalientes the town just below Macchu Picchu, phew, we were nearly there! The next morning we finally made it up to Macchu Picchu. Which is totally amazing, of course. And there we go, another tick off my dream list. Cool. 

Copped a feel at the top of course!!...

LA was fabulous!! Making the Spin Mop Mike video an absolute highlight!! Many lovely friends and fabulous people made it amazing, it was a brilliant few days, thanks everyone!! 

And the cruise... Well, what can I say!!??? No words can describe it so I'm going to keep that one to myself! Haha!! Thanks to all the very special people who made it so great. 

And so there it all is... 6 week adventure, done. 

Dream list complete (before I make a new one!!!)

Coming back to reality was tough. As you can imagine. But now that I'm over the initial shock I'm full of inspiration to plan the next adventure..... Watch this space...

Xxxx

Volcanos and White Tip Reef Sharks

So.... This week I have.....

1....Climbed a volcano....

Sierra Negra is the largest volcano on Isla Isabela with a crater 10km wide. The hike was 16km long to get up to the main crater and also check out a few smaller craters near by. The volcanic landscape is spectacular and it definitely feels like you are on Mars (not that I've been on Mars but you know what I mean....). It was hot and hard work but worth it for the stunning view over the rest of Isabela and her other smaller volcanos. A nice little warm up for the Inca Trail. 

2......Snorkelled with White Tip Reef Sharks....

Los Tunnelles is a snorkelling spot about 40 mins by boat from the port of Isabela. Volcanic lava has formed a strange landscape of rugged tunnels that juts out into the ocean. It's a really beautiful spot and the reason I went there is that White Tip Reef sharks hang out in caves. Yeah they do. You have to dive down to see them in the dark depths of the caves. Then they swam out right underneath me. Very cool. They are quite small, like 4-5 ft, but really gorgeous. And I actually have photos this time! But they are on my camera so I will upload them soon.

3....Hung out on the beach......

4.....Drank beers at sunset.....

5.....Left Isla Isabela *sob* and got the ferry back to Santa Cruz...

6.....Left Santa Cruz and got a taxi, boat, bus and then flight back to Ecuador...(as I left Santa Cruz I saw a Sting Ray off the boat. Cool little goodbye spot)...

So now I'm in Quito waiting for my flight to Lima. The next stop is Cuzco (in the morning) where I have 2 days to acclimatise and get ready for the Inca Trail! Eek! Wish me luck!!! 

(....PS: Add to dream list ~ 4 White Tip Reef sharks, an eagle ray and a sting ray).

Big love xxxxxx 

HELLO HAMMERHEADS

Jeez, that arrow, its kinda powerful. Just when you think things can't get any better... You have one of the most incredible days of your life.

I'm a great believer in fate. And that everything happens for a reason. I find it helps to make sense of most of the crazy mixed up things that happen in life. So I got to Isabella Island yesterday and met a couple of friends who had been diving the day before. The dive was amazing, they saw giant manta rays and hammerheads! Shit, I thought, I need to get in there!! In the restaurant on a table near us there happened to be their dive master who owns the only certified shop on the island. So I go straight over and say that I need to go diving on Monday or Tues as I'm gagging to see hammerheads. But the dive shop was closed all next week! NO!!!! To cut a long (and quite boring) story short I managed to change my plans and set up a dive for Sunday. So fate was definitely involved there somewhere cos if I hadn't been in that restaurant I would of missed out. 

So we set out this morning on a beautifully calm day. Isabella is awesomely stunning, a sting ray swam by us as we got the boat out to the main dive boat and sea lions hung out on all the water taxis docked in the bay. The dive site is called Isla Tortuga and it is actually a volcanic crater that half collapsed in the sea. We dove into the crater mouth on the second dive which was pretty cool. We went down on the first dive and were waiting to head off when 2 giant manta rays swam over us, they must have had about a 20 ft wing span and are massive! And beautiful! WOW!! Then out of the depths I saw my first hammerhead, amazing! Then another! Then I started to run out of air, so I had to go up. But as I swam to the surface another giant manta swam just below me and I could clearly see the markings in its back. 

On the second dive there were about 4 or 5 hammerheads. They are so cool. And pretty big, about 9 ft long. One swam right in front of us, only a couple of meters away it was awesome. How cool is that!! I am beyond stoked!! The only thing I am slightly gutted about is that I didn't get any photos (sorry Leo) as the dive master was too busy finding sharks and no one else had a camera. But it did happen, honest, it wasn't an actual dream! Oh and we also saw 5 white tip reef sharks too. What an incredible day. I will never forget that. Ever.

The Dream list (is hotting up)....

5 x Giant Manta Rays = TICK

Loads of Mobula Manta Rays = TICK

Lots of Sting Rays = TICK

Eagle Ray = TICK

7 x Hammerhead Sharks = TICK

5 x White Tip Reef Sharks = TICK

Oh yeah!! xxxx 

Naughty Sharks

The sharks are being naughty. Well elusive at least. Very frustrating. I managed two more dives without being sea sick which is bloody great. But no sharks... We spent ages taking it in turns looking at sea horses, which are pretty cool but all I could think about were sharks. Where are all the sharks!? There's me looking out into the murky depths, willing a hammerhead to appear, but no joy. Damn it. Two sea lions came to play when we first went down on the dive. They were super cool and came right up and played next to us. A beautiful eagle ray swam over the reef beside me and I found a couple of sting rays hiding in the sand. Really cool but where are the sharks!??

El Churro tortoise reserve is where some of the giant tortoises hang out. They are massive! Huge. One of them was 165 years old, which is pretty damn good going. They are beautiful creatures. 

Yesterday we visited San Cristobal island on a day tour. The first place we went was a sea lion colony with loads of baby sea lions. Oh. My. Goodness! They are super cute, like ridiculously cute. And so friendly, you can get right up close. But not too close, cos mama or papa gets a bit mad. I went in snorkelling with them and they were playing in the shallows bombing around right past me. I even managed to take some footage of them, which is a bit shaky but not too bad! I also saw a giant sea turtle. He was feeding off the rocks and not even remotely bothered that I was right next to him taking loads of photos. Such a tourist. 

I've now moved on to Isabella island, the largest of the islands. Me and a couple of friends are going to go up to the volcano tomorrow. Then the search for sharks starts again with some more diving and snorkelling trips... I need to find sharks!! 

Wish me luck, laters xxx 

Living the Dream and Puking my Guts up

The wildlife here is incredible, it's like being in an open zoo, it's nuts. We visited El Garrapatero beach on Saturday which is about half an hour from Puerto Ayora where I'm staying. There were about four pelicans hanging out whilst we went swimming. Dive bombing for fish, not remotely bothered by us. Then we realised that there was a flamingo reserve just behind the beach where wild flamingos were hanging out, doing flamingo stuff. On the way back in the taxi we stopped to see my first giant tortoise, she was a small one (still quite big!) and very cute.

Remember the arrow? Well it certainly was true that, despite the set backs, I was about to be propelled into something very spectacular. I went diving with Manta Rays!!! YEP!!! And not just one but loads!!! Oh yeah!!!!

I was pretty nervous before the dive and anxious about remembering everything. I hadn't been for 2 years and that was before my treatment so my body was very different then. But once down there it all fell into place and I remembered how much I loved being down in the under water world. Just like above the water the wildlife is awesome. Hundreds of fish, 2 sea lions whizzed by, 2 huge turtles, oh and a sting ray! Oh yes, a sting ray came and hung out right underneath me for a while! Cool as. 

It was quite early on in the dive when I looked above me and there were 30 or 40 Manta Rays swimming over me. It was awesome. At first I thought I'd imagined it, surely I wasn't going to see that many Mantas on my first dive!!!?? But yep, there they were. Nuts! It's like they knew I was coming!!! Three more swam close by, then later in the dive the huge school swam past us again! Dreams really do come true people!!! (Photos to follow..)

The second dive wasn't quite so successful. In fact it didn't happen at all. It was really rough at the next site and I started to get really sea sick. I got all my equipment on and we were about to go off the boat backwards when I started puking my guts up. Shit bags. I was totally gutted. My group didn't see any sharks luckily, otherwise I would of been beyond sore. Determined not to let this stop me diving I have another dive 2 dives booked in on Thurs. Fingers crossed for no more puking. 

But what an incredible day!!!!! 

Dream list so far....

Manta Rays = TICK

Sting Ray = TICK

Wahooooooo xxx 

57 hours later... Hello paradise

So I was nearly at the end of my journey.. Only one more flight to go. It was about 2am and I was hanging out at Quitio airport in Ecuador which is brand new and very jazzy. I think I was going a bit nuts by this point, after hardly any sleep. I went to check the flight status and it was only showing as  bloody cancelled!! Nearing hysteria I had a laugh to myself and then thought, shit, what do I do now!!?? When the airline counter finally opened the guy didn't seem remotely concerned and just said to check in anyway as there was another flight I can get... Ok so that's a big relief, I don't know how much longer I could hang out in airports before I totally lose the plot...

The journey:

4 hours Braunton to Heathrow

10 hours Heathrow to Miami

4 hours wait in Miami

5 hours Miami to Lima

16 hour wait in Lima (total loon by this point)

2 hours Lima to Quito

7 hour wait in Quito

3 hours Quito to Galápagos 

PHEW!!!! What a mission.

I met a lovely guy at Quito airport who used to be a diving instructor. He had a transfer sorted once we got to the Galápagos from the airport in Isla Baltra over to Santa Cruz so I jumped in and finally made it to paradise!!! 

So here I am. My hotel is lovely and a total bargain, thanks to Marianella, Emily's lovely friend who sorted it out for me. And you can see Sea Lions and Iguanas hanging out on the rocks from the hotel balcony, bonus! 

After some much needed sleep last night I ventured out to find food this morning.. A girl on the next table had a couple of snorkels so who better to ask where to go snorkelling.?? She turned out to be great and invited me on a boat trip to a beach over the other side of the island this afternoon.. So off I go later to see if I can find any rays..

Tomorrow is shark day. My first dive is at a site good for hammerheads. So fingers crossed they show up for me!

Laters xxxxx 

2 planes and 24 hours...

One of the main worries about going travelling on your own is will you meet anyone to talk to? Or will you be talking to yourself the whole time...? I decided to buy myself a glass of champagne at the airport (I'm not posh, they had run out of prosecco...) when I noticed the guy next to me was drinking beer and coffee, a sure fire conversation starter.. It turned out he had just spend New Years in Prague and was trying to stay awake for his flight back to Canada. We nearly missed both our flights, not realising there was a train to the  gate.. Oops! Then I got on the plane and sat next to a lady that had a pink zebra print head cushion.. Hello! That's another sure fire winner in my book. Opening line..'oh, I'm obsessed with zebra print!' She was lovely and like me also had one brother and one nephew and she lived in Miami and gave me some fab advice on where to go and how to get around. So not much talking to myself as yet... I arrived in Lima at 5am this morning and I don't check in for my next flight till 7.30pm so I'm working my way round the restaurants and doing my best hanging out whilst keeping a very close eye on my bags. Had my first embarrassing 'Spanish' conversation. I thought the lady was asking where I was leaving Lima for... But she actually just wanted my table!! Best get the phrase book back out!!! Only 24 hours and 2 more flights to go!! Yes!!