A Galapagos Greeting

Galapagos sea lions chilling out in the shade

As far as greetings go, this one was pretty unique. Three sea lions laid sprawled on a jetty - two hogging the wooden benches, the other snoring loudly on the ground. It sounds ridiculous, but they were actually pretty inconspicuous. Most people piled out of the bus straight into boats without seeing them.

An hour of snorkeling this afternoon off Baltra island was just as rewarding. Pink and turquoise parrot fish, manta rays, and plenty of Galapagos crabs. Just behind us a flock of frigate birds were attacking a nest of baby tortoises. Apparently, of the 150-odd tortoise babies produced by one of the Galapagos' famous giant tortoises, only two or three survive the 10-metre dash from the nest to the sea. The birds patrol the beach waiting for an opportunity to attack, and today they got it.

A Galapagos crab

Galapagos sharks are circling the boat as we speak, waiting for our chef to throw out his fish bones. A brief Jaws-esque fin moment confirmed their presence. Their shadow is seen just below the surface, an ominous sign of what's still to come over the next eight days.

Unfortunately, a family emergency sent Carl packing to Australia this morning, so it's just Waz and I bunking down in a cupboard disguised as a cabin. It's 2m x 1m wide - cozy to say the least - and right next to the engine, but the noise is strangely soothing. The boat doesn't rock so much as lurch from left to right. I find it all pretty relaxing. Waz is worried the boat is going to capsize if we all move to one side at the same time. That's if the engine fumes don't get us first.

And then there were two!

A family emergency sent Carl packing back to Australia about half an hour ago, which means our trio is down to two for the Galapagos Islands. The dynamics are all different. I'm going to have to take photos and Waz is going to have be my lens-bitch. The results could be disastrous ...

Riding on the roof of Ecuador's death train

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Football, erupting volcanoes and bad weather: Ecuador puts on a show

We're watching football on TV again. This time it's the Copa Libertordad, South America's version of the Champions League - does that count as sightseeing? Carl thinks so, and I'm going along with it as long as there's a glass of red wine in front of me.

It's a big game - the quarter final - and the Ecuadorian team, Liga, is a good chance over Argentina's San Lorenzo. The bar is filling up with the after-work crowd. We've even got a guy with a drum.

Volcan Quilota

We're on a mini tour of central Ecuador. It's been a wet and cloudy affair, to say the least. Rain dogged our hike into Volcan Quilota, one of Ecuador's many active volcanoes. There's a spectacular aquamarine lake bubbling in the crater. We managed to paddle into the middle before the skies opened up again. By the time we hiked out of the crater, an hour later, the volcano was completely hidden in a cover of fog.

A little Ecuadorian girl in a small village on the rim of Volcan Quilota

Torrential rain also plagued our bike ride yesterday from the spa town of Banos to Puno. It cleared long enough for us to ride the scariest cable car in the world. Pedal operated, the cable car is about 100m high and zooms between the road and a waterfall at speeds that would be illegal in most countries.

The mighty Chimbarazo volcano, which can normally be seen for miles, remains hidden in clouds. Cotapaxi has revealed only one of it's perfectly formed sides in two days. Then to add to things, Tunguragua volcano is erupting. The black smoke plumes that hang over the top of the volcano look ominous, but it's no cause for alarm in a country dotted with volcanoes.

Tunguragua erupts

Tomorrow morning we are taking a ride on the death train. Julian promises that no-one has died on his tour, but he happily recalls the Korean who was decapitated and the German who fell off the roof. Mmmm ...

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Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World)

Carl and Waz

Or is it? This is the 'official' equatorial line. The line that's meant to mark 0'0'0 latitude. But there are strong rumours that the French (who made the original calculation) got it wrong. The actual equatorial line is apparently about 300 metres from this point ... but it's all about photo opportunities, right?

Waz and Em

Cochasqui de Pyramids

One of 15 pyramids hidden in Cochasqui just outside of Cayambe

Sometimes we feel like we are the only tourists in South America. Yesterday we were in Otavalo, a tourist mecca where you can't walk down the street without running into tour-bus Americans. Today we're getting weird looks all over the place. It could perhaps have something to do with the random places we visit.

Certainly there are no other gringos in Cayambe as far as we can see, and no tourist infrastructure. So why are we here? Simple. It's halfway between Otavalo and Quito and we have a night spare before we're due to meet Warwick. We'd also heard that this place is home to some impressive pre-Inca pyramids. And we couldn't think of a better thing to do today.

Cochasqui de Pyramids is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Ecuador, and according to our guide, Octavio, it doesn't get nearly enough recognition from the rest of the world. There are 15 flat-top pyramids at the site. Most remain covered by dirt and grass, disguised as hills.

Many people believe that the site served an astrological purpose. At the top of one of the pyramids, archaeologists have discovered a calendar of the sun and moon. The site is also positioned in a direct line from Quito and on a clear days has a view of seven volcanoes, including Cotapaxi and Volcan Cayambe (the largest mountain on the equator). Of course, when we were there it poured with rain, and fog and clouds hid the volcanoes, but you get the idea.

The buzz is back

The market in Otavalo is rumoured to be one of the biggest indigenous markets in South America. People come from all over to get their fix - tourists barter alongside Quechua women from nearby mountain villages - and today we were no different. We got our shopping buzz back. For the first time in a long time, we bartered and we bought. And, damn it felt good.

The markets are on every day of the week but on Saturdays it quadruples in size, spilling into all the streets in and around the main plaza. You can buy anything here, including:

• brightly coloured woven blankets used by Quechua women to carry everything from children to rocks on construction sites.
• the hammocks that have rocked us to sleep on the Colombian beaches.
• horse hair bracelets (every girl needs one)
• bull tusks necklaces (every girl does not need one).

The locals come to stock up on cleaning products, traditional clothing, underwear and shoes, and everyone gets in on the copy DVD action. But the absolute highlight of any visit to the markets - for locals and tourists alike - has to be a good old 'chinwag' with the stall holders, whether its a 7-year-old boy looking after a stall for his parents or a whole family sipping tea behind their piles of rugs.

Tulcan to Otavalo

Palm trees have given way to lush green farmland and mud brick houses. The bus is filled with the colours of the indigenous Quechua and Aymara people. It feels like we're back in the real South America again.

Most people on the bus are headed for Otavalo for the largest indigenous market in South America. Everyone iWe've been saving all our souvenir pennies for this moment. Bring it on!

What are the chances?

What are the chances of scoring the same bus driver two days in a row? We continued our mad dash to the Ecuadorian border today with the same mad driver from yesterday afternoon.

He was in an even bigger rush and refused to let traffic, winding potholed roads, speed limits and road rules get in his way. We made it to Pasto, a small town about five hours from Ecuador, and were thinking about suing for chiropractor costs. But we have finally had a fix of good Columbian coffee and we don't want to ruin the buzz.

Good Columbian coffee is harder to find in Columbia than you might think.

Forget about guerillas and drug traffickers

The most dangerous thing about Columbia is road travel. Our driver between Cali and Popayan was one of the most reckless yet: driving 120 in 60 zones, overtaking around blind corners and over double lines, swerving across three lanes of traffic, tailgating, and trying to outrun speeding trucks from a highway on ramp. On the upside though, the minibus was new and in pretty good shape. Our bus this morning, from Armenia to Cali, was a wreck with sloppy brakes, loose steering and a back door that refused to close.

Yesterday, on the way back from the Valle de Cocora, our driver managed to fit 11 people into a five person jeep. A few days before, our bus driver stopped to buy some passengers (and judging by his driving, possibly himself) their third bottle of rum.

All of this madness is topped off by:

• bad roads
• regular police checkpoints and bus searches
• an insatiable appetite for extremely violent movies, particularly those featuring Sylvester Stallone, Van Damme and a chubby Steven Seagal.

Terrifying, but worth it. Popayan is a beautiful colonial city, with whitewashed buildings, blue sky and spectacular countryside. It's also a good place to stop and steady your nerves, before jumping on another crazy Columbian bus tomorrow.

The town of Popayan is a great example of Spanish colonial architecture

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