Monteverde - Costa Rica

Exciting, green and facing fears.

We arrived to Monteverde after a slightly bumpy journey at about 12. We decided to book a night walk for that evening as it was recommended as the best way to observe the wildlife in the area, and so we had done something with the day. Before this we just wandered around the very small town of Santa Elena where we were staying which consisted of three roads in a triangle. At 5:30 we were picked up and taken to the forest. Within minutes our guide had pointed out a female tarantula ina little cove to the side of the walkway. Although not poisonous or deadly, if bitten the area bitten would become infected and may have to be amputated, we kept a safe distance away. Next we saw a little, but very deadly scorpion which actually glowed under a blue light, it uses this function to search for food. We saw a male version of the initial tarantula, tree frogs, rainforest frogs, a green viper snake, crickets and many other tiny spiders. Unfortunately no sloths or monkey decided to join us, but it isn’t just luck of what’s around when you’re on the tour. 

On the second day we had decided to visit the Santa Elena cloud forest reserve. Although the Monteverde cloud forest is the more famous one it attracts a lot more people and was more expensive. We were also able to use student discount and get Santa Elena for half price. There are 5 trails you can walk in the reserve, we got there around 11:30 and had until 4:00 when the reserve closed. We decided to take the longest trail first. Very quickly it became very apparent we had made a huge mistake in wearing trainers, it was extremely muddy and wet. The walk was very peaceful and very green, but the extent to the wildlife we saw was some sort of centipede animal. After this trail, we took another which Rachel thought had a few viewpoints. There was actually only one viewpoint and it was a pretty cloudy day so not a lot could be seen. We didn’t want to risk missing the bus back into town so we then went and waited in reception. 

We had a very lazy day next, we were both feeling a bit exhausted and it was nice to slow down for a bit, especially since we had the extreme ziplining tour the next day, which one of us may not have been looking forward to so much.

Annoyingly we had the wrong pickup time so we were not ready and just playing cards when our transport for the ziplining came, meaning we were very rushed. Although we had the GoPro we realised with the set up it wasn’t safer just to leave it at reception. In hindsight we should have kept hold of it because the views he had were so incredible. Ther were 16 zip lines in total, including two superman style ones - one of which was 1km long (Rachel was the first in the group to do this), a 30m rappel and a Tarzan swing. There was a video taken of Rachel doing the Tarzan swing but we had no money on us to buy it at the end having being rushed to get there. Rachel loved every part of it, Josh could’ve had a better time.

We left in the morning for Tamarindo.

La Fortuna - Costa Rica

Green and humid. 

After the 3 flights to get to Costa Rica, we spent just 1 night in San Jose before getting a public bus to La Fortuna at 8:40am. The bus was a little late arriving, but we expect that as from research and people telling us we knew trasport isn’t so great here. The journey was very hot and took about 4 how. We arrived at the bus stop in the little town around 1. We had the afternoon free, but we were both so tired from all the travelling we’d done I; the past two days we just took it slowly and wandered around the town. We went to book a full day tour with a company we’d seen getting off the bus. We were offered a better tour that was beginning in peak season (December) that they needed to trial and get promo shots of for cheaper so we went with that as it included everything we wanted to do in the area.

We started off with a short walk through some forest alongside La Fortuna river, at one point the path opened out and we spent a bit of time at the river which was refreshing on such a hot day. We then hoped on a tractor that took us up to a viewpoint were we would begin walking down to the waterfall through them  canyon which was created by a volcanic eruption. Halfway down the stairs there was a suspension bridge we had to cross before continuing on. We got a spectacular view of the full 70 meter waterfall in the walking route we had taken, then we got up close and took a swim in the pools surrounding. After this we headed back up the trial and went to a small village of the Maluku (Cost Rican natives) and learnt about their culture. 

After lunch we headed to the park at the foot of Arenal volcano. We took a short trial that brought us out to a view of a green lake, the lake actually hides a village that fell victim to the 1968 eruption. We walked manly up a mass of lava rocks until the highest viewpoint available of the volcano. In every direction there was an incredible view. We could see the Arenal Lake, which produces 30-50% of Costa Rica’s electricity, the volcano itself and lava fields. The trial on the way our was through thick forest. After this it was time for the natural hot springs, which we were very much looking forward to with our aching muscles. We enjoyed a mud face mask and a cocktail whilst soaking in the hot water before having to go back to to the hostel.


We left at 8:20 the next morning for Monteverde.

The Galápagos Islands - Ecuador

No words.

Pictures will be added in a couple of days, for now here’s what we got up to in the Galapagos.

Day 1
No suprise, another early start but neither of us minded as we were both so excited to go to the Galapogas. It takes just under 2 hours to fly from Guayaquil to the Galapogas and this was uneventful as you can imagine. We were met at the airport by someone from the tour company, a bus took us to the dock on San Cristobal island, we got a very short boat across to Santa Cruz then a 40 minute car journey to the other end of the island to the town Puerto Ayora. It was here we met Teo who was in charge of the tour on Santa Cruz. However we didn't meet him for long as we were put on a boat to go to Isabella island. The journey took between 2 to 2.5 hours to get to Isabella island from Santa Cruz but it felt like so much longer. The waves were so choppy and neither of us had any entertainment for the journey and both were struggling with sea sickness. The only good thing about that boat journey is that there was only four of us on it when its usually about 25 people. From the bigger boats you have to get a water taxi into the docks. When we got to Isabella island it's fair to say we weren't in the best of moods but we instantly saw some wildlife as when on the water taxi the driver pointed out a sting ray. We then met Kevin one of the tour guides, he took us to a little lagoon called Flamingo Lagoon. Which considering Flamingo is in the name there really wasn't many flamingos there, only about 4, but we did see some iguanas which was pretty cool. After this he took us to our hotel where we had a couple of hours to chill before dinner which were very much appreciated. We decided to use this time to go explore the beach and the town Puerto Villamil of Isabella. The beach was beautiful with such clear waters, we saw many Darwin's finches as well as pelicans. We went back to the hotel and then got an early night as we were both shattered from all the travelling.

Day 2
Today we started the proper activities. In the morning we were doing the Sierra Negra hike. The volcano has the second largest crater in the world, approximately 6 miles in diameter and 300 feet deep. It was a 16km round trip, it wasn't too difficult as the inclines were very gradual. Starting out from the south the weather wasn't good at all. Light rain and mist so not alot could be seen. As the day went on this started to lift and we got some pretty spectacular views on the crater and the island. The volcano had only recently erupted (28th June) meaning there was old and new lava rock to be seen. What we liked most was that the English translation for the name of the new lava was "ouch ouch lava" because it's so sharp. The rocks were also rich in colour due to the minerals and salts which was cool to see.

We headed back to the hotel for some lunch and a little rest of the legs before our snorkelling trip. This was the first time snorkelling for Rachel so she was very excited. We headed to a place called Concha Perla with the hopes of plenty of marine life and clear waters. Lounging around the dock were sea lion pups enjoying soaking up the sun, and who really weren't bothered by our presence. Getting into the water was a tad shock to the system without wetsuits but we soon warmed up swimming around. We did get to see lots of little colourful fish. And a few too many of these small territorial black fish who bite if you hang around their rocks too long. We saw some chubby orange star fish and a bright blue starfish which was long and thin. We swam through a slightly enclosed area when deep down at the bottom our guide spotted a sting ray. We weren't to go too deep to disturb it (not that either of us wanted to get close) but we had to swam over the top to get into the more open water again. We spent about an hour in the water, when getting out a sea lion pups was blocking the stairs on the side we had gone to. Luckily after not so long he made his way into the water which was cool to watch.

Day 3
This was our last day on Isabella but probably the one we'd most been looking forward to. Our morning consisted of a bike ride to the Humedales Complex. We started of hiking to the end of the trail to the Wall of Tears which had many giant tortoise along the path. We didn't know what to expect from this. But our guide started out telling us about how the US had used the Galapogas Islands during WW2, which neither of us had any idea about. Because of its strategic location, 3 radars were placed on Isabella Island. After the war, Ecuador told the US government they had to remove all their equipment because the islands belonged to them. Most of the equipment was just dumped in the sea and destroyed rather than being taken back. A few pieces still remain, including a large patch of land they had cemented over. So, the Ecuadorian government decided to make use of this land and create a prison. It would be impossible for prisoners to escape because it's an island. Prisoners from the mainland, mainly those who had committed political crimes were sentenced to prison on the galapogas. Tied up in chains, the prisoners had to build the four walls of the prison - which still remain today. However the walls were never completed. The police officers began to abuse their power and began to kill prisoners. This lead the prisoners to believe if they weren't to escape they would have the same fate. One night, a celebration occurred and the prisoners made sure to get the officers very drunk. Once they fell asleep they stole the keys and put their chains on the officers. They then headed to the harbour and stole a boat to get to the mainland. Once they got to the mainland the authorities were waiting for them so they were all arrested again, but they weren't sent back to the Galapagos and that's all these men wanted. The prison was then shut down and left for vegetation to grow over. The walls remain as a reminder "The strongest guys, the weakest eyes". Our guide told us interesting stories about some of the known prisoners and their families that still remain on the island. This was a very eyeopening morning which neither of us had expected.

On a much lighter note we got back on the bikes and made our way back down the trail stopping off at Playa del Amor, Estero de Isabela, Mirador Orchilla which gave panoramic views of the island, a lava tunnel and finally the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center. The largest giant tortoise in Isabela lives at the breeding center, he was pretty easy to spot, but it's also home to hundreds of other tortoises of all ages. From 0-2 years they have to be kept under metal mesh to protect from rats, from 2-25 they are juvinilles, and they can live up to 170 years maybe even more.

After lunch we headed on a kayaking and snorkelling excursion. It was the two of us, then three other adults and two young children who were all together. We both ended up going in individual kayaks for this reason, but neither of us minded much. We set off kayaking along Puerto Villamil bay reaching Tintoreras Bay in about 20 minutes. We then left the kayaks jumping into the water. Straight away some white tip sharks were spotted. Neither of us had ever been so close to sharks, it was a great start to the snorkelling. We then went in the opposite direction up El Faro and there was so much more diverse wildlife than the day before. Huge blue parrot fish, and many other big fish. A large sea lion glid past us, before some eagle rays decided to join us, it was amazing. On the way back to the kayaks Rachel spotted another shark under a rock but with the waves being quite strong was pushed away before she could get Josh attention with the gopro, it was then we learnt we should both take them. Once back on the kayaks we took a slightly different route back, past some lava formation usually home to the Galapagos penguin. You can get too close, but we spotted 2!! They are the second smallest penguin in the world, and they blended into the black rock pretty well but we do have a picture you can make 1 penguin out.

Day 4
Neither of us were particularly looking forward to the boat journey back to Santa Cruz, but we were hoping that this time as it was at 6am it wouldn’t be as bad. We weren’t as lucky with this journey, although a newer boat there was at least 25 people on it. It’s difficult to say which journey was worse, although we felt fine, and the ocean was calmer the boat went faster meaning going over waves meant lots of jolting about which sometimes was painful. We were picked up at the dock in Santa Cruz by Ceaser who was going to be taking us around that day. We went to the hotel and had breakfast before walking down to the Charles Darwin Research Center. This was a bigger version of the breeding center on Isabela. We were shown around and the conservation efforts on each island were explained to us. After lunch we were taken to Cerro Chato Reserve. Our guide told us he had friends at the reserve Ceaser 1 and Ceaser 2 both of which were tortoises, who happily posed for pictures with us. We then got to walk through a lava tunnel. This was way bigger than we expected, apart from one tiny section you have to crawl through, the ceilings were very high and the path fairly wide. Before going back to Puerto Vilamil we stopped at The Twins, two huge craters. Unfortunately it rained pretty much the whole afternoon and was pretty misty so we didn’t hang around in many of the places for long. We then had free time before dinner so we wandered around the village. Although Isabela is a bigger island the village was small in comparison to Santa Cruz, here there were many shops and restaurants along the docks and coastline.

Day 5
This was our first day without he tour so we tried to have a lie in, we didn’t succeed. After checking into our new hotel we got our things ready to head down to Tortuga Beach. It was about a 10 minute walk down to the main area from where we were now staying then a further 40 minutes to the beach. This also happened to be the sunniest day so far making the walk not the most pleasant. Getting to the end of the path it opened up to the finest whitest sand beach with perfect turquoise water, it was beautiful. Tired of walking and carrying our stuff we sat down pretty quickly to enjoy the views. Unfortunately a red flag was up meaning we couldn’t enter the water, and we’d hoped to do some snorkelling. We slowly made our way down the beach before stopping as we thought what we could see wasn’t worth going to. Thankfully Josh got too bored and wandered down further, finding out around the corner there was another beach with much calmer water we could actually go into. Luck wasn’t on our side though as the water wasn’t clear and we couldn’t see much.

Day 6
Our guide Ceaser had recommended the tour of Bahia for when we’d finished the initial tour we were on so we had booked it for Thursday afternoon. We weren’t really entirely sure what we were doing, except that we were guaranteed to swim with sea turtles. We were a bit baffled because none of the others in the group seemed particularly equipped to go swimming when this was the main point for us. We set off in a boat towards Loberia, an area supposedly great for spotting sea lions. We did see a couple but the water was quite rough. We then moved to Canal de Tiburones, in the water lots of sharks swam and in the surrounding lava rocks we got to see blue footed boobies for the first time along with many other birds. We got off the boat to a platform we could see the sharks from above, before heading to Playa de los Perros, another beautiful beach full of marine iguanas. We got back into the boat and got slightly away from the shore before getting into the water formsnorkelling, where we had been promised sea turtles. Within minutes we had spotted several sea turtles, you could eat so close. Annoyingly the new gopro Josh had froze so it was up to Rachel to get good videos. It was such a surreal experience, we were no more than 30cm away from them at some points. W hoped back into the boat a and headed to Las Grietas, a crack in the lava rock which is filled with water. We once again swam through here which was cool
we Day 7

Day 1

This was again another very early start with being picked up between 3 and 3.30, this meant we had to be up at 2.40 to make sure everything was ready. All these early starts are starting to have an affect on our sleeping pattern. Once we got picked up we had a 3 hour journey to where we were having breakfast. We were both hoping to get some more sleep on the bus but this was not meant to be with Peru roads not being the smoothest and the same to be said about the driver. By the time we got to breakfast we were both starving at this point. We have been treated very well when it comes to food on tours so far this trip and that has come to an end. The breakfast was small and simple and to be honest we expected this as the tour was relatively cheap for all it includes. This means for once we might actually eat our snacks on the trip we bought them for.

After breakfast we had a short drive to a view point called Cruz del Condor, where we would hope to see some condors (largest bird in South America). We were not dissappointed, we saw several condors one flying really close to us and made us discover we could not be wildlife photographers, as we got a photo of it coming towards us but when it came close we didn't take any photos as we were just so amazed by it. The general views of the canyon from the view point was also spectacular which got us excited for the days ahead. After taking plenty of photos and standing by the wrong bus with another couple on our trip we got on our bus to go to the point where we would start the trek. We had chosen to do the 3 day and 2 nights tour as it's alot easier and we were recommended to do it instead of the 2 day 1 night trip by another traveller. This meant there's a lot less walking per day, which was good for us as Rachel's legs still ached from Macchu picchu and the scenery was amazing so could help but stop to take more pictures. In the end we hiked about 4 hours till we had lunch at what turned out to be our hotel for the night. This made us very happy as walking in the midday heat was really a challenge and already confirmed to us that we made the right decision doing the 3 day not the 2 day tour. After lunch we had some free time and there was only one thing we wanted to do and that was sleep so we went and took a short nap in our little mud hut. Then we showered and got ready for an informational talk and dinner. We then played some cards before Rachel headed to bed and Josh did some star gazing before also going to bed, because like I said earlier, our sleeping pattern isn't great.

Day 2:

Thankfully on the second day we didn't have such an early start with breakfast being served at 7. We had pancakes for breakfast which was very much a pleasant surprise considering the food from the first day. We then set off for around 8. We were very much looking forward to today as there was only 4 hours of walking and then we were to spend the rest of the day at our hostel in a oasis which had a swimming pool. Straight from the off it was hot with the sun on our backs but thankfully there was a cool breeze which the first day was lacking. There was also plenty of stops to get lots of information about the villages, scenery and the wildlife. The 4 hour walk seemed to go relatively quickly with the stops for information and photos. We got to our hostel by 12.30 where we had an hour to relax before lunch where we both could not to wait to get in the pool as it was starting to get really hot by that time. The pool was so nice and refreshing and was exactly what we both needed to refresh. After lunch we just relaxed with writing the blog, reading and playing some more cards till we had dinner. We went to bed soon after dinner as we needed to be walking by 4am the next day as we were going up the mountain and needed to do it before it got to hot.

Day 3
Under strict instructions we were leaving at 4:20am, we left at 4:50am with another guide and another group because our guide was nowhere to be seen. Slightly annoying, especially since today was a race against the sun, get out the canyon before the sun hits. In the first picture you can see a zig zag line up the side of the canyon - yep that’s the route we were taking. With all the loose stones and fine dust it made it difficult to walk up such step stretches. We were told it would take three hours which we found very unlikely, but we made good progress, and in the end did actually end up doing it under 3 hours. Even without the heat from the sun it was a very difficult and windy trek up to the top. Once we reached the top it was a short walk to the village for a much needed breakfast. We stopped at a couple of view points on the way to the hot springs, which we a definite highlight of the day, and for sure helped out our aching muscles. Then it was back on the bus to another small town for lunch before heading back to Arequipa.

Huacachina - Peru

Tiny, fun and relaxing.

Getting to Huacachina was not so fun. We were picked up at 5:30am and didn’t get to Huacachina until 7:30pm. Obviously we’ve done longer bus journeys but they’ve been overnight so we’ve just slept. Luckily we stopped for lunch in a gorgeous place along the coast with amazing views, we stopped to see the Nazca lines that were very underwhelming and they played 3 films which kept us occupied between naps. We also got to enjoy the most incredible sunset, the best either of us had ever seen. The whole sky was completely red.

On the first day we went to a wine and pisco bodega to learn about how the two drinks are made and to have a tasting. Our guide explained that in Peru, they like everything super sweet and therefore their wines are fermented for a lot less time than European ones for example. We began the tasting with Peruvian rosé. A wine Rachel liked!! It was super sweet and everyone in the group dislike doing how sweet it’s was. It was more like a dessert wine in the UK. Next up was a white wine, ‘this one was more floral and dry, still sweet in terms of ‘normal wine’. Finally for wines a red wine, again sweet but we both really enjoyed this one, their red wine more resembles a ‘normal’ rosé. Time for pisco, at 46% alcohol it isn’t a very strong liquor, Peruvians tend to drink it on its own so we did the same. Neither of us particularly liked the pisco, but then we tried a pisco cream, and that was delicious. Sort of like baileys but more sweet and caramel flavours. We then ended up at the chocolate counter and had a few samples and bought a couple to bring back for later. We headed back to the hostel and wandered around the oasis which took no time at all as it’s tiny, chilled, then headed to the main activity dune buggying and sandboarding, when we got there we were given a number but then it turns out we had to go in a different buggy, this buggy was already full apart from the front seats. Josh definitely didn’t want to sit here but we had no choice. Strapped in we sent off on the sand dunes at some speed. A lot of sand was blown up into our faces, but we were actually happy in the end to be sat there as we think the experience wouldn’t have been the same. When then stopped to do the sandboarding. No one seemed keen to go first, leaving Rachel to be the first. The first hill was kind of steep and she had no idea what to expect. You had to lie on your stomach and then the guide would just push you over the edge. So much fun!! We both absolutely loved it, the second hill was much steeper and longer and then we got to go down a few more before setting off again in the buggy. We stopped to watch sunset, this was amazing over the vast dunes. Then it was time to head back down to the oasis.

Arequipa - Peru

Pretty, old and chocolate.

Machu Picchu - Peru
Breathtaking, unbelievable and hard work.

The dreaded day. We knew it was going to be tough. One girl from the group actually turned around and went home before we set off after finding the first day too difficult. So a group member and a guide down we set off on the toughest day. From the get go it was up hill. It was ok at first, having sort of fresh legs and not being too hot, but knowing we had 11 hours to go was very tough mentally. Lucio our guide made it clear to take our own pace since it was just one path and you couldn’t get lost. Everyone in the group was a pretty similar ability which was nice but we did take many more water and picture breaks so did end up behind a lot, but it wasn’t a bad thing. All we could see was a constantly inclining path. Every corner turn we saw we prayed it was the top but it just never seemed to be the case. We agreed once we reached dead woman’s pass (highest point of the trek) we would reward ourselves with the Oreos we had brought, this definitely provided extra incentive as by this point we were feeling hungry and in need of energy. Reaching the top was incredible, however we were so high and surrounded by clouds we couldn’t see an awful lot. We stayed there for a while for a little rest and luckily the clouds and mist moved a little so we could enjoy the view. From here it was completely downhill to lunch (slightly annoying with how difficult it was to get up). Walking down was bizzare, not being able to see much more than a few feet in front we made our way down many many steps which was tough on our knees since we hadn’t rented hiking poles. Lunch was difficult, being hungry but knowing we had another mountain to climb we didn’t want to

 eat too much to make it difficult to get going again. It rained at lunch but luckily cleared up pretty quickly when we set back off. Despite being less steep and less high we did find the second pass more difficult having tired legs. We knew we had to get to a bridge with a sign for camp and we had 10 minutes left, after the bridge Rachel basically sprinted knowing she could lie down and happy hour would be soon. One person in our group was a physiotherapist so at happy hour we all got tips for helping our aching backs and legs. Another early night with another early start.

Miles: 11.2 

Steps: 24,594

Miles: 9.1 

Steps: 20,504 

Flights climbed: 30 

Miles: 6.8 

Steps: 17,975 

Flights climbed: 59