Ecuador, Guayaquil

Click here to view more Guayaquil photos
I was telling Clare how gutted I was we wouldn't be able to see the new Batman, but thought to myself "forget about films Tom, you're in Ecuador, you geek!". But then Clare had a quick search on the old internet and turns out Guayaquil (Ecuador's largest city) had an English premiere two weeks before the UK release in South America's only imax cinema, with tickets available :) So we stayed for a few days and checked out the city. Our cheap hotel was in one of the grittiest downtown areas I've ever been in (no photos as I didn't want to get my camera out), everything noticeably improved the further we walked away from it, cleanliness, air quality, people. I'd say the the best bit about Guayaquil was Batman. [Tom]

Ecuador, Montanita

Click here to view more Montanita photos
Montanita was once a tiny little fishing village with no tourist industry and even less visitors. It's now a full-on hippy hangout with hostels and fruit bars on every corner after someone figured out it had the best surfing in Ecuador. Except when we were there when water was as flat as a pancake. It's a very chilled place but at the same time a bit contrived, more like how someone imagined Bondi beach to be rather than a traditional slice of latino life. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just different. As we couldn't surf we settled for a run on the beach, a tibetan massage (very authentic...), a few smoothies washed down with local beer and some generous portions of not-so-local fare. [Clare]

Ecuador, Montecristi

Click here to view all Montecristi photos
Where did you get that hat? Not Panama that's for sure, the name's a lie stemming from the days the hats were shipped that way on route to the rest of the world. If you want the creme de la creme of Panama Hats, Montecristi is the place to be. Handmade from the workshop of Jose Chavez Franco to be precise. We know, we did our research. Which may seem a little geeky but we wanted a very special hat for a very special person so only the best would do. Getting to Montecristi was an experience in itself. It's a long way off the beaten track and involved clinging on for dear life as we hung out the door of an overflowing bus that careered round cliff edges at death defying speeds. The hat buying was plainer sailing, though we did get a hell of a lot of looks as the only westerners in town. Jose's workshop was a higgle-de-piggle-de array of all things hat, most of which were plonked on our heads at some point during the visit. We were privileged to see Jose in weaving action even if it was only a demo model, the real hats take about three-months to make and are so finely strummed together they can be rolled up for easy transportation then popped back into shape as if new. Pretty impressive considering they're made from grass. [Clare]

Ecuador, Puerto Lopez

Click here to view all Puerto Lopez photos
We changed our flight and hopped off the plane at Guayaquil instead of Quito, saving us time travelling to Puerto Lopez. It's a busy fishing town, each morning the beach is a hive of activity as fishermen unload their catches and repair their boats, pelicans fight for fish and locals come to socialize. We came here to go whale watching, because every year between July and October humpback whales come up and down the coast to mate and give birth, and this is one of a few places in the world you can see them. Watching 15 ft whales shoot right out of the ocean in such a playful manner is an amazing experience, so much so that we stayed here for a week longer than planned and went out 4 times to spot them. I know I probably use the word amazing a lot in this blog, but this time it's definitely worthy of it. Luckily on one trip we randomly meet the Director of the Ecuador Pacific Whale Foundation who told us loads about the whales and asked if I could email her any tail photos I had taken for research, which was good as the guide was crap. We managed to get some good shots, but it was pretty hard as you couldn't tell when or where they would breach. Although I think we were lucky to see them jump at all after speaking to other travellers who hadn't see any. [Tom]

Ecuador, Galapagos Islands - Diving

Click here to view all Galapagos diving photos
For the past 6 days we travelled by boat to different dive sites in the Galapagos, and every day's been pretty damm good. Highlights include: being circled by Hammerheads, a fly-by from a 6 metre Manta ray, getting really close to around 25 white tip sharks, being engulfed by thousands of fish, spotting a school of 90 Mobula rays, finding sea horses, playing with sealions and watching turtles being cleaned by cleaner fish. We recorded some video on Clare's underwater camera and added some music on top. There's more stuff in the photos. [Tom]