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15th April: The Cota-poxy Volca-nooooo!

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When we first arrive at our hotel, the lobby is like a scene from Cocoon: swarms of septuagenarians in zip-off shorts and hiking boots are gathered for a G-Adventures welcome meeting. The strapline for the company is ‘G Is For Good’, but it would qppear that G is also for Geriatric, as these desiccated guests are practically fossils. This is actually pretty reassuring to us - if these ancient relics are able to negotiate hair-raising adrenaline-fuelled day trips then they should be a piece of piss for us, right?   Right?!  We set the alarm for 6am, although we both know the fact that Ecuador is 6hrs behind the UK means that this entirely unnecessary - jet lag will have our eyes pinging open at 2am anyway. Well, jet lag and the ominous sound of shrieks, screams and sirens from the city streets below which are clear as a bell, even from our room 9 floors up.  Sure enough, I’m jolted from my bed in the early hours. It takes a moment for me to remember where I am, then I sit bolt upright a
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14th April: The Key To Quito

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  There really is no better feeling than activating your Out of Office, locking up your workplace and heading off on an adventure, hey? After bidding Dave and Honey a fond farewell, I jump in Dad’s car and we’re off…until approximately 5 minutes later when I glance at my Trailfinders app to find an update ordering me to bring hat, gloves and a scarf…so a swift handbrake turn and it’s back to the house I go to grab the various warm items - which I’d not so much forgotten as been in denial at actually needing in the first place. I am definitely a bikini and beach kinda gal. I mean, who wants to go on holiday and freeze their knackers off?!   Dad drops De Mama and I at Heathrow at 3am to catch the red-eye to Madrid, and after a nail-biting wait to find out if we’ll be delayed and miss our connecting flight in Spain, we’re relieved to be departing on time, and make our connection without any dramas (well, apart from the heart-stopping moment going through security when we both get swabbed
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Galapageeks: Getting Into The Galapagroove 🤓

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It’s 48hrs to lift-off, and De Mama and I are gearing up for our Galapagos adventure. The suitcases are rammed full with suitably geeky attire: head torches, zip-off pants and anti-sickness wristbands jostle for space amongst the hydration sachets, binoculars and hiking socks. We’ve taken the Scouts motto of BE PREPARED to new heights: this is ninja-level packing we’ve got going on here - right down to the underwear folded so small it’s practically an origami work of art (well, mine is - my pensioner mum’s pants could come in handy as an SOS/peace flag, should we get lost on a mountain). We’ve checked through the itinerary so many times I know the booking references by rote. I’m even on first-name terms with Bruce Poon Tip, the CEO and founder of G Adventures, who slid into my DMs a few weeks ago after I furiously fast-finger tweeted my frustration that his company had downgraded our booking to cheaper accommodation. Needless to say, we’re now back to the 5-star set-up we paid for, and
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