35 tonnes of frisky

..yeh that's an eye.

Cayambe

Ecuador's 3rd highest at 5,790m. The continued high winds prevented summit attempt at midnight but trogged up to 5,300m this morning with Marco. Marco is an ASEGUIM Guide from Andean Face and looked after us for 13 days so as to make efficient use of time in the Northern Andes. I usually prefer DIY with a map and guidebook but logisitcs and language alone make a Guide worthwhile in Ecuador. The glacier routes are dynamic in this age of accelerated glacial regression and the popular Alpine and Nordic routes I have done in Europe would not have prepared us for going it alone here. Even some of the dry peaks had complicated access involving arranging with farmers to graze their fighting bulls elsewhere. Thanks Marco.

Marco takes cheese in his coffee. No, really.

Wife puts the 'honey' in honeymoon

Louis: 'I like it here, 4600 metres up on an active glaciated volcano, the highest point on the equator, freezing our tits off, nobody to annoy us...'

Jenny: 'Except you.'

Cotopaxi 5,897m

Nope - high winds. Left hut at 23:00hrs, got to 5400m (after some impressive towering crevasses).

Guagua Pichincha

'The baby' - bigger but younger, like a 4,784m cuckoo that spits molten rock. Sulphurous gases escaping from fumaroles deterred a cat from further curiosity in the bumhole of the planet. (Other brothers have died in there).

Ooo.. stinky steam..

Rucu Pichincha

The Daddy, towering over Quito (the volcano, not me).

Jenny captures the pre-pose moment (is a good look, yes?).

Taking it easy

Jenny's first day, so bit of sight-seeing around Quito.

Ecuador/Galapagos

Team are good (Grammar School boys who have to get 4 A's to get back in for A levels), Hannah and Tom, School Leaders, supportive and good company.

Ecuador was fun, played football on the equator, trekked over volcanoes including Imbabura 4583m and worked on a community project. Then went to the jungle in the Amazon basin for white water rafting, blowpipe practice, some witch doctor action, drank some (very bitter) 'jungle medicine' and made chocolate

Now we're in Galapagos, like a Disney film, wildlife is not that wild, it just carries on as if you weren't there (apart from seal lions which swim right up to your face), swam with rays, sharks, turtles, fish with yellow lips, iguanas and seen massive birds, Darwin finches, loads of boobies (hurrah) (blue footed). You can't sit on the benches on the sea front because the sea lions are loafing about on them, they are like tramps, except tramps smell nicer.

Went for a walk through lava tunnels today then paddled with sharks, back to Quito tomorrow, wave the team off Monday then Jenny arrives Monday night, woo.