How do you to mark a major milestone in life?  Yes, the old girl was about to hit the onset of her sunset years as she reached the ripe old age of 60.  This would have gained her official OAP status in the good old days, however both Tories and Sir Keir have agreed she needs to grow up a bit more before she gets that honoured status.  But hell, who needs to grow up?  She’s perfectly happy to continue to act her shoe size, and Neil wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mmmmmm, we haven’t been to South America, and I really want to visit Ecuador and Peru.  Cheryl’s bucket list ‘ticks’ number one and two  The Galapagos Islands followed by  Machu Picchu.  Regular readers will know that this year’s theme is ‘Just Do It’ and if you are going to do it, then do it in style and that’s exactly what we planned for this special trip.

Trains, planes & automobiles

The Journey logistics weren’t great as there aren’t any direct flights to Quito. We had to go via Madrid or Schipol but each one required setting off at silly o’clock to get the flight done in one go. As we are lucky to have the time we decided to take it slowly with an overnight stay near Heathrow then fly to Madrid for another overnight before the long haul to Quito.  We were also aware that we may take time to adjust to the high altitude and we allowed a few days to relax and acclimatise before we joined our tour group.

Day one – taxi to Axminster station, train to Feltham, overnight at The Travelodge in Feltham with beers and food in the nearby Spoons.  OK, the start of the trip didn’t qualify as doing it in style, but it did come with the added entertainment of observing the clientele around us.  Day two – Full English Breakfast in the Spoons (surprisingly good) then bus to Heathrow T5 for our cattle class flight to Madrid.  Shuttle bus to a simple hotel near the airport, a brisk walk around the area and a really pleasant night in Lola Gastro Tapas Bar. Day three –  Shuttle back to airport before breakfast in the Iberia business lounge next morning.

We didn’t pay the extra to book seats in advance as it’s usually easy to sit together in business. On boarding we worked our usual charm to snag two seats side by side and were intrigued by strange goings on in the nearby pod.  The staff were clambering all over and under the seat and spent ages fishing underneath to retrieve an object that looked like a tin of Spam which had managed somehow to get wedged in.  The owner of said tin, now known as Mr Spam, looked like the kind of guy you wouldn’t mess with and spent most of the flight sending messages on his phone.  With an overactive mind and knowing that Ecuador has something of a reputation as a moderately lawless drug riddled country, Neil was convinced he was a Mr Big and was ordering a few executions and it was almost definitely something more interesting in that tin than the contents of a tasty fried fritter.   Intrigued, Cheryl couldn’t contain herself and as we were disembarking, plucked up the courage to ask what was in the tin.  Not spam but a tin of very good pate! …..well that’s what we thought he said and Neil wasn’t going to ask twice.

Regular readers know that our usual travel style is to make all our own arrangements and travel independently. However, we’ve been changing the mix and trying a few cruises and this time we also opted for an organised land tour especially as access to Machu Picchu has been limited since Covid times. This would also give us the opportunity to experience staying in some places we wouldn’t normally book, very swanky! We were a little concerned that we may not appreciate the regimentation involved and would we get along with our fellow travellers?

Despite arriving well before the tour started we did get the included transfer from the airport and were met in arrivals by the Celebrity Rep, Carla.  On the journey from the airport to the hotel she gave us a brief modern history of the 1999 financial woes of the country plus the eruption that took place.  Quito is surrounded by over a dozen active volcanoes which, thankfully, chose to behave while we were there.  From the airport to the city centre you climb over 400m via very steep and winding streets.  To avoid the rush hour traffic the small mini bus that we were in was weaving it’s way along narrow streets through hairpin bend after hairpin bend until something went ‘bang’ and we stopped half way round a corner.  Something had broken with a loud thud, possibly the prop shaft, which meant we weren’t going anywhere.  Just then a taxi just happened to pass by.  A local guy directed traffic around us and Carla whisked us into the cab and we left the unfortunate mini-bus driver to get a tow.  Everyone involved was incredibly polite and helpful so it was a great introduction to Ecuador.

We checked into a quirky B&B and it was only after taking our bags up the stairs did we feel the first effects of the altitude.………wow………how difficult was that?  We quickly discovered how thin the air was at 2850m so decided to take our time over things.  After a couple of days resting and exploring the local area we wheeled our bags to The Marriott for the official start of the tour. By the way, we even impressed ourselves by returning to our old travelling packing skills and had around 12kg each in the cases plus about 5KGs in carry on packs.  We got an early check in and had a huge room with a fabulous view of the volcano that erupted in 1999, Guagua Pichincha.

The following day we met our guides and were being divided into small groups and set off for sightseeing beginning with a viewpoint with a statue of The Virgin of Quito followed by a walking tour of the Old Quarter before lunch. 

The afternoon was spent at the Equator park. We couldn’t resist the cheesy photo opportunity to stand with a foot either side of the equator. Our local guide gave us a simple science lesson how the earth’s forces operate at the widest part of the planet.  This included a demonstration on which way the sink drains in each hemisphere, standing an egg on end and lots of other silly stuff.  It was great!

Dinner was at a lovely local restaurant with great food and getting to know our group. 

Galapagos Customs are very strict as the ecology of the Islands is paramount so we had been told to have our cases packed but unlocked and taken to a store room where they would be searched overnight for any organic matter before being loaded for our flight.

Next morning we traveled to the airport for the 2hr flight to The Galapagos Islands.  Excitement doesn’t really describe how we felt as we walked from the plane to the terminal – the wildlife frenzy began with land iguanas everywhere! 

The one hiccup in the logistics was the long wait for the local buses to deliver us to the very small dock where we then boarded the fleet of tenders from the boat which to us to the ship.  Wow, what a ship.  Celebrity Flora was specifically designed to be a luxury expedition vessel and she did not disappoint. 

Our cabin was spacious and had a quirky design they called an infinite verandah.  That meant that instead of a separate balcony, the whole window opened up to make the entire room feel open to the outside.  It’s a small vessel, 100 passengers max and just 92 on our cruise, so doesn’t have the multiple restaurants, nightclubs, pools etc of the mega ships but what it has is top notch and beautifully designed.

The upper deck was like an exclusive beach club with a small restaurant and bar where you could dine under the stars, a huge hot tub and a couple of glamping pods alongside designer loungers and sofas.   

The food was excellent, drinks were all included, the entertainment largely self-made and the bar well stocked.  We had a silent disco, karaoke, yes we did very bad karaoke, and generally made friends with the mostly American passengers.  We soon bonded with Catherine and Amy from Arizona, Monica from California and Dennis and Michael from New Jersey.

In Darwin’s Footsteps

Since studying evolution at school Cheryl has wanted to visit The Galapagos to see the wildlife and the islands did not disappoint.  The ship had it’s own team of naturalists who were incredibly knowledgeable and professional and really added to our understanding and enjoyment of the excursions. The wildlife was incredible.

Land and sea iguanas everywhere. More sea lions than you could possibly count.

Flamingos were enjoying the brackish lagoons just behind the beaches. There were birds everywhere including the very dramatic frigate birds. Penguins stood and stared from rocks. They were only there because they were brought by the Humboldt Current and evolved to become one of the smallest penguin species.

The geology was equally amazing with the islands all very different.  The beaches were different colours, red, black and white, and we walked across a black lava flow.

We climbed dormant volcanoes, and we snorkeled with beautiful fish, sharks and at one point a sea lion glided underneath Cheryl as she gained her confidence in the shallows.  We planted native trees and waited patiently for giant tortoises to cross roads. We had 7 days of stunning sightseeing, informative well qualified guides, never a dull moment, in fact, full on fun.

Stop it

Right, there is something we need to get off our chests and out of our systems.  Boobies! Yes BOOBIES lots and lots of Boobies tee hee hee.  Stop sniggering and get serious – these are not just any boobies, these are your Blue Footed Boobies and their feet are an incredible shade of blue.  Of course there are a whole load of boobie spin offs, more on those later – because, well, you would wouldn’t you?  There are also red footed Boobies but we didn’t get to see any of those.

Each day on the boat was full on as they wanted us to get as much out of the visit as possible so most days involved excursions morning and afternoon plus options for experienced snorkelers and kayakers with all equipment provided.  On our first day we had wetsuits fitted, given snorkel equipment, fins and storage bags and a special place to put these on the loading deck.  We had to use the ships tenders to access the islands and this meant a combination of wet landings onto beaches and dry landings onto rocks/steps and small dock areas.  It was an incredible mix of walks, hikes, climbs, wades, swims and snorkeling from both beaches and the tenders.

Now that’s an unexpected sight

Between the trips we loved just gazing at the glorious views which were of endless ocean or remote islands in the distance.  It was so calm and peaceful with not a soul in sight.  One morning we had just returned from a wet landing excursion which included beach snorkeling.  We completed the strict return to ship routine.  Wash off beach shoes in a tub, hiking shoes soles scrubbed, wetsuit off and rinsed in another tub, quick shower down, hang up wetsuits, hang up snorkel bag,  wash hands, check in and back to the cabin for a hot shower, wash out swim wear and dry off beach/scuba shoes.  It was a hot sunny day so we set to stacking our damp gear in front of the huge sun drenched window with the endless view of the empty ocean.

Suddenly there was a huge roar coming from below and we saw one of the ships tenders loaded with around a dozen snorkelers returning to the ship passing right below our window.  Ooops – Cheryl was in her undies but Neil wasn’t – so what would you do in this situation?  No prizes for guessing the correct answer – Cheryl fled and Neil posed in the window for them.  How embarrassing, Cheryl asked Neil if he recognised anyone in the tender and he seemed to think we were OK and that they couldn’t possibly have seen that much detail from that distance. ‘It’ll be fine’ he said confidently.

That evening, as usual we headed to the bar before dinner for cocktail of the day and the briefing on the next day’s excursions.  We were beckoned over by our usual group of friends.  Michael was excited and couldn’t contain himself as he was bursting to give us his news, ‘You two just won’t believe what happened to us as we came back from snorkeling, It was hilarious, there were these naked people on the top deck of the cabins standing right next to the window!  We could see straight in! Our guide was very quick to reassure us that it wasn’t that type of cruise ha ha ha …………….’  Oh no, thought Cheryl, he must have seen us and is just teasing now, so might as well admit it. ‘Ummmmmm, that was us’ we said solemnly looking very sheepish. 

That’s when he had an even bigger laugh as it turned out he had absolutely no idea it was us and couldn’t believe we had just given the game away.  He nearly exploded when Neil adopted the same pose, this time thankfully fully clothed, as total proof.  Both he and husband Dennis dined out on that story for the rest of the week, and he’s probably telling it now.  We did get kudos for admitting it was us and we learned the valuable lesson that the huge picture windows are not coated in privacy glass and just because it’s normally miles and miles of ocean out there don’t assume a boat load of people won’t come flying past at any moment!

I’m sixty and I know it

Whilst on board we celebrated Cheryl’s big birthday with a table full of friends with the staff singing Happy Birthday, and playing the guitar, followed by Cielito Lindo a Mexican folk song, with the catchy chorus of Ay Ay Ay Ay whilst everyone joined in and  waved their napkins around their heads.  What a way to celebrate being 60, sailing around The Galapagos eating delicious food and drinking fine wines!  Inevitably, there were a lot of birthdays on board so this became a nightly ritual, sometime multiple time a night but it was still great fun.

Friends in high places

Turned out our new best mates Michael & Dennis were in the Penthouse Suite and they invited us along to a pre-dinner cocktail party towards the end of the cruise.  It was beautiful and Cheryl was very tempted to pretend these photos were our cabin!  They were such fun to be with and included us when they had an invitation to visit the Bridge for a tour.  Cheryl was also gifted a massage in the Spa to celebrate her birthday present which was wonderful and very indulgent.

In Paddington’s footsteps.

We had attached a follow on trip to the end of our cruise which took us to Peru.  Of the 92 passengers on the cruise 20 people continued on the tour to Peru including the lovely Dennis and Michael.  It was sad to say goodbye to our other friends who were returning home.  It was an extremely long day as we had to disembark Flora early, fly back to Quito, transfer to day hotel near airport before a long wait at Quito airport before the international flight to Lima in Peru. 

On route to the airport one of the guides told us to empty the refillable water bottles we had been given as you couldn’t take water on an international flight.  ‘Empty your bottle’s he said several times.  The trouble was he had a heavy accent which made it sound like ‘empty your bowels’ and everyone just burst out laughing.

The tour was for 7 nights staying in some very, very expensive hotels whilst taking in guided tours of Lima, Machu Pichu, Cusco and lots of other Inca sightseeing. Arriving very late in Lima meant we missed the worst of the crazy traffic. Next day we had a short tour and lunch in a beautiful restaurant. Lima has a very quirky climate, it’s apparently always overcast skies through the whole of winter although it’s not cold. We were transitioning into summer so managed some blue sky in the afternoon.

Sacred Valley

Next morning another early start and we flew into Cuzco which at 3400m is even higher than Quito, so we were glad to be heading straight to The Sacred Valley, a mere 2800m where we stayed for a two nights at The Tambo del Inka hotel. The hotel had it’s own baby alpacas as well as a Spa with indoor/outdoor pool – and best of all we got some free time to enjoy it!

The Big One

Next day we set off early and took the incredibly scenic vistadome train towards Machu Picchu. Arriving at Aguas Calientes we took a short walk and finally a bus to the historic site entrance. The weather that day was damp but looked as if it was improving and the rain stopped as we finished lunch and headed in. It was truly awesome, and it’s the whole panorama which makes it so special. The clouds swirled round and around the peaks which tower above as Machu Picchu is at 2430m.

Unfortunately we were part way round when the rain bucketed down before we could get the rain jackets on and we were soaked. However without rain you don’t get a rainbow. The return to The Sacred Valley was an absolute treat. We had champagne and canapes in the Sanctuary Hotel at the site then boarded the luxury Hiram Bingham train and had a gourmet dinner on the way back.

The guide we had, Diego, was fantastic, full of useful information without being too intense and he had a great sense of humour.  We thought that The Galapagos was full on, but this was so intense getting on the minibus at 8am, morning tour, big lunches, afternoon tour, drinks and dinner. Talking of dinner, there was so much food on this tour, served up in so many interesting places including on a ranch with an accompanying horse riding display. We tried llama – not great, but didn’t get to try ‘Cuy’ aka Guinea Pig, which is a local delicacy.

The Incas abandoned Machu Picchu in the mid 1500s when the Spanish began to conquer the Inca Empire. The Incas built other settlements in The Sacred Valley and we visited a couple. Ollayantambo – with a perfectly placed temple to view the rising sun in the cleft on one side of a mountain on the Spring equinox and watch the sunset travel across until it hit another cleft on the Winter equinox. It’s the Southern hemisphere and the biggest Inca celebration was held on 24th June, when it was clear to see by the sunset that the days were getting longer and summer was on it’s way.

The building skills of the Incas could clearly be seen at Saqsaywaman. The Incas built stone roads at an 8 degree slope which enabled men to use ropes to drag huge boulders to the site. They then cut and stacked them with extreme precision.

We stayed in some amazing hotels, including a restored monastery in Cuzco.  This place was stunning with cloistered courtyards, and incredible public areas crammed with amazing architectural features and artifacts.  There were old and somewhat creepy religious paintings above the beds in the rooms. Dinner here was extra special in atmospheric cloisters with silver service from white gloved waiters and Opera singers serenading us from the old pulpit whilst we ate. 

On our return to Lima we had another fun trip to finish – a mixology class in a very trendy bar.

The trip was exhausting but absolutely amazing.  We have new friends and we have more stories to tell including about ‘whisky galore’.  On the Iberia flight out Neil couldn’t sleep so he just watched films and decided to have a whisky.  The steward said ‘is blue label Johnny Walker, OK?  ‘Fine’ said Neil having only heard of J W red and black label.  It wasn’t till he looked it up on’t t’internet that he realised it’s £160/bottle from Amazon.  Needless to say, we filled our boots on the flight home!

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our readers

Back home and just enough time to put up the tree before a visit from Alex, Freddy and Luke and we all took a ride on The Polar Express. They also visited the new Jurassic Discovery Centre where the dinosaurs were also in festive mood.

Just before Christmas we drove to Bristol for some time with the family there.  Another great pre Christmas get together for Marlpit Lane Social Club, this year hosted by Maureen & Paul, and our silly secret Santa was a lot of fun. After such a full-on trip to South America, Cheryl having quite a bit of dental work and lots of other lunches and dinners we decided to have a nice quiet Christmas Day ‘home alone’ with a walk along the beach.

This post has been brought to you by the following sponsors and BTW, they are all cheapskates as we received nothing for all this valuable publicity!