Ecuador is slightly bigger than the UK In landmass but has a population of less than 17 million people. Like many of the South American countries, Ecuador has three different regions. It’s tropical costal Región, it’s cooler and higher Andes region and finally it’s warm but wet Amazonian Región. The famed Galápagos Islands sit over six hundred miles off its coast.

Ecuador also has around 47 volcanoes, a number of which are active. Chimborazo is the highest Volcano in Ecuador (6,263m/20,548ft) and its summit is also the farthest point on the Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center given that it is located along the planet’s equatorial bulge.

We travelled from Pasto in Columbia into Ecuador via the land border, which was a long journey, taking around 9 hours via taxis and coaches until we arrived in Quito, the country’s capital, sitting in the Andes at an altitude of 2,850m.

From Quito we joined a GAdventures tour of the Galapagos Islands, spending a fantastic week visiting 3 of the islands there. We were not quite sure what to expect but hoped for something special and we were blown away by the experience.

From Quito we flew to Cuenca, another city in the Andes, for Christmas and to see the Pasa Del Nino parade.

From Cuenca we took an overnight coach, leaving Ecuador for the northern costalal area of Mancora in Peru…