Author: Libbytes
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3 Weeks in the Philippines
In April 2023 I decided to visit what was essentially “the last frontier” for me in South East Asia; The Philippines. I’ve been to almost every other country in region previously, from Myanmar to Malaysian Borneo and onward to Indonesia. But I had never made it to the Philippines before. So I was very excited…
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A Long Weekend in Kefalonia
Working full time, I am always trying to maximise my holidays, and bank holidays in the UK are always a great time to take a long weekend and get 4-5 days off for just 1-2 days vacation leave. However, if you’re going away for such a short amount of time, it’s hard to justify taking…
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In search of Hammerheads on San Cristobal (Galapagos)
With my time on the Galapagos almost at the end, and indeed my whole Ecuador trip nearly ended, I had one destination left, the inhabited island of San Cristobal. I took a short 8-seater flight from Isabela island to San Cristobal, which was insanely cool, mostly just for the views. The Galapagos is famous for…
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Island Life on Isabela (Galapagos)
I left Santa Cruz early in the morning to get the public ferry over to Isabela island. The journey was amazing, and I saw SOOO MANY Giant Mantas from the boat, especially since I was sat on the top deck with the driver and just 3 other tourists. Arriving in Isabela, I instantly felt the…
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Cycling Around Santa Cruz (Galapagos)
The next day in Pueto Ayora, I wanted to visit Tortuga bay and do a little self-tour of the island, so I started by hiring a bike from across the road from my accommodation. I nipped into town to Acai bar, which serves vegan coffees (oat latte) and vegan acai bowls, it was delicious, then…
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Day Trip to Bartolome Island (Galapagos)
One of the most iconic images of the Galapagos islands are the double bay beaches of Bartolome island, and overlooking Santiago island. In order to get to visit these uninhabited islands you need to get a day ferry from Santa Cruz island which takes about 3 hours each way. I booked my trip from home…
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DIY Galapagos Backpacking
Visiting the Galpagos has always been a dream of mine, as a biologist, everyone is aware of the impact these tiny islands has on Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Plus, after binge-watching nature documentaries my whole life, the Galapagos seems like a relatively untouched nature-paradise, where animals and humans live in harmony, with as little…
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Beautiful Baños
After an amazing few days in the Amazon, I still had a couple of days before my flights to the Galapagos Islands. For a long time before my trip, I wasn’t sure where to spend these… Either in a different cloud forest area, perhaps Mindo or around the Sumaco region, perhaps the Quilotoa loop, or…
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Experiencing the Amazon – Cuyabeno River Cruising
I was so sad to be leaving Mashpi, and honestly, it already felt like I’d been on holiday for 2 weeks, but actually, I’d only been in Ecuador for 5 nights so far! The next adventure was going to be just as good though… after being dropped back in Quito, I checked into a cheap…
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Magical Mashpi – The Cloud Forests of Ecuador
The first time I booked my trip to Ecuador was back in 2020 before the covid pandemic. At that time, I hadn’t even heard of Mashpi. I actually found out about the reserve and hotel when I was searching through BBC iplayer looking for videos on Ecuador. I had just finished watching the David Attenborough…
Travel Alchemist 