Derby to Dubrovnik*

"I could get used to super expensive holidays" mused Rhys after our first full day aboard our Galapagos cruise. Despite some initial queasiness, and a bumpy first night aside, we were already loving life on board. Each day, we were taken to new exciting locations with our wonderful guide, provided with snorkelling equipment and generally didn't have to worry about any logistics. On return to the boat, we were delicately helped off the dinghy by the attentive crew, greeted with refreshments, and we found that in  our room, our fresh towels had been folded into the shape of animals we had seen that day.  Heading back to our boat at sunset We'd booked our cruise pretty last minute, and thought we'd got an okay deal on it. T he boat capacity was for 16 people, but we were amazed to be told at the airport there were just five of us on board. Whilst this had the potential to be a little intense, the ratio of crew to passengers (9:5) was pretty wonde...

Backpacks on, and not a pannier in sight - time for part two of our career break  We were both excited and somewhat nervous for our trip to Ecuador, our first time to South America; particularly as it felt so different to the cycle tour we'd just been on. Even the beginnings of the trips were so different! One involved setting off whenever we were ready, and cycling to my aunt and uncle's in Leicester - a very gentle and manageable journey! The other involved three flights to the other side of the world, landing at nearly 3,000m altitude, and a few concerns about the safety of our destination. Cycle touring was great as it was just a gradual transition to more adventurous places! Why Ecuador, you may ask. It's a pretty simple answer - it has mountains, the Galapagos islands and the Amazonian rainforest. However, that's only part of it; we'd be lying if we said our choice wasn't partly driven by this 90s banger:  https://youtu.be/9cQlVww0zKo After a r...