I don’t know what I expected from Miami. I wasn’t even sure I’d like it, but it was a convenient stop over for our itinerary so we planned two nights there. Miami Beach I thought it would be tacky, like a Gold Coast on steroids, and there was certainly some of that around, but also it was kinda nice. Miami Beach was clean, although it has nothing on a good Australian beach. »

The trouble with having high expectations is that an impressive experience must necessarily follow lest disillusionment takes hold. I am not sure I had specific expectations about our trip to the Galápagos, but I had an overall expectation that it would be an amazing experience, mostly because everyone says it is. Even now, after having returned, I don’t think I can pinpoint exactly what made the experience so good. Usually it’s the food and people that make a place stand out for me, but neither are particularly noteworthy there. »

Only 3.4% of the Galápagos archipelago is inhabited, only four of the 19 islands have permanent residents and only three have accommodation for visitors. Many islands, and parts of islands, are not accessible at all to tourists and are only visited by research scientists. Two Nazca boobys on a part of Española island where tourists are permitted to visit I was surprised and relieved to see how well tourism seems to be managed and restrained in this fragile place. »

We flew into Quito, another South American city sprawled along the floor of a high Andean valley, its city extending up the incline in all directions. It is the capital of Ecuador and sits at 2,850m in elevation. Within 24 hours of arriving, our first impression of Quito was that it was a place of such friendly people. From the customs officer who stamped us in with a warm welcome, to the friendly Uber driver, the helpful people at the supermarket and at the pharmacy, and the kind lady who stopped us in the street because we looked lost. »

We stayed for the week in San José, the capital of Costa Rica, situated in the centre of the country. It is not a particularly nice city. The reasons for visiting Costa Rica lie outside of the city: the mountains, tropical rainforests, volcanoes and the beaches of the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. And the wildlife too, particaulrly the birds and the sloths. We went there to meet up with some of Dylan’s colleagues. »