An Englishman Abroad: Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands
My field journal from the trip of a lifetime.
Hoatzins, probably the foulest smelling of all bird species courtesy of their unique ruminant nature.
Back in 2017, I was fortunate enough to go on my university course’s field-trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands. A two-week-long plunge into the wilderness of the Amazon rainforest and the volcanic landscapes of the world’s most famous archipelago.
I kept a note of it all in my field journal, from the wildlife we saw, to the people we met, the food we ate and the escapades we went on. Spanning from leaving Heathrow at an unholy hour all the way through to returning to it after a layover in Atlanta that seemed interminable. I later submitted it as a piece of coursework and felt so proud about it that I proceeded to do nothing about it until I graduated with my undergraduate degree in Zoology a year later and then had the bright idea to try and publish it on Amazon.
Still available online, I’m currently re-editing the project and ironing it out to a smoother more polished product. When will this be finished? Not a clue. A broken MG and an increasingly busy work life dealing with classic cars have soaked up much of my time. The odds of me returning to South America are higher. Perhaps that’ll see me write a second edition?