Swimming with sea lions and huge turtles. Trudging through muddy fields with giant tortoises. Strolling along paradise beaches laden with sprawling iguanas.
The Galapagos is a wildlife wonderland, and the opportunity to get up close and personal with so many amazing creatures has probably won it the 'Highlight of our Trip' crown.
We flew to the islands - a group of 21 volcanic archipelagos 1,000 kilometres off the coast of Ecuador - from Guayaquil (after spending an afternoon lazing with the iguanas in one of the city's parks).
After a slight panic at the airport (turned out we had been mis-sold cheaper flights only for Ecuadorians and had to join a very long queue to pay $300 extra to upgrade, meaning we checked in with five minutes before our flight was due to leave) we touched down on the island of San Cristobal.
The stress soon subsided (we also got our money back from tour operators) as after 30 minutes walking down the pretty waterfront we had seen scores of sea lions playfully weaving in and out of the water, black iguanas, pelicans, and bright red crabs scuttling around.
We were already in love.
We later took a stroll to Punta Carole beach - which had sea lions lounging everywhere. They owned the beach, and aren't afraid to let you know that.
One flopped down about a metre behind us while we were sunbathing and spent the next 30 minutes rolling around in the sand before letting off a few snarls for us to move.
In the afternoon we found our favourite spot of all the islands - Cerro Tijeretas bay.
The little cove with crystal-clear water was THE place to snorkel with sea lions. It was a little scary at first, we soon got used to the beautiful creatures dashing about around us.
While the creatures are protective on land, in water they are curious and inquisitive with snorkelers
We came here again the next day and saw another six sea lions in super playful mood - swimming right up to us, close enough to touch.
We also swam with the first of many sea turtles here, floating next to the gentle giants as they glided along the ocean floor looking for food.
Earlier in the day we walked to La Loberia beach with its big black lava rocks, covered in iguanas.
We were up early the next day for the 360 Tour - a snorkelling trip around the island's wildlife hotspots.
Geared up with wetsuits, flippers, and snorkels, our first stop was a bay where we saw around 10 white-tipped sharks swimming just below us.
After lazing on one of the island's pristine beaches, we ventured to Kicker Rock - a huge rock formation off the coast of San Cristobal.
We nervously jumped into the sea - the current was super strong - and followed our tour guide around the rock.
As well as loads of huge sea turtles, also glimpsed a Galapagos shark, tiger ray and manta ray - with two girls seeing a hammerhead shark!
(The tours are super expensive in Galapogos - infact, most things are - but we paid $125 for the 360. If we did it again, we would probably just go to Kicker Rock, which was definitely the highlight).
Time for the next island - Santa Cruz - after a two-hour boat ride over huge waves that threw us up into the air and crashing down into our seats. We thought it was good fun, but quite a few passengers were in tears!
The Darwin Research Centre was a nice spot to start our exploration on the island, the highlight a tortoise conservation centre. (The island has 90% less tortoises now than before pirates arrived in the 16th Century and started capturing the animals to eat on their trips).
We also checked out the fish stall, with its pet sea lion, before heading to the street of fish restaurants - each with tables outside laden with fresh fish - for dinner.
For $20 we shared a whole lobster, one half barbequed in pesto sauce, the other garlic sauce. Delicious.
Day two on the island we got a taxi to the tortoise ranches in the highlands, after a brief stop to see huge sinkholes formed by volcanic action.
We pulled on wellies to wander through the fields where scores of tortoises roam free. We spotted a particularly massive one just off the path, which wasn't bothered at all by our attention.
The larger tortoises are more than 100-years-old, the oldest recorded was 152! Amazing creatures.
We also got the mandatory pic in tortoise shells - lol.
In the afternoon we snorkelled through Las Grietas, a narrow stretch of ocean between a big crack in two huge rocks, before heading over to Tortuga Bay - a hotspot for iguanas lazing on the black rocks.
There was poor visibility in the sea here, but we could see reef sharks swimming around our ankles next to mangrove trees just a few steps from the shore.
As we had 12 days on the islands altogether, we luckily had enough time to spend a few days on the island of Isabela (many people just do a rushed day trip here instead).
While there isn't much infrastructure here, the wildlife is great, as too are the beaches. We visited another tortoise sanctuary on the first day, after a boardwalk past lagoons with flamingos.
We made sure our trip to the islands coincided with Freya's 30th birthday (what better place to say goodbye to your 20s?) and booked into a tour of Los Tuneles to celebrate.
It was a 45 minute-boat journey to amazing rock formations. On the way we stopped to see the imposing black outlines of giant manta rays, with the tips of their wings popping out of the ocean.
Exploring around the sharp rocks we saw a huge group of blue-footed boobies - the island's most popular bird which has an amazing mating dance involving its feet - aswell as a few Galapagos penguins.
There are only a few thousands of the endangered penguins, one of the smallest in the world and also the most northerly penguins.
When snorkelling we saw loads of sharks resting inside caves, the biggest sea turtle, cool fish like the colorful parrot fish and trumpet fish, and two sea horses (pretty rare, and bigger than we imagined).
To celebrate Freya's birthday in the evening we got dressed up and splashed out on some good food and champagne.
For our last day on Isabela we hiked up the Sierra Negra volcano. After a fog-clouded walk through the rainforest we got to the 45-km wide crater at the top (one of the 20 largest in the world) just in time for the mist to drift away.
(The volcano actually erupted just a week after our visit, with tours stopped and people evacuated!).
We got back to the town just in time to see super Harry Kane's late winner for England in their opening world cup game, before heading back to Santa Cruz, and another dinner at the fresh fish restaurants.
Our last few days were spent on San Cristobal, before we flew back to Guayaquil.
We boarded a nine-hour bus to the adventure town of Banos where we cycled a beautiful 20-km route past lots of waterfalls, ending at the magnificent Pailon Del Diablo waterfall.
In the evening we took as party truck - equipped with lights and loud music - up the mountains to the Swing at the End of the World.
We also did the petrifying El Vuelo Del Condor swing - 50-metres high with a floor that drops under your feet to propel you over the valley.
Scary as hell, but a stunning view while you fly through the sky.
The next day we went canyoning - abseiling down four waterfalls, with the last 50-metres tall.
We had a quick stop off in Latacunga to walk to the incredible Quilatoa volcano, which has a lake in its huge crater, before finishing our time in Ecuador in the capital of Quito.
We met up with Faiza and Nadine, some travelling buddies we keep bumping into along the way, and did the free walking tour.
They also showed us the amazing Don Jimmy's fish restaurant in the central market - a massive piece of boneless fish in KFC-style coating, potatoes, cerviche, and popcorn - all for $6.
We also visited the 'middle of the world' at the equator line just north of Quito.
Freya even managed to balance an egg on a nail at one of the equator museums (I'm sure you can do this anywhere in the world), and we saw the water going opposite ways down the plug (I think another myth, but nonetheless good fun).
A brief stay in Ecuador, with the incredible Galapagos stealing the show. Now onto the penultimate country of our year-long travels (eek!) - Colombia.
