I’ve never been a great ‘spotter’. From failing to read the blackboard at school to desperately trying to see a leopard, which had taken a deer up into the trees to eat, on safari in Sri Lanka; I’ve just not had much luck. Everyone else in the jeep was squealing as the leopard devoured its poor prey in the trees while I scanned leaf after leaf with the binoculars trying to find the camouflaged beast.

And so it was with some trepidation I embarked on a whale-spotting tour off the coast of Puerto Lopez in Ecuador. Despite having been told by fellow travellers that the whales were everywhere I couldn’t help but think I would be the one crying ‘whale’ at a big wave or speeding boat. It’s just how my eyes seem to work.

We piled onto a small boat and whizzed across the sea towards Isla de la Plata, where the whales are said to gather, and spent the whole time squinting over the waves, trying to see something black and moving. I might have shouted ‘whale’ at a passing bird at one point but then suddenly something huge, black and shiny appeared right by our side. Even I couldn’t get it wrong – a mother and her baby were swimming right beside our boat.

Together the humpbacks glided through the water, their huge but surprisingly graceful moves completely synchronised, as they disappeared underwater before resurfacing a few moments later. It was completely mesmerising. We followed them for a while before spotting others in the distance.

The captain allowed us to climb onto the top of the boat as we made our way to the other whales, giving us the perfect 360 degrees view. As we approached the new whales we could see they were playing and slapping their giant fins against the water. Then they gave us the show we hadn’t dared hope for as they breached out of the water – their entire bodies coming out of the sea before falling back in just seconds later.

While I was too busy clapping my hands and squealing in excitement – and generally having a ‘whaley’ good time (groan), Matty was doing a rather wonderful job at taking some photos. Enjoy x

I love green. I decided green was my favourite colour a few years ago and am now the proud owner of a number of green t-shirts, dresses and jumpers. I don’t have any green trousers yet, that’s on my ‘to do’ list.

I love the dark green glass of wine bottles, I adore the sight of olives – whether eating them or painting my walls in their very same shade, and I cherish the bright little slices of lime and cucumber that decorate my gin on sunny afternoons.

Green is an amazing colour and I love almost every shade it comes in. So imagine my delight when arriving to a huge area of rice paddies in China to discover lush greenness as far as the eye could see.

China is surprisingly rainy at the moment. I say surprising because I never checked what the weather was supposed to be like in September but naively expected sun, which has been the staple of our trip so far. Instead, China’s been the victim of huge downpours and floods that have left many homeless and others worse still.

But for the rice paddies of northern Guangxi, near Guilin in South China, the results of the rain are remarkable.

Rising up over 1,000 metres, the terraces of rice paddies are broken only by small villages of wooden buildings that blend beautifully with their surroundings. The tribal women that live in the villages have shiny long black hair that has never been cut and is piled up on their head like a glistening black hat. It is a sight to behold.

There is only one thing to do here: slowly meander up the terraces, observe the local village life and take in the astonishing panoramic sights around you that seem to get better with every step. The misty fog that engulfed us during our stay only served to make it all a little more magical and the greenery prettier still.

Here’s a few of our favourite pictures:

Travel Tips
We stayed in the village of Darzhai during our stay at the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces. It is easy to catch a bus from Guilin (outside the train station) and it takes about three hours. When you are dropped off, it is a 45 minute climb through the terraces up to the village – a beautiful walk in itself.

We stayed at the Dragon’s Den Hostel, which had a fabulous communal space downstairs although as it is completely made from wood there is nothing in the way of sound proofing! Their website is www.dragonsdenhostel.com.