I have found the above statement to be very true, especially over the past eighteen months, I have been to a number of places, met a vast number of people, all with their own individuallity and quirks - some have made an impact on my life, some haven't - Some mean a lot to me some are a distant memory, but the thing that links them all together is that they have made the journey exciting.

Below is notes and writings from my 18 Days in Peru - some of it is factual, some is opinion and some of it is personal thoughts on the trip, the experience and the people that crossed my path in this time. All of it however, is in someway shaping my future.

L'Chiam

Alan

Day 1 - Friday 6th October [Image Gallery]

Day 1 !! - A day that has been marked on the calendar for the past 18 months, a day that's all the training has been leading up to, a day that starts my journey to South America - A journey of unknowns.

Today stared early as I had a few errands to run before heading off to the airport, was going to be away for over 2 weeks and made sure nothing was going to fester in the flat in my absence.

Made use of British Airways online check in yesterday afternoon so I had already chosen my seat and printed my boarding pass.

By mid-morning I was on my way. Took a bus to the airport and was surprised when I walked through the doors to see my kids there to see me off !!

They came with me whilst I dropped my bag and went to collect travellers cheques that I had ordered - this is where first hiccup occurred - seems I needed my bank card that I had paid for them with in order to collect them, only thing is I got a new one a few days ago and destroyed the old. In end I didn't get them and will need to sort something out overseas.

Had some time to wait for the flight as its departure had been delayed, so went for coffee with my ex-wife, her partner and my kids.

Soon it was time to head off, said my goodbyes and went through to departures. Getting through security at Aberdeen was a slight issue, I had electronics in my hand luggage - Camera, Phone, GPS, Solar Panel and it was picked out of the scanner to be hand searched - they found nothing, not that there was anything to be found!

Flight turned into my worst BA flight ever! This was a lunchtime flight - it had already been delayed by 45 mins and then they only served tea and a muislie bar, that and the fact there was a crying child in the seat in front of me that screamed the whole hour and a half flight.

Landed and got my bags then made my way to the tube station, on the way I picked up my voicemails. There was one from Kwanginum Harper - a respected 4th Degree Instructor in London - I had called earlier to see if I could visit his class that evening as I had the pleasure of assisting with his children's class and training with the French students in his adult class when I was there last September and although my pack space hadn't allowed in the end for me to pack a dobok, I thought that seeing his class and his drills would benefit my instruction back home.

I returned the call and everything was set for me to visit his "half moon" class in a housing estate not far from Kings Cross.

Was glad that I had gotten an oyster card sent up to me for the tube as it made travelling about London a lot easier than getting individual journey tickets.

It took about an hour for me to get across London to the youth hostel that I had booked into near Canada Water / Canary Warf. Once I had checked in and left my bags I headed back out towards Kings Cross and Mr Harpers Classes. With an A-Z and familiar sights from last years visit I got there in time for the 5.30 children's class. For the next three and a half hours I watched the various classes and took notes for my return to classes at the end of October.

I got the tube back to the hostel and had a quiet drink in their bar before heading upstairs at 11pm - Tomorrow was going to be a Long Day.

Day 2 - Saturday 7th October [ Image Gallery ]

An early start - 7am, showered, dressed and down for breakfast . Sat with a guy from my room, he was from France and over in London for the weekend. I didn't have to check out till 10am so after breakfast I went out for a walk round the area.

I got back to the room around 9am and met the other two that I had shared with. One, an Australian apologised for the fact that the shower door was broken - apparently he had been stuck in there for over an hour the day before and in the end had to break down the door to get out. The other guy, Paul, was from Vancouver and was in the UK for four weeks.

I went down to the café area to write up some notes and recognised a distinctive Scottish word coming from a group of around 30 teenagers also staying at the hostel, turns out they were down from the borders area.

Checked out at 10am and walked towards the tube station, four changes later I arrive at Heathrow Terminal 4 and its only 11am!

We were not meeting to check in as a group until just after 3pm so I started what was to become a regular ritual over the next two weeks - waiting.

A couple of hours had passed and I got a text message from fellow trek participant Tom to say he was almost there - replied back where I was waiting.

I had not met Tom before as he was unable to attend the orientation day held in London in August, My is he tall!! 6`7" I think he said - towered above me. Once he arrived I sent texts to the others that I had numbers for to say where we where in the terminal. Slowly we were soon joined by the others, Steve, Lee, Jamie then Marianne the ANT Rep joined us and said that others where downstairs in the check in area and so we all made our way down.

This is where we first met our Discover Adventure Team, Caroline our Leader and Michelle our Doctor - It was also time now for us to each receive our envelopes containing some welcome information and our e-tickets for all the flights - outbound and inbound (better not loose it then)

We were given a quick briefing on what to expect between now and our arrival in Cuzco and how to get ourselves checked in now for all three flights there.

Armed with this information and our e-ticket, it was now in our hands. Time to queue and get our boarding passes. I had the pleasure of being checked in by Susan at the British Airways Desk and managed to get a window seat at the emergency exit with lots of legroom for the flight to JFK in New York, it didn't take long for my bag to be taken and all the boarding passes to be issued. Now all we had to do was get through security and into the duty free area and wait for our departure time.

Eventually we all met up at various points, had something to eat in the weatherspoons and at our departure time we all gathered around the gate our plane was leaving from

The flight to JFK - New York was to be a little under 8 hours, the time past quite quickly as we watched films and chatted amongst our group. Once we landed we had the pleasure of going through Immigration and Border control - had to get both index fingerprints taken and a retina scan / photo taken along with filing the relevant paperwork even though we were not leaving the airport we were only in transit to Peru.

Once we had done this, collected our baggage and gotten through customs we had to take the sky train to Terminal 4 - this was late evening local time but was close on to 3am for our body clocks.

Got checked in at JFK for our next flight to Lima and had around 40 minutes before we needed to be at our gate, took a walk round the shopping area and bought some juice (which needed to be consumed before passing through security)

The procedures for getting through security was getting easier and I had learned now to remove my belt to prevent and bleeps through the scanner, even getting used to the removing of my shoes for this - couldn't help but notice that one of the American security personnel was a bit of a "jobs worth" and there were some raised voices between him and another employee over the screening of an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair - some people eh?

Once in departures it was just a case of waiting to be called to our plane so we took this opportunity to regroup and chat amongst ourselves, we were going to be in quite close contact to each other for the next week - was good that we were brought together as group a few months in advance of travel to break down any barriers that can suddenly appear being put into a group of strangers.

The flight from JFK to Lima, Peru was the same duration as the flight from Heathrow to JFK. That along with the fact that it was GMT 4am, I went to sleep. When I woke it seems like I missed all the fun, there was a lot of turbulence, they stopped serving meals and drinks, a lady crossed herself and another woman collapsed in the toilets with one of group coming across her and getting our doctor to see to it - glad I slept now.

Day 3 - Sunday 8th October

Landed in Lima 6.00 am local time (12.00 GMT) its now officially Sunday and feeling a bit smelly now having not changed since leaving Aberdeen on Friday morning. It was a bit foggy when we landed but Lima is on the coast so were not yet at altitude, that is still to come.

Got through immigration a lot quicker and easier than in the states and then through to baggage reclaim where we picked our all of our bags for checking in again for the next flight!

I managed to get through customs no problem - There is button you press and a light goes either red or green - green you pass though no problem, but if it turns red your baggage is scanned or searched - I got a lucky green.

Arrived at check in and bag went through the scanner, it was questioned and I was asked to explain what an item was that was showing up on their screen - the item they were concerned with was a silver Scottish Quaich that I had taken for use on arrival at Machu Picchu. Once I explained what it was and it's purpose they where happy to let it pass.

Rosanna at LAN Peru checked me through and we made our way to the departure area, Caroline went and paid our departure taxes for our flights and we all found a place to sit and wait for the rest of the group to check in.

Tried to post to online blog from my phone, but it couldn't - was still able to text messages and even got a phone call from a friend.

Went through security with the usual procedures, getting used to this and now sitting in departures awaiting our final flight to Cuzco. Its 8.10 am and our flight is due to leave at 9.45 - we have some time to pass but getting used to that now. There has been a lot of sitting around and waiting over past few days but this is all part of the fun of travelling and is an adventure in itself.

Bought and drank my first "Inca Kola" here in departures and it's quite funny as some of group have been phoning home for football scores! I called my mother to say I was alright however called the number that was in my mobile which didn't have the international dialling prefix and ended up talking to a local woman before realising my mistake.

Eventually we were directed to our flight leaving from gate 3 and transferred to the plane by bus. Everyone in the group now looking forward to getting there (finally) it has been a long journey to get here.

This flight was just over an hour and before we knew it we were arriving in Cuzco. As we were collecting our bags a pan pipe band was playing and trying to sell their CD's - this was to become a common sight over the next couple of weeks!

Once we had cleared the airport we were met outside by a representative from SAS Travel and herded towards a couple of mini buses, it was very hot and sunny and the altitude wasn't as bad as I had imagined it would be, felt a little light headed but not short of breath at all. We were also met by Robyn from SAS whom I had been in email contact with before my flights in order to arrange my second week activities. A local man was also hanging about taking pictures of us, didn't know what this was all about until later.

It was just a short drive through Cuzco to get us to our hotel at the bottom of Ave de Sol opposite a large fountain and a local craft market. We were "treated" to coca tea on arrival, all I can say is that it tastes almost as bad as it smells but is supposed to help with acclimatisation to the altitude.

We were assigned room mates and rooms - I'm sharing with Steve, we went and dropped our bags and came back to the dining room for a three course lunch.

Now it was time to explore Cuzco, headed out with Steve, Tom & Lee and wandered around the craft market before walking up Ave de Sol towards the main square. On our way up there were a couple of colourful parades making their way down the street and we were pinned with small dolls on ribbons and asked for some change for them - a couple of soles.

At the main square - Plaza de Armas we met in with Denis & Shaw from our group and took a walk round before stopping in an outside bar for a drink.

Went back to the hotel via some other markets, once I got back I noticed that some gifts I had purchased were no longer in my pocket! - They were only worth 30 soles, least it wasn't my camera or cash!

Returned to the market to replace the gifts and Tom came back with me to buy a furry Alpaca hat - what a sight!!

Dinner was at 7pm and by 8.30 we had retired to our rooms, shattered.

Day 4 - Monday 9th October

I didn't sleep well, woke just after midnight with a headache and from there didn't sleep much till 3am then took some tablets and woke at 7am. Went downstairs to fill up water bottle and found out one of our group had been sick all night.

After breakfast we gathered in the foyer and were introduced to our SAS Guides - main man was Victor and he was to be assisted by Elvis

Our bus left at 9.30 am and took us to the outskirts of Cuzco to an Inca ruin called Tambomachay at 3800 m.a.s.l where Victor explained the significance of the site before walking us towards Puca Pucara just across the road. After a short time here we walked downhill towards a sheltered spot where tents had been erected in which we were served a buffet lunch and a Pan Pipe band again played for us and tried to sell CD's afterwards.

It started to rain at lunch and continued to for the rest of the afternoon, after lunch we started off again, this time towards the ruins of Sacsayhuaman. Again our guide Victor told us of the site and its purpose in its time, its significant location and gave us the opportunity to explore it further or start the walk back towards Cuzco. The site was awash with other groups and the majority of the group wanted to return to Cuzco, however - when are we likely to visit this place again? - Myself and 4 other of the guys decided to stick it out and explore - we knew the way back and would meet up with the rest later. We ventured up to the top of the hill to be awarded with spectacular views over the whole of Cuzco and could clearly make out the Plaza de Armas.

We eventually came down from the top and made our way down the now slippery path into the heart of Cuzco to get to our hotel so we could get ready for going out for a meal that evening.

The meal was in a little restaurant on Catalina Runias just round from La Caterdral, after drinks we were given our first taste of Peruvian cuisine - Cuay - when in Rome and all that I gave it a go - there's not much meat on it and couldn't say that I would have had it again, but hey - we did it. After that though the waiter came out with a plate that had the heads on - all roasted with the teeth showing - Nice!!

It was an early finish and when we got back to the hotel we packed for the trail, met in with a couple of American girls in the hotel that were leaving for the trail too the next morning, albeit a little earlier than us. Finally finished packing at 10pm - we need to be downstairs by 5 / 5.30 so bedtime.

Day 5 - Tuesday 10th October

Today's the day, it's finally here. Been in Cuzco now for a couple of days to acclimatize to the 3400 m.a.s.l altitude, now its time to do what we came here for - trek the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.

Got up at 4.30 am and Steve got a surprise when he entered the bathroom - it was under half an inch of water!!, the bath taps/shower control although off where leaking. Headed down for breakfast and by 6.30am we were on the bus to Ollyantaytambo.

Arrived and we all headed off to find the bathroom and stock up on last minute items, some of our group bought bamboo walking poles, some gloves, some hats.

Noticed a small girl around three years of age, and still had in my pocket some of the little gifts I had been handing out round Cuzco, so gave her a little plastic heart bracelet. Her face lit up. We stayed in Ollantaytambo for around 15 minutes before getting back on the bus and heading to KM82 - the starting point of the Classic Inca Trail

. We got off the bus and were approached by yet more women trying to sell their alpaca hats and gloves, this was where we saw the porter team that was going to be accompanying us and carrying our main luggage - each item was weighed as new regulations prevent any porter from carrying more than 25kgs, although it surprises me that this is adhered to or regulated judging by the size of some of the packs we saw some carrying along the trail.

After the obligatory photographs taken under the Inca Trail sign we headed off towards the first control post where our passports were stamped as starting the trail, we then crossed the bridge over the Urumbamba River to wait at the other side for the rest of the group.

Once everyone had crossed the bridge Victor lead us off along the trail, the pace was real slow but gave us the opportunity to take in our surroundings and also allowed us not to get too out of breath. The weather was hot and sunny and we had a large hill to get up before lunch. When we got to the lunch spot, the tents were set up for us again, along with a chemical toilet and bowls of water with soap to wash up in.

Whilst we were waiting for the finishing touches of lunch to be prepared, Victor led us to view the nearby ruin of Patallacta - he also pointed out a mountain in the near distance and explained that Machu Picchu was just on the other side of it!!

Lunch was a three course meal! - Where was the soggy sandwiches and vimto?

After lunch the rain came again and stayed with us right up until we reached our campsite at Wayllabamba - 3000 m.a.s.l - we arrived there at 4pm and set about unpacking our sleeping gear whilst it was still light.

When we arrived at the campsite there was a women with two buckets, one was full of bottle of beer, the other full of soft drinks - even here, a day from anywhere was someone selling refreshments - we had to oblige.

We had done our first day and spirits are high, lots of funny moments - some un-publishable, but we stayed out of the tents for sometime in the dark and made use of head torches and Rachel's glow sticks, it was such a clear dry night now and the stars were so bright, we even saw a satellite pass by overhead.

We were treated to a three course dinner again!! - Somehow this just isn't camping - some of our group had never camped before this trip; others, like myself had and this wasn't camping!! - where else do you get your main packs carried for you, tents erected for you, portable toilet taken and three course (hot) meals for breakfast, lunch & dinner - even woken in the morning with a hot drink and a bowl of water to wash in - this was five star camping if ever there was.

After dinner we had our briefing for the next day and told what time we would be woken at, what time breakfast was and what time we would be setting off, we were also reminded that the next day included our highest pass of the trek at 4200 m.a.s.l - Dead Woman's Pass.

Anyway, it gets dark real early and we have another early start in the morning so we went to sleep around 8.30pm.

Day 6 - Wednesday 11th October

Another early start 5.30am and woken by Elvis with hot drinks - service or what?

After getting up and packed we cleared the tent and headed off to breakfast whilst the porters took down the tent and packed it up. By 6.30am we were on the off again, not too far though as we had another checkpoint to get through - it was here that we met in with our American friends - 5/10 minutes here and is was onwards and upwards, lots of steps today and as long as you take your time and go your own pace you get on fine. We stopped for a tea/coffee/milo break in a clearing and waited for everyone to regroup, the head group ended up being there for better part of an hour, but we never seemed to be in a rush was great just to be there and be part of it all.

On the way up a steep section we were soon overtaken by a handful of llamas and alpacas making their way up the hill, by now we were quite used to being overtaken, usually by heavily laden porters that get past you in order that they can have your lunch / campsite / dinner ready for your arrival!

By lunchtime we had reached a clearing at 3800 m.a.s.l and it was quite cold, got kitted up and ate lunch. We could see the pass from where we were and it seemed quite a steep ascent, it was cold and windy as we set off but we had only been going for around 10 minutes before we needed to stop again and strip off down to base layers again.

We soon got to the part of the pass that was 4000 m.a.s.l and there is a wooden sign on the hill that we stopped to have our picture taken with, I took someones picture with their camera then handed mine to someone and climbed up for my picture to be taken, coming back down however was easier said than done and I ended up slipping and falling albeit on my rear end about 8 to 10 feet.

Not long after we reached Dead Woman's Pass or Warmiwanuska which is actually 4215 m.a.s.l.

At the top one of our group had a letter from his girlfriend to open, reaching the top - the highest point of our trek was quite an emotional moment, and I even had a moment - this was the physical mountain that I had climbed as opposed to the numerous mental and personal mountains that I have had to climb over the previous 20 months and I was very glad to be here at the highest point in my life with this extraordinary group of people. Took some time to sit by myself facing our decent path and saw condors flying around in the mist and fog.

There was still a number of our group to make it to the summit, I had a bottle of kiddy bubbles in my pack and took them out and let streams of them blow out and float down the path, the remaining group commented on seeing them and it bringing a smile on their ascent. Glad to help :)

Looking back at where we had come up from and the mountains in the background, a member of our group - Rachel decided to name the area in her own distinctive way - this view will forever be know amongst us as D.W.M - Cheers Rach.

It was cold and windy at the top and we had to wait a while for the rest - time to get kitted up with windbreakers and hats again.

When the rest arrived we had a quick group picture taken the started our descent towards the campsite, however no sooner had we started going down when the rain and hail started and stayed with us all night.

Spent the rest of the walk down with Rachel and went our own pace, we weren't the first back to camp but we also weren't the last and as light was fading fast there were porters sent back to meet up with the back group to help them in, in the dark.

We had hot drinks and popcorn in the dinner tent whilst waiting for the rest and I found some balloons in my pocket too - had a bit of a laugh with them as only a bunch of guys can and about an hour later the back group arrived.

This campsite was at 3600 m.a.s.l and we were warned that it could be very cold at night, but the cloud cover with the rain meant it wasn't as cold as it could have been, but we were still wet and wasn't much opportunity to fully dry out, lets hope tomorrow is a dry day.

With the rain and the back group coming in late dinner was delayed, none of us were really in the mood for a full three course meal, but the porters had prepared it and it would have been rude to refuse. After food most of the group went to sleep, Steve and I stayed up for a while and talked to the Discover Adventure team - Caroline and Michelle before we ourselves called it a night.

Day 7 - Thursday 12th October

Another 5.30 wake up call for breakfast, at least it was dry.

After packing up and eating it was time to head off again, trail went upwards straight away and was a constant climb up till we got to Runkurakay, an Inka ruin where we waited to regroup. Once we were ready to go again we kept on upwards till we got to a lagoon and then the first pass at 4000 m.a.s.l. here we met in with the American group again.

We stopped for a short break here waiting for the back group before heading off again, trail went down again for a short while and we soon came across another Inca Ruin - Sayaqmarka. The group was given the option to climb up to the ruin or to continue along the path to the lunch spot - again, when are we ever likely to be back here? I went up the narrow steep steps along with a number of others and at the top our guide Victor talked to us about Incan windows and doors and showed how they were closed against the elements, we then got time to explore on our own before making our way back down the narrow steep steps - easier going up than down!

Onwards towards our lunch stop where the group that didn't come up to the ruin had already arrived. Another three course lunch and time to put our tip to the porters into a collective envelope to be sorted later by our group leaders into a pecking prder for presentation tomorrow morning.

After lunch we made our way towards the second high pass of the day, the route took us along the edge of the mountain and at some points we had to pass through tunnels in the mountain itself, walked mostly with Rachel and our childish side came out when we were in the tunnels by doing "scary" laughs that echoed out of the tunnel.

We were soon at the next pass, a large boulder was at the top and Victor said we may get a cellphone signal from on top of it so a few of us climbed up and tried - managed to get a couple of texts out, called my kids but couldn't hear them and called a friend and spoke for a while.

From the top of this pass we were also shown a peak with the Cuzco flag flying from it and was told that it was Machu Picchu mountain and that was were we would be heading to in the morning, it looked so close and achievable and it was then that it hit that the journey was almost over.

When we started to head down, Rachel and I stayed with Victor at the front and we set a very quick pace, was a lot easier going down. Being at the front with Victor meant we could ask any questions we had. I had noticed a distinct lack of animal dung on the trail recently and asked why that was - apparently the llamas and alpacas are not used this side of the mountain.

We made it to the campsite very early, again though, porters where sent back up the trail to guide the rear group in as they were over an hour behind us and it was starting to get dark.

We had arrived at WinayWayna campsite 2700 m.a.s.l our tents had the most fantastic view out over the mountains, this campsite also had showers and a bar!

After unpacking our gear we headed of to sample the hospitality while we waited for the rest to arrive, on the way there we met in with our guide Victor, he looked as if he had beaten us to it : - Just how many beers did you have Victor ?

Took advantage of the facilities and met in with the American Group again before heading back for dinner. After dinner we all made our way bar to the bar and this night proceeded to be the latest one yet as it was 10.30pm before we went back to our tents.

Day 8 - Friday 13th October

Early start again - 5.30am, there is only a couple of hours walking to the Sun Gate this morning .

After breakfast we were introduced to our porters, all 25 of them and we presented our tips to each group, after shaking hands and thanking them all we kitted up and set off again. Our progress was hampered slightly by the fact that the gates we needed to pass through where still locked, 5 minutes after Victor had left us to go get someone the gate was unlocked and we progressed through.

Kept in the front with Victor and Rachel again, on the path we came across security guards with handguns at their sides, I asked Victor why they where there - he explained that a lot of groups come through here in the early hours to get to the Sun Gate at sunrise, quite recently an English woman had fallen from the path and 50 metres down the mountain side, she had survived. This led me to ask another question - if they are there in case anyone falls why then are they not carrying rope instead of guns - good question! replied Victor.

We soon came up against the steepest set of steps I had seen so far, there must have been around 50 in total and car was needed to get to the top, forgo the poles and used my hands instead.

There seems to be a tradition with these steps in that the Discover Adventure Crew race each other from the bottom to the top (without packs) - congratulations to …… (well, you had to be there)

Continuing on towards the Sun Gate we were out in front and I let Rachel go on ahead so she was the first, seeing Machu Picchu had been a dream of hers since being a child, I never knew it existed until 18 months ago.

Seeing it for the first time was magical - this was it, this was the reason we had been walking for the past few days and the ancient site of Machu Picchu was within our grasp, everyone's spirits lifted and after the photos where taken we set off again. We passed a new section of path and wall that was constructed earlier this year following a landslide.

The sun was shining and we could see down the mountain side to the Urumbamba river that we had crossed further upstream a few days earlier, we also saw the town of Aguas Calientes where we would be later that afternoon.

We arrived at the site within an hour of the Sun Gate and felt a tremendous feeling of accomplishment. Whilst waiting for the rest of the group we took opportunities to get photos taken of us with the site and mountain in the background, we also took a guys silly hat shot with the alpaca hats we had purchased earlier in the week in Cuzco.

The rest of the group arrived and Victor and Elvis managed to work out how to use each camera they where handed and a multitude of group shots where taken with the now familiar scene of Machu Picchu as our backdrop. Next came the Scots group photo, I had taken a Saltire flag for the occasion and the four Scots on the trek posed with it flying in front of us. Next came another Scottish tradition, the quaich filled with whisky passed amongst our group as we now were truly a group of friends.

After the photos and whisky were done, we had to complete the trail at the entry post, we felt quite proud of our dirty clothes and boots and the odours we carried and didn't feel ashamed amongst the other "tourists" that were at the site having gotten there by train and bus, we had done it the traditional way, the only proper way to appreciate the Inca Trail.

We exited the site and congregated in a sheltered spot for a packed lunch after which we could go back into the ruins for a guided tour by Victor.

The tour by Victor took us round some of the more religious aspects of the site, taking in the Temple of the Sun, The Temple of the Three Windows and the sacrificial alter, the Intihuatana. After we were given the option to explore on our own and was given a time to meet up again in the railway station at Aguas Calientes - we were to see Elvis at the lunch spot for our bus ticket of the mountain.

Lee, Caroline & Michelle headed up the mountain overlooking Machu Picchu - I didn't fancy the descent so stayed.

Tom, Rachel, Steve and I took a walk around the residential side of the complex, agreeing that the mass of "tourists" was quite unsettling after the experience of the past few days on the trail and we would have been quite happy to be back walking it.

The afternoon passed and we took the bus down the mountain, it zig-zagged down the side and at every corner a young boy in traditional Inca dress was there waving at the bus before running down the mountain to meet us again at the next corner. Just before the bottom he came onboard and collected some change for his actions from the passengers as they also took photos of him and just as quick as he came onboard he was off again, no doubt away to do his party piece again for the next bus load of tourists.

Aguas Calientes is a strange little town, the railway line runs right through the middle and most of the shops are pizza restaurants or craft stalls catering for the mass of people that come through here to visit Machu Picchu. We had a little time before we needed to meet up at the railway station so had a wander round before getting pizza and beer - a great combination after the past 4 days.

At the railway station we boarded our carriage and soon we were snaking along past the Urumbamba River making our way to Ollantaytambo. This took around an hour and a half, we then transferred to a bus, Victor was already there waiting for the train and lead us through the crowd of people trying to sell us anything from knitted goods to dolls to fresh cooked corn. We didn't even escape once we were on the bus as a little girl came on selling bottles of juice. We left Ollantaytambo in the dark and headed off towards Cuzco where this adventure started less than a week ago. On the way there we saw a lightening storm in the sky over the mountains.

Back at the hotel we had an evening meal, we had forgotten about submitting our order before the trek and sat down tired to eat, some didn't come down at all and opted to go straight to bed. Took the opportunity of having computers in the hotel to transfer as many photos as I could from my camera onto the two data sticks I had taken with me as I still had another week in Peru and was seriously running out of space on my camera.

At 11pm it was time to call it a day and managed the first shower in 4 days before turning in.

Day 9 - Saturday 14th October

Another early morning as a bus was coming at 9am to collect Lee, Rachel, Tom, Steve and myself to be taken away for a white water rafting experience that we had booked before leaving the UK.

Before this I walked round to PeruRail to collect the ticket I had booked for my journey from Puno to Cuzco on Wednesday.

At breakfast we learned that Rachel had been ill through the night and would not be coming along with us. The bus arrived and on it already were the two girls that we had been told were joining us on the trip, they were Shannon and Mila, both originally from Hawai but now neighbours in San Francisco.

The bus journey took around and hour and a half including the time we had to stop and fix the roof hatch when it broke. We crossed a bridge and parked up at the side of the road to unload. Here we were issued with wetsuits, boots, spray jackets, life jackets and helmets. While the rafts where being inflated we got changed and then shown how to sit in the raft and how to manoeuvre it depending on the command given by our guide. We were to be going down in two rafts, two guys, one girl and a guide in each, we also had two kayakers going down with us for safety purposes and were shown how to hold onto them if needed and also how to be taken back into a raft if we went overboard.

Then we were off - nothing too severe to begin with but we were soon in amongst grade 2 /3 rapids and having a blast, I was sitting at the front and seemed to attract spray on every encounter with a wave. Stopped a little down the way for water and a snack then off again. The scenery was superb and here we were rafting down the Urumbamba River through it all. After what seemed only like minutes after setting off but in reality well over and hour and a half we were approaching the finish. Our guides said that if we could swim and want to, then this was our chance. There was around 500 mtrs until we got to where we would be leaving the water so we took this chance - when would we ever get another? Placing the paddle in the raft I flipped backwards off the raft into the water, it was cold! That with a combination of being at 3600 m.a.s.l and dressed in all that we were it was a lot harder to swim than I realised but it was one of these once in a lifetime experiences that just had to be done, hard to swim too with a huge big grin on your face.

We were pulled back into the rafts and made for the shore, once there we helped pull them out of the water and up the bank before getting changed and ready for lunch that was being prepared on tables set up at in front of the bus.

After everyone had eaten we packed up and started the drive back to Cuzco, arriving back at the hotel around 4pm we saw a notice explaining the details for our final night, we where meeting at 7pm to head to an Irish Bar - Rosy O` Gradys for drinks before heading for a celebration meal at Las Retama in the main square.

Before we left the hotel for the meal we all met up and discussed the days activities, Rachel was there, feeling better than before but still sticking to water for the evening. The restaurant was a self service buffet and complimentary Pisco Sours where at every place setting, Shaw was sitting opposite me and between us we seemed to have a magnetic attraction to all the drinks that the others didn't want to drink!

At the restaurant Steve made the mistake of mentioning that it was his birthday! - I slipped off and spoke to the manageress - he was soon presented with a cake and candle with the resident Pan Pipe Band playing "Happy Birthday"

Presentations where made to our Discover Adventure Team, Caroline and Michelle had been excellent ambassadors for their company and we had all signed cards for them - this wasn't to be the only presentations of the evening and our Anthony Nolan Trust representative Marianne surprised us with the ANT Oscars - this was a certificate and title for everyone on the trek along with a little speech on each of us - she had obviously been watching us very carefully over the past week and we where all in hysterics over some of the awards.

We left the restaurant and headed for the Cross Keys Pub,once there the drinks flowed and our numbers slowly dwindled until only a few of us remained.

those us still able to walk (no names) headed off to Extrem, a nightcub in the corner of Plaza de Armas.

Think it was around 4am when I left and got a taxi back to the hotel, I had to get the night porter to let me in and when i got to my room, Steve was fast asleep, I had forgotten that I had laid out my things on my bed for packing before going out and was faced with it now on my return. didnt bother moving it, found a space across my bed and laid down for the next hour and a bit as everyone was leaving at 5.30am!!

Day 10 - Sunday 15th October

After just over an hours sleep I got up to say goodbye to the rest of the group, they were all heading to the airport for the journey home, I on the other hand was setting off for another week in Peru

It was strange saying goodbye to everyone, we had been through so much together in the past week, we had gotten quite close and here I was back on my own.

The hotel felt quiet and strange without the rest of the group, not that I was there on my own for long. Time for a quick shower, change of clothes and I was off, off on another series of adventures.

7am and I was collected and taken to the Inka Express Tourist Bus to Puno. I had foolishly though that I would be able to sleep through the journey,but I had an aisle seat and we stopped off frequently at different sites along the way.

I got off the bus with everyone else at every stop and did the tourist thing even though i was more than a little zoned out.

We stopped at Andahuaylillas, Raqchi, La Raya & Pukara. Our guide was excellent and told us heaps but I didnt retain to much of it.

We arrived in Puno just after 5pm, I collected my bag and was met by someone from the hotel I as booked into - Hotel El Buho.

The journey to the hotel only took around five minutes, but took you through some of downtown South America - not very afluent.

My room was on the second floor, it was clean, comfortable and had its own ensuite and tv. Took a shower and was watching CNN when a knock on the door resulted in my being given a hot, hot water bottle - bliss.

Later I went downstairs, changed some currency, bought some water and checked my email. When I got back to my room I got a phone call confirming my pick up in the morning and what was happening over the next couple of days. I was sleeping by 8pm!!

Day 11 - Monday 16th October

An early start, up at 6.10, showered dressed and packed. Downstairs by 7am. Left my main pack at the hotel for next couple of days and then got some breakfast.

By quarter past I was ready and waiting to be collected, was thinking of the rest of the Inca Team and how they would all be home by now.

To be continued .........

Day 12 - Tuesday 17th October

Boat to Taquile Island - back to Puno

Day 13 - Wednesday 18th October

Andean Express Train to Cuzco

Day 14 - Thursday 19th October

Bus - Cuzco to Nazca

Day 15 - Friday 20th October

Nazca Lines & Cemetery - Bus to Pisco

Day 16 - Saturday 21st October

Pisco to Paracas - Ballestas Islands then Bus to Lima

Day 17 - Sunday 22nd October

Fly Lima to Miami to London

Day 18 - Monday 23rd October

Arrive London, Fly to Aberdeen