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Published: July 18th 2011
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Well I honestly don't know where to start, we had one hell of a two weeks. It was the kind of holiday you can only dream of. We were on another GAP Adventure tour to maximise our time in Peru together. Admittedly it's not everyone's cup of tea, but for us, I don't think it could have been much better. It was so good to see finally see Nic and Sarah. I'd been looking forward to seeing them for ages, I couldn't quite believe they were finally here.
We started with a crash course in the Peruvian culture and got to do a visit lake Titicaca and it's islands. We dressed up like the locals, played football and danced with them, did a home-stay and got to see how the indigenous groups in Peru live. It was quite something. On parting from our home-stay we purchased some handmade llamas which we quickly turned into our pets. Larry, Oswaldo and Alpachina are no ordinary llamas as you will see. The rest as they say is history!!
Next stop we headed to cuzco, the centre of the Inca empire. Unfortunately more volatility broke out and our original route to cuzco got
blocked by protesters and our 8 hour bus ride turned into a 12 hour one. The scenery in peru is by far some of the best I've seen in South America, it's really stunning. This made our journey much more bearable but the bumpy, windy roads inevitable made you feel pretty queezy. When we arrived we were pretty exhausted and didn't get to see much of the city before we headed off to begin our Inca adventure. We got to meet the locals, see how they made their handicrafts, had our history lessons, saw some ruins, sample some of the local cuisine and stock up ready for our four day trek.
The Inca trail has an impressive 3-5 month waiting list and from the very first time I heard about it (nearly two years ago), I've been wanting to do it. Nic and Sarah are the same and it didn't take much to convince them to join me. It's one of those once in a lifetime things - no words can really some it up. It's not the toughest thing I've ever done, but 25 miles, altitude, a couple of thousand metres of ascent, more steps than you could
possibly imagine does still make it a rather satisfying challenge. The sites and views you see along the way make it well and truly worth it and at the end of it you get to see one of the modern seven wonders of the world. You can't ask for much more than that. Machu Picchu simply wouldn't be the same if you hadn't trekked for four days without showering and camping along the way. Our team of porters and chefs were great, we got cheered along all the way and the food was amazing, especially given it was prepared off camp stoves. Our fellow trekkers were good bunch to, it really couldn't have been better. When we eventually arrived at Machu Picchu to wait for the sun to rise, we were so smelly and our legs ached but the feeling of elation was incredible. It was another of those overwhelming moments where you feel so alive and inspired. I was so happy, a few tears of joy were shed.
Unfortunately my tears of joy soon turned to ones of sorrow. I'd turned my iphone on to get a panoramic photo of the view and when I did I got
a message from my sister telling me to call home urgently. I quickly phoned her and found out my grandad had died while I was trekking. I was devastated. I didn't really take much in after that. Although not totally unexpected, it was still quite a shock and still doesn't really feel real. I'm sure it won't until I get home. It was horrible being so far away, the whole family was grieving and I couldn't be there with them. I was so grateful Nic and Sarah were around to be a much needed shoulder to cry on. He was a wonderful grandad, loving, kind, generous, everything you could possibly want. He's been a massive part of my life and I've got so many amazing memories of him. Machu Picchu was in many ways the best place to find out and remember him. It's an incredible place and he was an incredible person. Every time I see a photo of it, I'll think of him. I wouldn't be the person that I am or do the things that I do if I hadn't had him to believe in me and inspire me to be the best that I can be.
When I'm older if I can look back on my life and have achieved half of what he did I'll be happy. RIP Grandad... I'm so glad you were part of my life, I'm going to miss you more than words can say!
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