| Have you ever wanted to do something crazy? | | | | Titicaca, La Paz, Manaus, Angel Falls and so on... |
| Have you ever wanted to walk on the wild side? | | | | Do you get the picture? |
| Have you ever wanted to leave the office | | | | Travelling on a converted truck and free camping, |
| environment and never return? | | | | the lucky adventurers would experience the full range |
| Driving up to Manchester one autumn's evening in | | | | of South and Central America's charms. Having never |
| 1995, I decided something had to change. | | | | been camping before and with my thirty-fifth |
| The three hour journey from Leicester had turned | | | | birthday celebrations still ringing in my ears, I suddenly |
| into a six hour marathon, again. | | | | realised that I was confronted by a serendipitous |
| It was cold, damp and desolate stuck in the endless | | | | 'once in a lifetime' opportunity. Would I break the |
| lines of slow moving cars. | | | | mould of my boring office life or step out bravely |
| In my briefcase sat an unsigned and rather overly | | | | into an adventurer's world? |
| negotiated contract extension for my job in | | | | I was single, no obligations and I had the money. |
| Leicester. When I finally arrived in Manchester at | | | | What is the point in having a big bank balance while |
| 11pm, bored, hungry and miserable - I knew that I | | | | life was passing me by? |
| could not face another winter of living and working | | | | The following Monday morning, I handed my notice in. |
| out of a suitcase. It was time for serious change. | | | | Contract discussions had been delayed and I had only |
| The week before, I had been stuck on a train for | | | | ten working days to endure. It seemed like forever |
| hours heading down to London. | | | | before I was released from that working purgatory. |
| The woman sat opposite me had left her travel | | | | Once the deed was done, I was walking on air. |
| magazine on the seat when she alighted at Luton. I | | | | Skipping down the corridor and whistling 'El condor |
| had read my newspaper back to front and on the | | | | Pasa' - I never whistle... |
| second time of reading, I found nothing new. | | | | It was a euphoric experience - the weight of |
| I reached over and killed a little time by flicking | | | | meetings, ironing work shirts and driving those |
| through the glossy magazine, but each time I | | | | endless miles up and down he M1 had dissipated into |
| thumbed the pages, my eyes returned to page 34 | | | | nothingness. Top priority on this project manager's list |
| which advertised a five month trip to South and | | | | was buying outdoor gear, expensive sleeping bags, |
| Central America. Setting off from Ushuaia in | | | | boots and all weather jackets. |
| Argentina (the most southerly City in the world) and | | | | And there was one place, one destination that I was |
| finishing in Mexico City. The itinerary read like a Who's | | | | focussed on - Machu Picchu in Peru - I had read so |
| Who of top travel destinations. | | | | much about it and I knew that it would be the |
| Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Punta | | | | highlight of my journey... |
| Arenas, Pucon (Mount Villarica - 10,000 feet active | | | | If you want to find out exactly how my crazy |
| volcano), Bariloche, Esquel, the Argentine lake district, | | | | decision turned out... then click on the link and follow |
| Santiago, Valparaiso, La Serena, the Atacama desert, | | | | my path on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. |
| Arica, Nazca, Arequipa, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Lake | | | | |