Mission accomplished!

Well, I’m back! The plane landed late on Sunday, although I don’t feel like I’m back on the ground yet. So much has happened to me, I’ve experienced so much that its very hard to describe the indescribable. A large part of me simply doesn’t feel the same as the person that left here only a couple of weeks ago. You can’t live life the way I’ve lived it for 12 days and not be changed at a deep level.

The first huge challenge I faced was that I was extremely ill. I suffered from AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) within a few hours of arriving in Cusco (altitude 3,300m). Details available on request (!), but I do dimly recall the doc saying that if I wasn’t any better within a few hours I wouldn’t be going on the trek. I realised in an instant I just had to make a decision to go or to stay - easy decision - I decided to go. No idea how I recovered so quickly, but I’ve managed to beat illness before, so why should this occasion be any different?

Team Peru May 2009 were awesome - the most amazing group of people I could ever have wished to spend the most challenging few days of my life with. We started out a bunch of individuals and within a few short hours were a close family unit, supporting, helping and even carrying each other on a couple of occasions. Not once were there any cross words or bad feelings. It was as if we all knew we needed each other to succeed in our challenge. I know I wouldn’t have got through the first part of my illness without my fantastic room (& tent) buddy, Charmaine. Thank you for being there and saying and doing exactly the right things at the right times. It was an honour to be part of that family, and we all know that its going to be impossible to explain and share accurately the experiences we shared - you simply had to be there.

I will try to share little memories and experiences as they pop up - there are many of them! The lessons I learned were many and varied, although for me the biggest journey I made wasn’t to Peru, or up to 4,800 metres, it was inside myself. I knew I’d have to dig deep, and I was right. There were several occasions on particular days of the trek when I found hidden strengths I had no idea were there. First example is on the third trek day (having done an 11 hour trek the day before and had no sleep due to sleep apnea [caused by AMS]), the planned route disappeared due to a disappeared bridge and no track, so a 6/7 hour day turned into a 12 hour trek through densely wooded mountainside (with severe drops to waterfalls, cliff faces and deep valleys), and most of this had to be done in the dark. The most incredible thing was that no one complained or moaned. We just did it. And when we’d done it we felt amazing - like we’d conquered the world. Its true what I’ve blogged about before….we are all capable of more than we know. Its just that most of the time we never get the chance to be tested. And I feel like I’ve been tested, and at the risk of sounding too full of myself, I reckon I did good. I certainly feel like I’ve accomplished a huge challenge and overcome barriers that were put in front of me. I’ve raised nearly £5,400 for Beating Bowel Cancer, and am extremely proud of adding my contribution to the £52,000 raised by only 10 trekkers.

Thank you to everyone to has sponsored and supported me - you have no idea how much you were all with me in spirit. There were many moments when I really needed you!

More to follow…..

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