Those far away places with strange sounding names are calling, calling me.

I have vivid memories from the age of 4 years of sitting on my grandfather’s knee in front of a cosy fire place, listening enthralled as he told me the stories of his “far away” places that he had traveled to in the early days of the 20th century. I watched in wonder as he showed me his many glass plate photos that were shone through a lantern onto a sheet on the wall.  The seeds were sown and my passion to want to see the world was embedded in my subconscious mind, to follow in his footsteps and to see the whole world in my lifetime.

The events of life delayed my dreams, nursing training, falling in love at 20, married at 21 and two babies by 24, widowed at 36, breast cancer at 46.

Although there had been brief excursions outside my native N.Z., I always felt unfulfilled and wanting to see those exciting places I had heard about in my childhood. Egypt, Siam, China, Turkey, Greece, Italy and many more.

Moving to Australia at 42 looking for a new life, it seemed to me that the whole world had suddenly opened up to me, so I began to explore the remote areas of this amazing island continent, sometime alone or often in small Backpacking groups. 

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We all travel for lots of differing reasons. My trip to South America was to fulfil a dream as well as celebrating my 50th  with a challenge, adventure and experience that would be unforgettable. A myriad of stories that I would be able to share with my grandchildren in later years.

For years I had marvelled at the photographs of the mystical Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, ‘Lost City of the Incas’. These ruins stand on a lush mountain top of the Andes near Cuzco, a monument to the Incas’ genius in building. It still remains a mystery how such gigantic blocks were transported and fitted together so perfectly with only simple tools. It was built in the 16th century after the Spaniard Pizarro captured Cuzco. An Inca named Manco led a revolt and built this fortress high in the mountains where 2,000 people lived for 40 years and were never found by the Spaniards. It was not discovered until 1911 by an archaeologist.

So the dream was sparked! The greatest challenge was to get started and finally I had set a date. From there my gypsy spirit never faltered. I joined a group of 15 others on a 4 day guided trek across the infamous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
My friends tried to convince me to take the train from Cuzco instead of hiking across the Andes at altitude.
Where was their spirit of adventure?!!!!!

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