When you begin a new adventure you never know what will come your way, what challenges you will face, the helpers you will meet along the way and what lessons you yourself will take away from the adventure. The Lares Trek, where Zoë and I have been hiking for the past few days has been... Continue Reading →

For the first time since we arrived more than a week ago we could sleep as long as we wanted. 7.00am. Yep, we made it until 7.00am and then had to have breakfast. The train arrived back from Machu Picchu too late for dinner last night so we were pretty hungry. The train service served... Continue Reading →

Machu Picchu. It is incredible. It’s an incredibly spiritual place. It’s also an incredible feat of engineering. An incredible place of natural beauty. An incredible place for astronomical study and agricultural research. An incredible place that remained hidden from the world for so long. We had an incredible day. Up early (again!) and we were... Continue Reading →

On any adventure the fun things that happen on the journey are as important (and some times more surprising and fun) than what happens at the destination. I’m hoping Machu Picchu lives up to the destination hype tomorrow morning, but today (Saturday) Zoë and I have had a fabulous time getting to Aguas Calientes, the... Continue Reading →

Our overnight bus journey turned into an adventure. The bus was an hour late leaving Nasca — we didn’t depart until 12.30am. Needless to say we were both exhausted by the time we took off. Luckily we had booked the big, plush seats that reclined 160 degrees, with leg rests, blankets and pillows. At least... Continue Reading →

The Nasca Lines, dated between 500BC and 500CE, are a series of giant geoglyphs in the Peruvian Nasca desert. Modern scientists started studying them in the 1940s and a German mathematician, Maria Richer is acknowledged as the woman who devoted her life to the preservation and study of these ancient lines. Because of Maria’s work,... Continue Reading →

Our first 72 hours in Peru have been fantastic. I’m already in love with this country and the people here. We spent Sunday night in Lima, getting our bearings, trying (unsuccessfully) to sleep and buying a few basics like a SIM card for my phone and bus tickets for our onward journeys. I had been... Continue Reading →

My daughter and I leave for Peru tomorrow. Some people would call it a last minute trip, organised less than a month ago on a whim. I’d say it’s a sort of organised, sort of not, trip. We have booked a few activities: hiking and camping in the Andes and staying in a research centre... Continue Reading →

“Mum, you can’t buy that. It’s too young for you.” I was shopping with my eldest daughter in her favourite surf shop. She was looking at bikinis. I was looking at jumpers (sweaters for my North American friends). “What?? How is this too young for me?” “It just is.” We proceeded to have a hilarious... Continue Reading →

We all want to belong. Belong somewhere or with someone. Finding where or who we belong with drives many people to distraction their whole life. Others, like flowers in a garden, seem to belong where they were planted. That sense of belonging was discussed at length at the writers festival. In a book, does belonging... Continue Reading →