Hero

For those who have traveled with me, you know I go prepared. Ear plugs in place to block out noise, a pair of dark shades on to discourage conversation, and a book or Sudoku handy - this is how I like to get from point A to B. So it was to my dismay that on my 11 hour flight to Lima, I found myself in an aisle seat next to a chatty old man with severe BPH (two bathroom trips before we had even taken off!) and an annoying habit of lifting up the window shade to let in that painfully bright sunlight when the rest of the cabin was dark. A grandpa too ancient to respectfully ignore, but too senile to follow what he was nattering on about... que problema.

But somewhere over the Atlantic, I started to actively participate in our conversation. Born a Scotsman with a serious case of wanderlust, he´s traveled across Rwanda, been to refuge camps in the Congo, and seen the view atop a certain Kilimanjaro. And as it turns out, we were on a similar journey - he had never been to South America before and was travelling on his own to meet a group of strangers to trek across the Andes. This is a man, I realised, who after all these years still has the yearning, energy and cojones to travel into the unknown. What a hero! 

By the end of the flight, we were both on the edge of our seats peering out of the window, trying to catch our first glimpse of a continent neither of us had ever seen before in our lives - him at 76, me at 24. As the plane landed in Lima and all the passengers applauded, I noticed we both already had our jackets on and backpacks in hand, legs jittering to disembark.

Bienvenidos a Perú !


An update: Oh my word I love it here in Iquitos... The people are great, the Peruvian team just won their match against Venezuela in La Copa América (4-1), and the weather is exactly like home - erratic monsoon showers with humidity so thick you could cut through it with your ice cold beer. Una cerveza más por 90p? Yes please!