Day 22 - T!

Live blog feed! We've landed safely at Charles De Gaul, Paris. A bit of a rough ride over the Eastern Carribean - at one point I thought we were going to end up in the sea, or stranded on a Carribean Island (which I'd have been gutted about obviously!) - stomachs were lurching for a good half an hour as the plane banged its way through the turbulence. All was well though & yet again prayers were answered - probably not a prayer God gets every day: "Lord, please don't send me to the Carribean"... but He must've heard!

Charles De Gaul Airport is a wonderful & amazing place. Huge & vast, with soo much open space. Huge curved & vaulted ceilings, glass everywhere - more like a huge shopping mall than an airport. So vast in fact that it has it's own shuttle rail to take you from one end of the airport to the other. A great place.

Contant to make a base near the departure gate, we sat to wait the close on 5 hour transfer gap before returning to Birmingham. Body clock's gone completely to pot - I think my body think's it's 10:20am in the morning as I write this. Which, by the time I get back to the UK will be 1:15pm (7:15pm UK time). So by 'bedtime' my body will be just starting to think about either a late lunch or an early dinner, & by the time I stand to do the children's song in church in the morning my body will be thinking "Dancing... again?! Do these night clubs ever close?!"

An interesting few days follow I think...

OK all, I think this will be my last entry of 'the journey'. I'll get home & download my photos then upload a batch relating to the final days where I couldn't include any.

I really hope you've enjoyed sharing this journey with me/us. I've certainly enjoyed sharing it with you - & enjoyed even more the comments & feedback you've left throughout. I've never felt too far from home, from the people I care about most in my life, & your prayers have kept me safe, well & able to handle everything that's come my way - even dancing! Who'd have thought a person could achieve so much on the back of a dog walk once a week, the odd 30 mile bike ride & a 4 minute children's every Sunday?!

As I mentioned earlier, this trip has been a very different trip to the one I took to Everest Base Camp in January 2010. For a start I knew exactly where I was going & what would be involved - as opposed to Base Camp where I wasn't really sure what I was doing, including where I was actually going, until about 6 weeks before we left & even then had to be assisted by a world atlas! In contrast to a trip where each day was a challenge to complete & a real test of physical endurance, this has been an experience of travel. An experience where each day has taught me more about the culture & the history of another country - a country that has evolved & changed hugely in such a tight period of time, yet was far more advanced than any other known culture of its time. But apart from this, each day has taught me more about myself & more about other people.

Shut away in my own little 'life bubble' there is rarely the time - or the opportuniy - to totally absorb myself in anything outside that bubble. This experience has allowed me to almost take some time off from myself & open up my mind to the richness of the world outside the bubble - yet never lose touch with who I am & the things that are most important to me in this life. I acknowledge that I am very blessed to be in this position - & to have the loving support of a wife who encourages me to step outside the bubble.

If there is a downside to being able to do these things, it's that I can't do them with Polly. I can only share these wonderful experiences through my words & through my pictures. But she is with me in my mind & in my heart, every second of the day, so I guess we're never that far apart. Who knows, maybe the time is coming where my boys can join me on my travels one by one - & give Polly some real & well deserved peace!

Until the next time then everyone - Adios & thanks for tuning in :) See you in church tomorrow!

Now where to next Mike...?

Day 21 - T minus 1...

Strangely, I was awake before the alarm went off. I'd only been asleep a few hours, so thought I'd sleep a lot sounder than that. But still, mind churning, wanting to know what was happening at home, wanting to be able to click my fingers & be back there. Oh well, not long now :)

I checked my emails & my phone for texts & there was an update from Polly to say Owen had had keyhole surgery to remove his appendix & for me not to worry. Polly's mum was looking after the boys at home so I wasn't to worry. Lots of offers of help had come flooding in - thank you so much everyone - & Andy had very kindly stepped in to the breech to collect us from the airport after we land. The update was a weight off, but I was still anxious to be home...

A good few of the group had made it down to breakfast to see Anneke off, which was lovely. The whole group have gelled really well & with the trip being a far more 'sociable' trip than Base Camp, it has meant far more time to get to know each other. Some genuine friendships have been made & though out the whole trip I don't think we've stopped laughing - mostly at each other! It's been great. So today will be a hard day as instead of one big goodbye, there'll be a series of them which is harder - especially when everyone is so nice!

Once Anneke had gone, some went back to bed, some stayed for more breakfast, some returned to their rooms to pack - myself included. The next to leave were Rene & Helena at 10:00am, so I went back down to bid them farewell & caught up the Mike & John. After the goodbyes & the final pack, we decided we'd head off into Lima again on foot to find 'Huaca Pucllana' - a 30 year 'work in progress' of an Inca temple, discovered during the city's development.

Sadly, a good chunk of the temple had been destroyed by the developers, but the remaining site was a vast expansive complex including a main pyramid shaped central temple made entirely from hand formed mud bricks about the size of conventional bricks, & many surrounding 'buildings' built in the same way. It was a very very impressive site & a real feat of engineering. Again, when I get home, I'll upload some pictures of it - if anyone's still interested! Lol

From the Inca site we returned to the sea front of yesterday for some proper lunch before heading back to the hotel for the next batch of farewells - our own! We had planned to eat in the same restaurant/cafe we'd visited the previous day - & as we approached it thought our luck was in because the sea view balcony had plenty of tables free - but we soon found out why. Peru is very hot on smoking (see what I did there?) in restaurants & bars - it's basically not allowed. The patrol police had come across someone smoking on the open air balcony of the restaurant & slapped an instant closure notice across the front door!

Hence lots of free tables! We got the gist of the closure & the large notice stuck across the restaurant's front doors, but we weren't exactly sure how the penalty worked as when we walked past an hour or so later, the notice had been removed & it seemed to be business as usual, but a lot of business would have been lost in the time it was closed & I guess someone would be in for a right royal rollicking...! It was quite a revelation!

Back at the hotel, Angel had arranged transport to the airport for us & - having woken up - he was there to wave us off too which was very nice. 9 of us were to travel to the airport together - the three of us, Ruth, Anna from Austria, Maddy & Fiona from the UK also, & Bill & Chris from Dublin. That just left the 3 Canadian girls Coral, Brianna & Angie, & Californian Francis my roomie :)

Another batch of sad goodbyes - hopefully we'll be able to keep in touch. FaceBook & email makes it so easy these days to touch base with people all over the world - & who knows, maybe the chance to meet up again sometime. It'd be great if we could :)

Then, before we knew it, we were checked in, boarded & ready for take off. 12 hour flight here we come... & it was looking - & sounding - very good from the children angle. Basically there weren't any near us! Although there was a moment in the queue where John smiled at a little boy & he went ballistic - the boy that is, not John. We had a group prayer & the good Lord put the boy in the section before us on the plane!

My view was clear too - no strange bald head to be distracted by, just a lady with ants in her pants that could sit still. But I didn't care. My plan was to grab a quick movie (Thor, as it turned out - very good) before inserting ear plugs, donning blackout eyewear & bunking down for the long haul - my body still need to recover from my moves at the club the previous night/morning!

Content in the knowledge that I would soon be home 'avec mon famile' I drifted off to the land of clouds, fairies & marshmallows... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Day 20 - T minus 2 continued...

(An update on Owen, for anyone who hasn't heard the jungle drums beating. Poor little chap's had to have his appendix removed :( poor Polly too for having to deal with all this without me there to support her :( I spoke to her briefly this morning - quite by chance as I was packing & all of a sudden my iPad lit up & there was my Polly Waddle on FaceTime! She hasn't slept much at all & looked shattered bless her, my heart really went out to her but what can I do?

Anyway, they're keeping him in for a couple of days to check he's recovering ok after the op & Polly is able to stay at the hospital with him in a bed next to him. From what I can gather though, not much rest will be had as the children's ward is very busy & full of, believe it or not, poorly children. Poorly children, like grown men, don't do 'poorly' very well, so you can imagine the din...!

Please keep them both in your prayers & that my journey home would be swift & without complication. I'm itching to be home now...)

Well, what to say about today? A funny day really. The mood remained reflective as we knew tomorrow would be departure day & the experience would be over. Our flight from the Amazon back to Lima had been brought forward, so we were back at the Hotel Britania (the same hotel we had stayed at when we first arrived, seemingly so long ago!) earlier than originally expected. As I sit here writing (the day after), even that seems so long ago now...

We dumped bags & each headed off to do our own thing for a few hours. Buoyed with confidence now after being here for 3 weeks, Mike, John, Ruth & I set off on foot to explore Lima again - hoping this time not to get lost & repeat the debacle of day 1! Armed with maps, cameras & mosquito bites by the dozen, we set off in the direction of Lima's sea front.

The initial impression of Lima had been that it was a bit of a hotch potch mis match of architecture, but clearly we had just hit the wrong part of Lima first time round because as we walked towards the sea front the architecture was very far from what we had seen in those first days. Angel had told us that this particular area of Lima was receiving heavy investment & the goal was to make it one of the most impressive capital cities in South America. Looking at the buIldings as we walked it was clear to see this plan coming together.

Arriving at the sea front we found a great little restaurant/cafe & sat down to a beer each & some 'batatas fritas'. At the sight of Peroni on the drinks list, the temptation was just too much - there's only so much Peruvian beer a man can take & it was time for something a bit more cultured :)

As we sat there, drinking beer & eating chips, looking out across the huge Pacific ocean, watching the surfers below, it was another one of those surreal situations where (a) we couldn't believe where we where & what we'd achieved, but (b) within the next 48 hours it would all be over & it would be back to life as normal - whatever that was!

Next we walked along the coastal road, through the famous Lover's Park - so named because it's the official place for canoodling, there's even a huge statue there marking the fact - where I made sure I kept my distance from John. You just never can tell what he's going to do next...!

Then back to the hotel ready for our final meet up at 7:00pm for our final final last supper. We had been 'background planning' (the whole group that is) a little surprise for Angel after the meal to show our appreciation for all his hard work. He had been a very able leader for us, had been very open, always had a big smile on his face & apart from everything else was a very personable guy who we had all belled with very well. We were going to miss him, but I suspect he would miss us more as we really were the best group he'd ever had - we told him :)

Anneke & I disappeared en-route to the restaurant into a little souvenir shop & bought a little embroidered pouch. Helena had already bought a card. As we sat at the restaurant looking at the menu & ordering food, the pouch & card were going round underneath for people to drop in their gift & sign accordingly. After the meal - that I have to say was yet another fantastic gastronomic experience - I was volunteered to say a few words on behalf of the group & we showed Angel our thanks. It was a lovely end to the evening...

although not quite the end! Next we headed off to the most un-Irish Irish bar I think I've every been to - but it was the company that made it a great place :) We stayed there until we got thrown out at 1pm, then headed off to a club. A few members of the group called it a night & returned to the hotel, but the rest of us just didn't want the final day to end & so went in all guns blazing! After Bill's amazing moves a few days ago I was wondering how I, in such twilight years, was going to keep up - but I didn't need to worry because Bill had turned in early, leaving me to brush the dust of my white flared trousers & bust some moves!

Well, maybe the white trousers is an exaggeration too far, more like grey trekking trousers, but it didn't stop me :)

With more sweat dripping off me than at any time throughout the entire Inca Trail, it was time to call it a day at 2:30am & we all headed back to the hotel. The girls were very kind about my moves - although I'm not entirely sure they were being serious... but still, I enjoyed myself :)

After checking my emails for any update on Owen - at this point I hadn't spoken to Polly as the FaceTime call came in tomorrow morning, after this blog day. Nothing. So I set my alarm for 6:45am ready for the departure of the first of the group - Anneke.

My lights went out the minute my head pill... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz