Back from Peru

Back from Peru and not feeling too jet-lagged - thank goodness.  I went with my Mum - our first holiday together for years and years. Not since I was about eight, I think.

Mum hadn't been abroad for about 45 years either - so it was a BIG trip in lots of ways.

We weren't just going on holiday either, we were going to hike the Inca Trail to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.And what a trip it was! Cuzco, the old Inca capital, was an incredible place - wish we'd had longer there. The Inca Trail and Machu Picchu were an experience never to forget. Mum found the altitude quite tough (as did we all at times), but I'm very pleased to say 'Dead Woman's Pass' the highest part of the trail didn't live up to its name. The scenery was almost as awesome as the size of some of the steps we hiked up. I think we all have thighs of steel now.

Mum hated the camping, and especially the campsite toilets - they were the splattery, squat variety. I have to say, they weren't my favourite part of the trip either.

But we did it, we made it to Machu Picchu's Sun Gate just after sunrise - and what an incredible place that is. Seeing it in real life after dreaming about going there for so long, was a bit surreal. Being there with my Mum - well, that made it even more amazing.Afterwards we took the train back to Cuzco and enjoyed a much-needed hot shower, a great night out with the friends we'd made on the trip, followed by a decent night's sleep in a bed.

The next day Mum and I splashed out and enjoyed a luxurious first class train journey across the Andean Plateau to Puno on Lake Titikaka where we chilled out for a couple of days before flying home.

Now, I have to some how get my head around the fact it's the Carnegie Medal awards ceremony in a couple of weeks...