The Night Before the Big Adventure

The night before the trip was the hardest, not knowing what to pack or what to expect, and having a 25 kilo weight allowance on KLM. It was comical considering all the stuff we had to pack. Imagine having to pack for all four seasons, plus camping equipment, medical supplies and energy snacks and having to keep it all under 25 kilos.

 

Kit list

Not wanting the hassle at the airport, I packed the most sensible suitcase ever, which consisted of:

2 fleece tops (necessary) 1 fleece suit (essential) 1 thermal suit 1 Dinner dress (you never know!) (not necessary!) 1 bikini (necessary) 2 sets of gym kit (the sports bra type) (necessary) 2 pair of trekking trousers which can be adjusted to shorts (essential) 2 pair of combat shorts (necessary)

5 Ccotton shirts (2 short sleeves) (essential) 6 vest tops(essential) 6 pairs of socks 3 sport (essential)3 pairs of walking socks (essential) 1 body warmer (essential) 1 down feather compact coat (necessary) 1 waterproof coat with trousers (essential) 1 Pair of walking boots (essential) 1 pair of walking shoes (necessary) 1 pair of Birkenstocks (necessary) 1 pair of flip-flops (necessary)

 After reading about the conditions on the Inca trail I found the lifesaving tip of packing each outfit in a zip-lock bag and labelling it. This was definately the most sensible bit of planning, which was well rewarded. All bound and zip-locked we headed off to Heathrow airport!

We flew Air France/KLM and the flights came in at £980 from Heathrow to Lima via Charles de Gaulle. The trip took well over 13 hours door to door. We flew cattle class, but surprisingly it was very comfortable and the food was good. We left the UK at 0730 a.m. and arrived in our hotel in Lima at 8 p.m.

The travel was exhausting mostly because I hadn’t been sleeping properly for days prior to our departure. I would  wake up in the middle of the night in a panic about the trek and with major concerns about my fitness. My knees had begun to ache, so I stopped going to the gym for fear of injury. By the time we arrived I had worked myself into a right old state and was fit for nothing and headed straight to bed.

 

 

 

We woke up the next morning absolutely starving. I, for one, was delighted at the prospect of a breakfast buffet; over the years I have learnt how to work a buffet, and the key for me is speed. It takes 15 minutes for my body to realise it's full, so as long as I got as much down before this message left my stomach to my brain I was ready to overindulge! There is a reason behind this madness: I had lost all the weight I had put on beforehand, and there were concerns I wouldn’t have enough energy in reserve to cope with the trek and any little illnesses that might come along.