Exract from Andrew's diary

“I’m really not too sure as to when I first had a craving for the Andes and its associated land of high pastures and colourful people. Maybe it was when I saw my first picture of that most iconic of South American sites, Machu Picchu. In truth, it could have been one of so many reasons. I have always loved mountains and that, together with the other-worldly impression of the Altiplano has always been an alluring combination. I remember seeing a programme on great railways of the world and being completely captivated by the sheer extraordinariness of a high altitude journey taken almost entirely on the flat. The presenter was talking about how difficult he was finding it to breath and I remember struggling with the concept even though I knew it to be true. I’d been up mountains in the Indian Himalayas and Morocco but never experienced such paradoxes there… I wanted to feel it for myself: A cathode ray tube is a poor substitute for dust and breathlessness and a picture can only ever be a starting point… the best it can do is to generate a thirst that can only be slaked by exotic and as yet undiscovered watering holes.”