I paid my registration fee and booked my place. I then started doing my research about my trip and in mid November 2021, I enrolled on an online TEFL course. (Teach English as a Foreign Language). This was to gain my licence to teach. I didn’t really need it but I thought it would be useful for my degree too.
I needed to get some advice and a plan of action going, so in early December I met up with a good friend whom I hadn’t seen since I was twenty-five years old although, we had been in touch on social media; and whose extensive travels and conservation work over the years has been a constant source of inspiration to me.
Inger, kindly allowed me to pick her brains about things that I needed to do, pack and what to see. It was great to catch up with my old friend, whose advice and knowledge of the area I was travelling to was invaluable. I have to say she was as excited as I was about my trip, and she roused my enthusiasm for joining expeditions to far flung places and experience the cultures, traditions and the sights, sounds and smells that accompany them. From the tales of her travels … Benin or Chad is next on my list. However, first things first … I need to plan and get to Peru.
In mid- December, I booked an appointment with the practice nurse at my local health centre and was given vaccinations for Tetanus, Typhoid, Hepatitis, Diphtheria and Polio.
“You’ll feel a little scratch,” the nurse said.
In truth I didn’t feel a thing … The next day however, was another story … two dead arms. Jeez, I felt like I’d done ten rounds with Tyson Fury. The pain gradually wore off … still worth it though.