Well, I made it; I survived the Lares Trail! The trip was amazing; a group of 14 of us experienced all the highs and lows together, all in aid of our charities of choice. We trekked for up to 12 hours a day, met locals along the trail, reached altitudes of up to 4600m, saw Machu Picchu, and camped under the stars. It wasn’t quite plain sailing though; I was one of the unlucky ones who suffered from a bad dose of altitude sickness, which made things a little less pleasant…. But, it was an incredible experience, one that I will never forget and will forever be proud of.

Of course, the real reason for the trip was to raise money for that fantastic charity, The Alzheimer’s Society. On sending this email, the incredible sum of over £5000 is going direct to the charity – a total I never imagined I’d reach. But the thing is, I didn’t raise it – without all of your help and donations, my total would still be £0. So, thank you, thank you, thank you for your unwavering support this year.

There are a number of you (and you know who you are) without whom I would never have made it through the deadly training/fundraising combo which is guaranteed to drain even the most enthusiastic - you are all fantastic people, and I will be forever grateful for your help. 

My photos can be found here http://picasaweb.google.com/laurie.winkless/PERUPhotos#  Be warned, some of the scenery might make you jealous! Thank you all again; you made a dream come true, and helped to raise over £5000 for a fantastic charity - I quite literally couldn’t have done it without you.

Lots of love,

Laurie xx