I can’t believe we’re here. In many ways it feels like we booked this trip only last night, and in others it feels like a lifetime ago. Everything and nothing has happened since. Vicky has quietly taken on the role of project manager, her first email landing at nine-thirty in the morning the day after we’d concocted this plan, or were told we had to do it by Pia’s note. A note that is still in my pocket now. Vicky was chomping at the bit to get everything firmly booked in before any of us changed our minds. You’d think once everything was booked she’d leave us all to it, but no. Every day that’s followed I’ve had a message or call about some fact she’s found out about Peru (like three-quarters of the world’s alpaca population resides there), or an update on what she is and isn’t bringing with her (she settled on a pair of knickers and socks for each day, but only two bras). Vicky has thrown herself into this trip full of gusto like she’s about to become the new Bear Grylls, whereas Zaza’s approach has been to make everything that makes trekking and camping wonderful, like immersing yourself in nature and roughing it for a bit, less so. Having popped her bag on the luggage scales at check-in she has more luxury items than any trekker has ever dared to travel with. She has reassured me she’s spent her evenings decanting her must-have toiletries into smaller bottles, so at least that’s something.

I haven’t had the time to do anything other than grab my let’s-just-go bag and pack my day sack for the plane. After taking on the one commission in February it turned into a bigger job than I’d planned for, with many hours at my desk trying to build them the content asked for at the spec they required. The brand were pernickety with every single frame, a challenge I admired them for. There was definitely no room for slacking. They demanded my full attention while on the job.