Durance Gorge

A committing grade IV section with a 20 minute portgage of the grade 6 "Crack of Doom". Ran my first "guidebook" grade 5 rapid, "Slot and Drop"!

Ubaye "Race Course"

With the groups suffering four swims and four walk outs after the first rapid (La Salle à Manger). This grade IV section at medium to high levels was very pushy... Lots of high-fives after we finished!

Middle Clarée

A fun, fast grade IV section that drops 25m/km.

Briançon Gorge

Fast, narrow grade III run through the town of Briançon with a barrage and slide at the beginning (pictured).

Lower Durance

Grade III run with lunch at the famous "Rabioux Wave" then get out at Embrun wave (pictured).

Qualified as Club Pilot!

After four years of not going paragliding very often I have eventually qualified as a Club Pilot. This means I can jump off hills and cliffs all over the world without an instructor barking instructions to me on a radio!

Padua Marathon

Ran the Padua Marathon in Italy having run 4 miles training in the last year. Painful... Signed up for the Amsterdam Marathon in October - going to do some training this time. Ran it with pal Maurizio (4h30 - left) and bro Dominic (5h15 - right).

Lower Findhorn

Most challenging river of the trip. A grade III section with two grade IVs: Triple Steps and The Corkscrew. The first drop of Triple Steps is pictured.

Garry

Fun grade III+ section

Lower Roy

Grade II scrape.

Spean Gorge

Tight, low grade II/III gorge section.

Upper Tummel

The Upper Tummel is a grade II/III section with one grade IV, the Linn of Tummel - pictured.

Tay (Stanley Bridge)

Warm-up for the Scotland trip

Surfin!

It's a rather interesting experience being taught to surf in the Caribbean Sea by a stoned rasta... He spoke the local patois, so I didn't understand much of what he was saying, but I caught a wave and stood up for about a second. He's looking a little pissed off because his boss told him to put his joint down for the photo.

Day 6: Lower Pacuare (Day 2)

Last day of the trip, a III-IV section down to the town of Siquirres. Three grade IV rapids, I was advised to portage the IV+ Lower Huacas section as there was a rather nasty undercut :(

Day 5: Lower Pacure (Day 1)

Avoiding the rather difficult Upper section, we commence a two day trip down the Lower Pacuare. Day 1 is a grade II-III section, followed by a night in some beautiful cabinas by the riverside.

Day 4: Upper Upper Pacuare

Grade III (IV) section dropping 73 feet per mile.

Day 3: Upper Toro

Dropping 84 feet per mile, this grade III (IV) was a step up from the previous two days. This section is famous for its "wall shots", containing a total of 11 grade III rapids and 2 grade IVs it was quite a rollercoaster ride! The minerials in the river from the nearby volcano left our eyes buring by the end of the run.

Day 2: Lower Sarapiqui

A 6 mile grade II-III+ section.

Day 1 (Afternoon): Upper Pejibaye (Taus)

In the afternoon, the III/IV group moved up-river to the Taus section of the Pejibaye, a short (3 mile) grade III section.

Day 1 (Morning): Lower Pejibaye

Warm-up on Lower Pejibaye, a straightforward grade II section

Costa Rica Rios

Arrived in Costa Rica and picked up by Costa Rica Rios, an awesome company that organise kayaking, rafting and adventure holidays in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica!!!

Just booked my flight to go kayaking in Costa Rica in March. Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YefwNL3Oo8o.

Started treatment...

Just started treatment for Leishmaniasis which involves going to UCL Hospital every day for 21 days to be attached to a drip containing a poison, that luckily poisons the parasites more than me! This unfortunately means I've had to cancel the Cresta Run and the Barcelona Marathon...

Struck down by tropical disease!

While in Peru it seems like I managed to pick up a tropical disease... Cutaneous Leishmaniasis is caused by a parasite that is passed on by sandflies. I was eaten alive by them while I was rafting on the Apurimac. The very nice people at The Hospital for Tropical Diseases diagnosed me after a referral from my doctor.

Barcelona Marathon

Just signed up to run the Barcelona Marathon 2007... Gulp...

Cresta Run

Just signed up to do the Cresta Run in January 2007... Gulp...

Home... Work...

Baganara

We go to Baganara, a hotel on an island in the middle of the Essequibo river for a bit of r'n'r. Mick Jagger apparently stays there when he's in Guyana.

Kaiteur Falls

Kaiteur Falls is the largest single drop waterfall in the world. Photos here.

El Presidente

So there's the President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, minding his own business and a tourist runs up to him and asks for a photo.

A Trip to the Zoo

On the way out of the jungle, we went to the zoo.

Out of the Jungle

After surviving the jungle we make our way out of the jungle and take a few snaps with the friends who helped us make it. Photos here.

Isolation

So, after the training, they take you on a boat and drop you off in the middle of nowhere and leave you for 48 hours. This is called Isolation, and you are supposed to use your new found skills to survive. But of the three people put into isolation on their own, only one survived.

Was it the mountain leader who's going to Sandhurst to become a Marine?
No.

Was it the ex-Para Irish Guard?
No.

It was the techie boy... Photos here.

Fire! Or lack of it...

We spend hours in the soaking wet rainforest, try to create fire using friction. Unsuccessfully. Photos here.

The Peccary Hunt

Go hunting and actually kill something! Admittedly, Lionel the amerindian guide shot it, tracked it, found it and carved it up. I banged it over the head with a machete. Does that count? As we didn't have the camera running at the time of the kill, we created a very realistic movie reconstruction here. Photos here.

Basic Training

We spend ten days being told how to avoid killing ourselves at Basic Training. Photos here.

Into the Jungle

We descend into the heart of darkness... Photos here.

Rock View

We fly into the interior and land at this lodge called Rock View. The very nice man who runs it, called Colin, tells me Prince Charles has been a visitor. Photos here.

The Prime Minister

So there's the Prime Minister of Guyana, Sam Hinds, minding his own business at a small airstrip in Georgetown and this tourist comes up to him and asks for a photo.

Georgetown

Fly from Miami to Georgetown, Guyana via Barbados. Unfortunately I din't get off the plane... Photos here.

Mount Mismi?

Flying over the andes... Look out the window... Is that the fabled source of the Amazon, Mount Mismi?

Rafting party!

After you go rafting... You have a rafting party! Photos here.

Rafting the Apurimac - Day 3

Photos here. Awesome!

Rafting the Apurimac - Day 2

Photos here. Awesome!

Rafting the Apurimac - Day 1

Photos here. Awesome!

The Apurimac

I finally meet the Apurimac river after all this time! The journey in is a climb out of the valley and then unnumerable switch-backs down to the river. Photos here.

Leaving Do

All good things have to come to an end... My leaving do from Cusco and the school... Photos here.

Pisac

Day trip to markets in Pisac and go to a llama farm. Photos here.

Don's Leaving Do

The elder statesman of the group is going home, so have a party! Photos here.

Cuy! (That's Guinea Pig)

Had some traditional andean grub called cuy. Photos here.

Machu Picchu

I was in Peru... I had to do Machu Picchu. Photos here.

Sacsayhuamán

Looked at a bunch of rocks put together by some Inca dudes called Sacsayhuamán. Photos here.

Cusco

Fly to Cusco which is in a valley 3,300 metres up in the Andes. The cusquenian solution to soroche (altitude sickeness) is mate de coca - coca leaf tea. More sightseeing... Photos here.

Lima

Arrive in Lima too early to check-in to the hotel, so to get the blood pumping: a paraglide flight over the skyscrapers!!! Followed by a little sightseeing.

Miami

Fly from London to Miami and go straight to the beach...