Well. I’ve only been back for a couple of weeks, and it already feels like I haven’t gone away at all. It seems almost impossible that under a month ago I was walking along the Inca trail in the middle of Peru, over and past the most stunning mountains and old Inca ruins. It all seems a bit distant and unbelievable. It’s nice to be home I suppose, with English food and English showers and more than three pairs of socks, but sad as well to have left South America. I’ve completely fallen in love with Peru and Bolivia and Ecuador, and the whole length of the Andes. And I’m so glad that I didn’t go anywhere else for my gap-year. (And maybe it’s because I’ve come back to Big Brother and football, but am feeling distinctly less than patriotic at the moment.)

Of the two things that I love and will miss the most, one is the astounding diversity and contrast in people and places in South America. Just the fact that out of 103 ecological zones on Earth, Peru, which is not a great deal bigger than England, contains some 83 of them. Which is insane. I love the fact that a five hour bus journey can take you from some of the highest mountains in the world to some of the driest desert in the world, or some of the most bio-diverse rainforest. And that every city and town is so completely different to the last one. As we entered Peru for the first time we went from Mancora, a really chilled and laid-back little place on the coast, to Huaraz, a bustling, colourful and very traditional town in the Andes, to Lima, a huge smoggy modern city, to Arequipa, full of beautiful white colonial buildings, and each couldn’t have been more different from the other. I love the fact that the people are so diverse too, completely Westernised in some places, still speaking Quechua and wearing traditional dress and offering coca leaves up to the spirits in others.

The other thing that I love and will miss terribly is the scenery. For four solid months we had absolutely spectacular scenery, and settings, and landscapes. I never realized before quite how beautiful the world can be. And perhaps more than anything I’ll miss the mountains. I love mountains. I’m going to have to live in some when I’m older. I don’t know what it is about them, but they’re just so inspiring. And promising too – there’s something about always wanting to climb over the next ridge so you can see what’s behind it. I thought, having grown up in flat-as-a-pancake Norfolk, that I might find them a bit claustrophobic, but not at all. One of my favourite things about Quito was being able to look up, walking anywhere East in the city, and see the most amazing green mountain range towering up past the outskirts. It was wonderful.

And as for traveling with a gap-year organization and a bunch of randoms, it all turned out pretty well, in the end. Though I don’t think I’d do it again like that. As a couple we met in Cuzco said, it’s not ‘proper traveling’ - everything gets organized for you, you don’t really get to meet other travelers, and you aren’t free to move on or stay in a place for as long as you like - but it’s certainly better than not going at all. And I think, considering that it was my first time backpacking to a country where I couldn’t speak the language, it was probably better than going on my own. It was a really good experience doing the volunteering and living with a host family, I’m so glad I got to grips with some serious Spanish, I had a great last month and a half with a group of people I thought I probably couldn’t have – and have never felt so comfortable and confident in such a large group before – and the plus side of everything being organized is that we had a completely packed two months traveling and managed to fit in probably more than most people could have done on their own. Plus, without VentureCo I’d never have even considered going trekking, but the treks turned out to be one of the best things about the whole trip. I’m so glad I was introduced to it because it’s by far the best way to really get out into the middle of some truly fantastic scenery, and that’s definitely something I want to do again.

The VentureCo trip was a great taster – we really got to find out a bit about the culture, and history, and politics, and we must have done at least 90% of the ‘highlights’ of the Andes (90% of my guidebook, anyway) – and that’d probably be enough for most people. But I can’t wait to get back. Next time I’d love to get off the gringo trail a bit, and get further into the Amazon basin, and do some more Spanish, even volunteering, and trekking, definitely, and go festival hopping for some good music. (Who wants to join me?)