50 Years Later
In 1976 I left London with a copy of the South American Handbook in my backpack. The plan was simple: get to the United States, work, save money, and travel south to Peru.
I did get to the States. I did work. And by 1978 I'd made it as far as Panama, where the money ran out. South America was just across the border, and I turned back.
The story of how that first attempt ended is on the 45 Years Later page.
It took me fifty years to finish that journey.
In June 2026, at seventy-three, I finally landed in South America. Over the next five months I travelled through Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Chilli. I went to Inti Raymi in Cusco and to Machu Picchu. I spent time in the Amazon and on the Galápagos. I learned Spanish in Cusco and Medellín and I met a lot of people along the way.
These videos are that journey, the one I set out on in 1976 and finally finished.
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Day 4 of 151: Paracas, Peru, South America
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Not Aliens, Never Aliens
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I Underlined It
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50 Years
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Machu Picchu Might Close Indefinitely
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On the Rooftop
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After the Poachers Came Back
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Dead Auntie at the Back of the Plane
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Endangered. Everywhere. Utterly Unbothered
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Galápagos Island Hopping
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The View from the Torture Room
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What the Lonely Planet Won't Tell You About Medellín