I felt sure we could gain the upper hand by putting ourselves in the mindset of the Incas.

During the days I felt myself slipping into a kind of madness. Solitary confinement has an astonishing effect on the mind. The trip was to stay calm and keep myself occupied. I spent hours working out how to break free. But trying to escape would have been instant suicide.

In some peculiar way, indeed, the rules were now beginning to seem quite logical. It was then I knew that I had been in India long enough.

One senses that, in these conditions, no amount of wet-wiping could bring true hygiene.

There can be few situations more fearful than breaking down in darkness on the highway leading to Casablanca. I have rarely felt quite so vulnerable or alone.

The desert was bad, but nothing could compare with the horrors of a tropical rain forest.

A journey, I reflected, is of no merit unless it has tested you.