Flight. Did it really start with the Wright Brothers? Perhaps. But the idea that ancient societies flew long before the rise of Western society, is something which transfixed me from from the day I first heard that the Incas may have flown, or at least glided, with primitive canopies.

Delve into the prehistory of humanity, and the folklore, and you find dozens of accounts of primitive flight. I began reading the history books, and found myself drawn in to an idea which seemed to contradict what we all take as rote. Nothing is quite so sacred to me as an idea passed down through a body of folklore, and so this is one of the reasons I became so easily entangled in the idea of Incan flight.

My travels in Peru opened up a new world. They challenged me, too. Running a jungle expedition was something new and extremely hard going, largely because of the guide I chose, a burned out Vietnam veteran whom I found living in the Upper Amazon.

The jungles of Latin America have a power, a darkness, that is almost impossible to describe. I first travelled through the Amazon twenty years ago as a student, and remember realising that I was moving through the heart of the Earth. Whenever I meet a person younger than me in desperate need of graphic adventure, I suggest the Amazon... especially on the Peruvian side of the line. I wish that more people would see that real adventure is within their grasp -- and beyond that I WISH people would get to grips with the idea that you don't have to the a so-called explorer to get out into the jungle.

The business of exploration is packed chock full of 24 carat fakes, people who like to keep everyone else down, by telling them that they're not worth of adventure. That's baloney. Pack your bags. Leave. Tomorrow.