Picture Perfect Middle Earth

The memory came flooding back to me, and again stopped me in my tracks.

It was 12 months ago, yet the impression of the scene remains fresh. Memories of perfection will do that; linger far beyond their time and just beyond the reach of the words to describe them. I will try, however.

It was like watching the most extraordinary ballerina in full flight, her stage the Andean mountains, back-dropped with the white snow caps of the Cordillera Blanca, Peru.

I was first struck by the energy that emitted from her, the perfect union of strength and gracefulness. She moved across the landscape with a freedom that suggested these massive peaks had been created purely for this moment.

There was knowledge, confidence and rightness in the way she moved. Centuries of running bloodline, the