Itchy feet has well and truly set in. The majority of kit has been sourced, plans meticulously constructed (sort of) and caution thrown to the wind (not really) as we head across the globe. The 2nd June cannot come soon enough.

My travelling 'colleague' (the terms buddy/chum/friend are inapplicable) is a fellow Newcastle graduate, Danny O'Brien - a man whose temperament and competitiveness on and off the sports field makes Mario Balotelli look as well behaved as a Westminster Abbey verger (of the non cart-wheeling variety) . O'Brien carries the eternal shame of being sin-binned for petulance during the Intra-Mural Cup Final against the Cheeky Ladies; an act which ultimately cost Medicals RFC the game (or perhaps it was due to the author of this blog showing his far quicker opposite man the outside in the opening minute to allow him to score, no-one can be sure). As some of you may be aware, we were both part of the group (along with Angus Sutherland and Jack Mercer) who completed the Land's End to John O'Groats trip last June, and for 11 days in the saddle we just about tolerated each other's company, almost certainly due to the fact I only caught up with him at lunch breaks.

I digress. The campaign, which I will outline below, is a simple one... in theory. Arriving in Santiago on the 3rd June we share a brief rendezvous with Misses Ibbotson, Mukadam, Rigby and Stephenson who arrive fresh from New Zealand and after a couple of celebratory pisco sours we race north to Bolivia (in the non-competitive sense; might take some time to explain this to Danny...) touring the world's largest salt flats at Uyuni and onto the world's highest capital of La Paz. Thankfully this does not involve riding along the notorious El Camino de la Muerte - Road of Death, although apparently it can be descended as part of a mountain bike tour (Potential day trip). From there we venture west on the well trodden, rather than the Shining Path, into Peru - Puno, Lake Titicaca, Cusco, and onto personally my most eagerly anticipated trip - a four day hike to Machu Picchu. After that our South American odyssey meanders to a close, as on the 26th June we fly from Lima to Panama City and have a week to explore the offerings Central America's most southern country have to offer (not done much research on this, I'm going to stereotype with Panama Canal, rainforest, beaches).

As we enter July, travelling is put on hold. From the 2nd July to the 18th August we are undertaking projects for the charity Raleigh International in Costa Rica and Nicaragua; ranging from building primary schools in remote communities to conserving turtle habitats on the Pacific Coast. Classic Gap Yaaaah antics. Prior to departure we were to raise £2200 which contributes towards building materials, accommodation, hiring guides, food etc (it's worth noting at this point that we paid for our own flights outside of this - honest). By all accounts our lifestyle for this will be fairly primitive, consisting of bathroom trips at one with nature, showering with a bucket of cold water, and a diet apparently consisting primarily of tinned pork and beans. Splendid. Internet access during this time will be minimal (globalisation fail) so blog updates will be sporadic at best. Entertain yourselves as you see fit during this time.

Once we have finished saving the world we have another week in Costa Rica with travel guru and everyone's favourite Weakest Link contestant - 'Dr' Nick Farkas. 4 days of his company should be enough before our attention turns north again up to the USA and Los Angeles, a home from home these past few years. It is there we team up with Messrs Burden, Fail-Brown (Sick-Note) and Milner for a month long tour stateside ending in NYC, details of which are at this present time are classified (unmade) although rumour has it that Angus Sutherland of Georgetown University ("a really good school") is already piecing together a spectacular weekend combining crazy golf and the Rugby World Cup in the nation's Capital...watch this space. There's just enough time after that for a brief stopover in the land of ice and fire, (thanks IcelandAir) before returning to our fair isle the 26th September. Excited doesn't begin to describe how I'm feeling right now.