10 things you'll learn in the Andes

It's fair to say that my trek in the Andes was the most physically demanding thing I've ever done. You also learn a lot in only one day. Here are the lessons I took away from day one.

1. You can be Usain Bolt at sea level, but you will still be a lazy, unfit heifer above 3,000m.

2. You will tread in, and probably sit in, horse poo more than you care to acknowledge. You won't care.

3. When peeing in the wilderness, employ the Taylor Swift method: shake it off, shake it off.

4. Sunscreen is necessary.

5. You will walk for a day and still have less of an appetite than you do after a duvet day back home.

6. You will see animal skeletons and wish the corpse was still decomposing, because it would've meant more chance of seeing a condor.

7. You will be shown up by small children, who run around like the effects of altitude are optional.

8. You smell. But so does everyone else, so sod it.

9. Every time you stop to look around, it feels like you've opened your eyes for the first time.

10. It's possible to climb a mountain on little more than willpower.