ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the scene for the crash. It gives background as to why the author was where he was and the reason for his ill-fated trip. He was, enjoying one of those iconic moments in life, having trekked the Inca trail and finally arrived at its end: Machu Picchu. In his time off he planned to move from trekking to the roof of the world to plumbing the depths of the sea by diving with the sharks in the Galapagos Islands. Land-based mammals would not be ignored, as he would then embark on a trip to Botswana for a two-week safari to be within petting distance of the wildlife. In France, at the start of his great adventure in July 2013, he was involved in a bicycle crash which resulted in a severe bang to the head. Even now he struggles to remember even the most mundane things about that blackout period.
