The compulsory waiver form at the mine site should have us made us think before signing. But we were now deep underground in Bolivia and scrambling to find safety before the dynamite exploded. Our guide screamed for us to hurry as we stumbled blindly through unmapped passages, holding our lanterns high to find a way through the labyrinth. It all happened so quickly. The moment that the dynamite was lit by the miner and the realisation that we needed to run for our lives. We found a small cavern and hurled ourselves down onto the floor. In the darkness the only sound was our harsh breathing and as we waited for the explosion I thought back to my old job in the car factory, but the gates were now closed forever and there was no turning back. Halfway Round the Bend is an adventure travel story triggered by redundancy and explores the emotions of leaving home, the yearnings to teach English in the Amazon and the search for adventure in the Andes.