9/11 had begun as a crisp clear morning, full of hope. I had arrived in New York that morning after spending four months jungle-bashing through Bolivian cloud forest and floating down the Amazon on a Kon-Tiki reed-boat as medical officer for an expedition led by the British explorer Col. John Blashford-Snell. I was back in civilisation and on my way back to London when the pilot announced, &ldquo;I am afraid there will be a delay. There has been a terrible accident&hellip;&rdquo; Looking out of the cabin window I could see black smoke billowing into a clear blue New York sky from the twin towers. A moment later, a flash as another plane hit the second tower.