A CREWE adventurer is recovering this week after returning from an arduous trek through the mountains of Chile, in the name of charity.

Teresa Maz has spent eight days trekking through the Andes mountain range in Chile's Torres Del Paine National Park to raise money for the Cancer Research Campaign.

The 47-year-old lost both her parents to cancer, as well as a close friend, and used their memories as inspiration for the trip.

The walk lasted eight days during which Teresa walked 200 miles and trekked for up to 12 hours a day, climbing around 2,000 feet throughout the entire trip.

Teresa, who lives in Allman Close off Minshall New Road in Crewe, became well known around her local area as she trained in her bright yellow day glo kit and the support has paid off as she is set to hit the £4,000 mark in her fund-raising.

The amazing total rounds of a trip of a lifetime for the brave trekker who had to battle gale force winds, severe blisters and even bad food!

"We were getting up at 6.30am every morning, and walking 10 hours a day, it was certainly an experience and I made some good friends out there," explained Teresa.

"Some days the going would be flat but it would be very windy, on one day the wind reached 110 mph and some of the smaller girls were being blown off the ground!"

Teresa is now suffering from severely aching joints because of the extreme conditions she had to walk through, up and down steep slopes and the amount of walking she was doing in general.

There were a couple of unnerving moments for Teresa: "On one day there were tremendous banging noises when we were walking and they were getting louder but the guide said it was actually the ice breaking off the glaciers and falling into the water!"

The brave walker even lost one of her toenails because of the severity of her blisters: "I feel very proud, I think all the walkers did, there was such a sense of achievement," she added.

"Everybody was there for the same reason, somebody close to them had died and they were putting something back into cancer research.

The George pub in West Street has also been a big help to Teresa hosting events to help with fund-raising and it is holding one last event next Friday, May 11 when a horse racing and auction night is being staged.

Teresa hopes the final fund-raising night will push her total past the £4,000 mark as she has collected some top items, and is also hoping to get some Crewe Alex gear.

"One local person in Crewe has given me about 20 gifts towards the auction, he said he did not want any publicity but he knows who he is!," said Teresa.

Teresa also thanked various independent retailers in the borough who have donated but the fund-raiser was disappointed at the lack of support from the bigger businesses in the area.

Teresa is now back at home but is already thinking of another challenge: "I will definitely do another it has been an adventure in my life and hopefully next year I will be fit enough to take on another challenge."

Anyone who would like to make a donation to Teresa's cause or to attend the final fund-raising event is invited to get in touch on 04102 50297.

Feature by Pete Henshaw

Picture - Teresa is pictured in front of some of the world's most impressive terrain in Chile's Torres Del Paine National Park.

Santiago's statue of the Virgin Mary was one of many sights Teresa managed to see.

All the way from Allman Close to Chile, Teresa is pictured in her training gear, before she travelled out on her big trip. Photo no: SANT 8084-26A.