It’s 4.45am when my phone alarm chimes. Rubbing my eyes, I get dressed and groggily clamber into a waiting Toyota Troop Carrier. We bump downhill towards the cemetery where Anas Madeira’s father, Salvador, is buried and light a candle so his spirit will guide us through the nearby mountains.
Madeira is the leader of Intrepid Travel’s nine-day Timor-Leste Expedition, which is why I’m here. I signed up to visit one of the world’s newest countries out of unabashed curiosity, joining the small-group trip as a solo traveller.
