Long Way Down

Long Way Down -- 4Stars

I give this four starts because I cannot stand some of the language they use. I suppose I should be aware that men on motorbikes curse and swear too much, especially when there are no wives about.

Anyway, I truly did enjoy traveling with them as they made their way from Scotland to the Southern-most tip of Africa. From deserts to rain forests, the two friends made their way south, forever south. They stopped at various points to visit UNICEF centres and talk with the children effected by war. From the sick and dying children of Robin's House in the UK to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda. I must confess that there was more then point in which I cried for those children. No child should go through that, land mines at their front doors or being forced to become a soldier at only eight years old. If you don't feel for them, then you are numb.

The friends traveled through some terrible roads and met every challenge with stubbornness, if not grace. Tumbling off the bike in the sands of the Sudan, getting mucked in the mud after the rains of Ethiopia. No matter what was thrown at them, they continued on and laughed about it later. I suppose that is what true friendship is, dealing with the crap in life and laughing at the end of it. Boil-in-a-bag dinners with elephants walking past your tent, I can't imagine a better way to see Africa. Can you?

Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman

Long Way Round -- 5 stars


All right, this has been sitting on my shelf for several years and I really have been meaning to read it. I'm actually not a huge fan of travel genre because the writers often sound so bloody pretentious when they describe the country side that they view from the spit shined windows of their over priced hotel. This book starts off as a couple of mates act on a dream they've each toyed with since childhood, to ride a motobike around the world.

After months of planning, they start off from London and make their way east to New York City, a trip that will take them four months and 18,887 miles. I laughed with them as they encountered one strange adventure after another. I worried when the rivers they crossed were higher then the engines. With every border crossing, I hoped they would get through it safely and with little hassle. Every day seemed to bring something new to the boys, and therefore to me. By reading the journey they took around the world, I learned that there are still people out there who will stop for a total stranger to help him repair his bike, that will take him into their home, feed him, and offer him a warm bed. The world is full of people who are willing offer a hand in exchange for a smile. I also learned, along with McGregor and Boorman,  that not everything is as it seems and every person deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Most of all, I learned that life isn't about the destination, its all about the journey. Lovingly and honestly written, Long Way Round shows everyone that takes the time to read it that sometimes all you need is a little adventure and fresh air to find what you were looking for, which is often not too far from where you started in the first place.