Wood walks Central America with a Mexican friend he made when he lived in Merida, Mexico. Not as rigorous as his walking the Nile, except for their passage through the Darien Gap, an impenetrable jungle that has stopped most explorers. It was quite the struggle, but oddly took up little space in the book. What was unique to this adventure was Wood's encounters with internationals trekking to enter the US illegally and gang-plagued countries and especially when he had to employ a priest to walk him through a city who ensured his safety with the priest's contacts with the heads of the gangs. The walk occurred during the Trump/Clinton election, and those trekking north had some pretty potent opinions about Trump. This was an excellent book, but it felt much more biographical than his Nile book, and it was almost 1/3 into it before he actually got going on the walk. That's why this wasn't a five star read. I was disappointed in the narrator. His pronunciation of Spanish words was cringeworthy. I found it odd since the author, although British, had lived in Mexico, and trained in Belize when he was in the military. I would have thought the author would vet the narrator! So, skip the audio. ( )

Another excellent book by this author.
Walking the America’s starts basically in Cancun and ends in Colombia
A wonderful running commentary on the people cultures and countries the author and his “guide” encounter, as they walk through Mexico, Belize, Honduras including San Pedro Sula the murder capital of the world, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and finally Panama- including the Darian Gap.
The book also shines an interesting light on the thousands of people from around the world who make this journey in the opposite direction with the hope of getting into the United States and how for some the grass is not always greener in America.
This was a fascinating book. ( )

On an atlas, the small chain of countries that link the great continents of North and South America look tiny. It is a beautiful and varied part of our planet, but their size on the map belies just how tough a part of the world it is. Not only is it hot and humid, but you will have to contend with swamps, malaria, spiders and jaguars and the jungle and the remnants of ancient cities. Not forgetting the armed gangs of drug smugglers and military types with itchy trigger fingers, this is not the place for your tourists. Thankfully Levison Wood is not your regular tourist.

His chosen 1,800-mile route along this slender piece of land would take in eight countries. He was starting with Mexico, where he had persuaded his friend Alberto to come along for the trip. He readily agreed, remembering the time he spent in Africa with him travelling by truck; then Levison dropped the bombshell, saying that they would be walking it… Alberto still agreed to go with him every step of the way.

Levison Wood is one of the few adventurers left in the world who is capable and mad enough to undertake these sorts of long treks across parts of the world that people would not normally venture to. At times it is an unbelievably tough journey, as they deal with hacking their way through the understory, encountering migrants heading for a new life in America and the relentless task of putting one foot in front of the other. He is one tough guy to even attempt a challenge of this order, let alone complete it. Alberto and Wood have even joined the exclusive club of those that have managed to pass the impenetrable jungle at the Darien Gap. This is such a wild area that even the Pan-American highway stops in its two continent run. It is a reasonably well-written account of his trip, if you are expecting literary excellence then this is not necessarily going to be the author for you. What you do get though is an honest account of a unique hike with all the highs and lows from a genuine tough guy.

Great stuff. Now to watch the TV series. ( )

‘’Mayan sacrifice bowl,’ he said in a crackled voice through the intercom radio. He then beckoned me to follow him. Kicking our fins, we swam through the crystal water ever deeper into the depths, following the course of the sandbank. Then I saw a huge horn poking out of the sand. On closer inspection, it seemed to be attached to a skull: it looked like a cow or a buffalo. ‘Sacrifice,’ came the crackly answer from our guide.
Further still and we came to something even more remarkable - and disturbing. There, on a rocky ledge, was another skull. But this time there were no horns. It was clearly that of a human being. Nearby, scattered around the bottom were the rest of the remains - thigh bones, ribs, spinal vertebrae, a pelvis.’’

‘’’The really poor people,’ Alberto explained, ‘get buried in a communal plot for two years. After that, the grave is dug up on the Day of the Dead and the bones are taken out.’ He looked sinister in the half-light of the cemetery, a solitary streetlight flickered across the graves. ‘Then,’ he carried on, ‘they are put in boxes, skulls and everything, and they’re here.’ He pointed to the inside wall, where I could see what looked like small pigeonholes less than a foot wide. Each of the dark crevices contained a rusty old metal box. We got closer. Some of the compartments had bars blocking entry to what lay within. Others were open. Many of them were filled with candles and offerings. The dead are venerated here in Mexico, and nowhere more so than by the descendants of the Mayans here in the Yucatan. I opened a creaky box and there inside, looking up, was the skull of a man, on a pile of bones. I closed it quickly.
‘Let’s leave,’ I said to Alberto, ‘We’ve seen enough death for one day.’

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Levison Wood didn't actually walk from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, as may be suggested by the first part of the title. But he did walk across the Yucatan Peninsula into Guatemala, and through the rest of Central America (including the Darién Gap) into Colombia. This is his story of that walk, including jumping into cenotes, meeting narco-traffickers, diving into the pre-colonial history of the area, meeting migrants trying to get to the US, and adventuring through nearly impassable jungles. An enjoyable read. ( )