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The Gringo Trail
With little more than backpacks and desire for adventure, Mark Mann and two friends set out on an expedition through Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia, submerging themselves in Latin culture. Through dense forests, daunting mountains, and pristine beaches, the trio makes its way — in a drug-induced haze. Soon the drugs become an all-consuming addiction that changes the lives of Mann and his friends forever. This is an engaging travelogue and frank memoir evokes the magical realism of South American literature. “Darkly comic, ultimately shocking, and packed with astute observations.” — Geographical
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
May 11, 2014
It's all good apart from the bit where he feels sorry for a rapist because he's a peasant and 'probably couldn't help himself around an exotic white woman' ERM.
January 8, 2016
3,5
Bu kitabın sadece karakterlerin yabancı ülkelerde başlarına gelenler hakkında olduğunu sanıyorsanız çok yanılıyorsunuz. Bu kitap bir bilgi kaynağı olması yanı sıra soykırıma, faşistliğe, tarihe, kültürlere, siyasete cesurca değinmesi ve batı kültürüne göndermeleri benim için kitabın en önemli yanıydı. Ayrıca hepsini tek bir kefeye koymak doğru olmaz ancak İspanyollara eski gözle bakamıyorum.
Bir de, bu kitapta Türkiye'yi bulmanız çok yüksek. Okurken 'Acaba Türkiye'ye mi geçtiler de ben mi kaçırdım?' diye düşündüm. Özellikle 'Yoksulluk' kısmı. Çok çarpıcı tek bir cümle var o kısımda. Adaletsizlik dolu tek. bir. cümle.
Tüm bunlara rağmen yazarın hatalarından kaynaklanan ve okumamı güçleştiren etmenler de vardı.
-Baş karakterin düşüncelerinin yeterince aktarılmaması,
-Karakterlerin (ilk başlarda) gereksizce geçmişlerine dönüp durması,
-Felsefeden faydalanabilecek zemini varken kullanmaması,
-Bilgilerin 'şöyledir, böyledir' şeklinde anlatılması,
-Bazı sahnelerin amaçsız olması ve yerinde olmaması,
-Yine bazı sahnelerin gereksiz uzunluğu gibi nedenleri sayabilirim. Bu kadar güzel bir kitapta keşke yukarıda yazdıklarım olsaydı ve olmasaydı da çok çok daha sevip 'Baş ucu kitaplarımdan!' diyebilseydim.
Ve Gezginler'in baş karakteri gibi ben de dünyanın bok gibi olduğunu düşünüyorum ve yaşamaya devam etmek için bir amaç bulamıyorum.
Latin Amerika'da, Gringo Trail yolunda bulabilir miyim acaba?
Gelmek isteyen?
Bu kitabın sadece karakterlerin yabancı ülkelerde başlarına gelenler hakkında olduğunu sanıyorsanız çok yanılıyorsunuz. Bu kitap bir bilgi kaynağı olması yanı sıra soykırıma, faşistliğe, tarihe, kültürlere, siyasete cesurca değinmesi ve batı kültürüne göndermeleri benim için kitabın en önemli yanıydı. Ayrıca hepsini tek bir kefeye koymak doğru olmaz ancak İspanyollara eski gözle bakamıyorum.
Bir de, bu kitapta Türkiye'yi bulmanız çok yüksek. Okurken 'Acaba Türkiye'ye mi geçtiler de ben mi kaçırdım?' diye düşündüm. Özellikle 'Yoksulluk' kısmı. Çok çarpıcı tek bir cümle var o kısımda. Adaletsizlik dolu tek. bir. cümle.
Tüm bunlara rağmen yazarın hatalarından kaynaklanan ve okumamı güçleştiren etmenler de vardı.
-Baş karakterin düşüncelerinin yeterince aktarılmaması,
-Karakterlerin (ilk başlarda) gereksizce geçmişlerine dönüp durması,
-Felsefeden faydalanabilecek zemini varken kullanmaması,
-Bilgilerin 'şöyledir, böyledir' şeklinde anlatılması,
-Bazı sahnelerin amaçsız olması ve yerinde olmaması,
-Yine bazı sahnelerin gereksiz uzunluğu gibi nedenleri sayabilirim. Bu kadar güzel bir kitapta keşke yukarıda yazdıklarım olsaydı ve olmasaydı da çok çok daha sevip 'Baş ucu kitaplarımdan!' diyebilseydim.
Ve Gezginler'in baş karakteri gibi ben de dünyanın bok gibi olduğunu düşünüyorum ve yaşamaya devam etmek için bir amaç bulamıyorum.
Latin Amerika'da, Gringo Trail yolunda bulabilir miyim acaba?
Gelmek isteyen?
February 26, 2015
Çevirmeni olmaktan büyük mutluluk duyduğum kitap. Daha ne diyebilirim ki:)
December 9, 2017
The Gringo Trail forged a path as one of the earliest backpacking books detailing Mann's travels with his girlfriend and friend on South America's infamous backpacking route in the early 90's. From the get-go, drugs feature heavily throughout the book, but the focus remains on the actual travelling and history of the region, which all combined, make this a good insight into the backpacking scene from this earlier time.
Beginning in Ecuador, Mann and his girlfriend, Melissa, meet up with their friend newly arrived from London who, somewhat confusing, shares the same first name as that of the author. Invited along for his vitality, energy, "ability for weird shit to happen" and for being a useful person to have along if things get ugly, Mark becomes the de facto centrepiece of the book.
Amidst all this drug taking, the two Marks and Melissa manage to squeeze in a heap of real travelling. Whether hiking the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu, swimming with piranhas in the Amazon jungle, partying in Carnival or immersing themselves in the surprisingly chilled out backpacking hideaway of Arrecifes in Colombia, there is plenty of genuinely interesting moments along the Gringo Trail to entertain and induce a desire to travel oneself.
Mann's The Gringo Trail provides a glimpse of what the backpacking scene in South America was like, in a time before Facebook, Instagram and iPhones enabled backpackers to entertain themselves and post instantaneous selfies to the wider world. There is a lot of R-rated material and themes throughout the book and whilst it would benefit from a more thorough edit, to better fit with today's social norms, it still offers plenty by way of your standard travelogue-type fare in order to interest and entertain along the way. If you can get over Mann's mansplaining style, you'll find a book that is written with a good amount of suspense and one which contains a real sting in the tail of their trail that makes for addictive reading. The Gringo Trail forged a path as one of the earliest backpacking books detailing Mann's travels with his girlfriend and friend on South America's infamous backpacking route in the early 90's. From the get-go, drugs feature heavily throughout the book, but the focus remains on the actual travelling and history of the region, which all combined, make this a good insight into the backpacking scene from this earlier time.
Beginning in Ecuador, Mann and his girlfriend, Melissa, meet up with their friend newly arrived from London who, somewhat confusing, shares the same first name as that of the author. Invited along for his vitality, energy, "ability for weird shit to happen" and for being a useful person to have along if things get ugly, Mark becomes the de facto centrepiece of the book.
Mark's troubled background and desire to consume copious amounts of drugs - cocaine, weed, ayahuasca and San Pedro - permeate throughout the book. Accordingly, be prepared for a fair amount of discussion about drugs and in particular the hallucinogenic effects that occur whilst he and his fellow travellers consume these. As related background to this, Mann provides some of the history of the drug industry of this region, as information on the shamans responsible for producing some of the more traditional drugs.
Amidst all this drug taking, the two Marks and Melissa manage to squeeze in a heap of real travelling. Whether hiking the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu, swimming with piranhas in the Amazon jungle, partying in Carnival or immersing themselves in the surprisingly chilled out backpacking hideaway of Arrecifes in Colombia, there is plenty of genuinely interesting moments along the Gringo Trail to entertain and induce a desire to travel oneself.
Mann's The Gringo Trail provides a glimpse of what the backpacking scene in South America was like, in a time before Facebook, Instagram and iPhones enabled backpackers to entertain themselves and post instantaneous selfies to the wider world. There is a lot of R-rated material and themes throughout the book and whilst it would benefit from a more thorough edit, to better fit with today's social norms, it still offers plenty by way of your standard travelogue-type fare in order to interest and entertain along the way. If you can get over Mann's mansplaining style, you'll find a book that is written with a good amount of suspense and one which contains a real sting in the tail of their trail that makes for addictive reading. The Gringo Trail forged a path as one of the earliest backpacking books detailing Mann's travels with his girlfriend and friend on South America's infamous backpacking route in the early 90's. From the get-go, drugs feature heavily throughout the book, but the focus remains on the actual travelling and history of the region, which all combined, make this a good insight into the backpacking scene from this earlier time.
Beginning in Ecuador, Mann and his girlfriend, Melissa, meet up with their friend newly arrived from London who, somewhat confusing, shares the same first name as that of the author. Invited along for his vitality, energy, "ability for weird shit to happen" and for being a useful person to have along if things get ugly, Mark becomes the de facto centrepiece of the book.
Mark's troubled background and desire to consume copious amounts of drugs - cocaine, weed, ayahuasca and San Pedro - permeate throughout the book. Accordingly, be prepared for a fair amount of discussion about drugs and in particular the hallucinogenic effects that occur whilst he and his fellow travellers consume these. As related background to this, Mann provides some of the history of the drug industry of this region, as information on the shamans responsible for producing some of the more traditional drugs.
Amidst all this drug taking, the two Marks and Melissa manage to squeeze in a heap of real travelling. Whether hiking the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu, swimming with piranhas in the Amazon jungle, partying in Carnival or immersing themselves in the surprisingly chilled out backpacking hideaway of Arrecifes in Colombia, there is plenty of genuinely interesting moments along the Gringo Trail to entertain and induce a desire to travel oneself.
Mann's The Gringo Trail provides a glimpse of what the backpacking scene in South America was like, in a time before Facebook, Instagram and iPhones enabled backpackers to entertain themselves and post instantaneous selfies to the wider world. There is a lot of R-rated material and themes throughout the book and whilst it would benefit from a more thorough edit, to better fit with today's social norms, it still offers plenty by way of your standard travelogue-type fare in order to interest and entertain along the way. If you can get over Mann's mansplaining style, you'll find a book that is written with a good amount of suspense and one which contains a real sting in the tail of their trail that makes for addictive reading. Full Review Here
Beginning in Ecuador, Mann and his girlfriend, Melissa, meet up with their friend newly arrived from London who, somewhat confusing, shares the same first name as that of the author. Invited along for his vitality, energy, "ability for weird shit to happen" and for being a useful person to have along if things get ugly, Mark becomes the de facto centrepiece of the book.
Amidst all this drug taking, the two Marks and Melissa manage to squeeze in a heap of real travelling. Whether hiking the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu, swimming with piranhas in the Amazon jungle, partying in Carnival or immersing themselves in the surprisingly chilled out backpacking hideaway of Arrecifes in Colombia, there is plenty of genuinely interesting moments along the Gringo Trail to entertain and induce a desire to travel oneself.
Mann's The Gringo Trail provides a glimpse of what the backpacking scene in South America was like, in a time before Facebook, Instagram and iPhones enabled backpackers to entertain themselves and post instantaneous selfies to the wider world. There is a lot of R-rated material and themes throughout the book and whilst it would benefit from a more thorough edit, to better fit with today's social norms, it still offers plenty by way of your standard travelogue-type fare in order to interest and entertain along the way. If you can get over Mann's mansplaining style, you'll find a book that is written with a good amount of suspense and one which contains a real sting in the tail of their trail that makes for addictive reading. The Gringo Trail forged a path as one of the earliest backpacking books detailing Mann's travels with his girlfriend and friend on South America's infamous backpacking route in the early 90's. From the get-go, drugs feature heavily throughout the book, but the focus remains on the actual travelling and history of the region, which all combined, make this a good insight into the backpacking scene from this earlier time.
Beginning in Ecuador, Mann and his girlfriend, Melissa, meet up with their friend newly arrived from London who, somewhat confusing, shares the same first name as that of the author. Invited along for his vitality, energy, "ability for weird shit to happen" and for being a useful person to have along if things get ugly, Mark becomes the de facto centrepiece of the book.
Mark's troubled background and desire to consume copious amounts of drugs - cocaine, weed, ayahuasca and San Pedro - permeate throughout the book. Accordingly, be prepared for a fair amount of discussion about drugs and in particular the hallucinogenic effects that occur whilst he and his fellow travellers consume these. As related background to this, Mann provides some of the history of the drug industry of this region, as information on the shamans responsible for producing some of the more traditional drugs.
Amidst all this drug taking, the two Marks and Melissa manage to squeeze in a heap of real travelling. Whether hiking the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu, swimming with piranhas in the Amazon jungle, partying in Carnival or immersing themselves in the surprisingly chilled out backpacking hideaway of Arrecifes in Colombia, there is plenty of genuinely interesting moments along the Gringo Trail to entertain and induce a desire to travel oneself.
Mann's The Gringo Trail provides a glimpse of what the backpacking scene in South America was like, in a time before Facebook, Instagram and iPhones enabled backpackers to entertain themselves and post instantaneous selfies to the wider world. There is a lot of R-rated material and themes throughout the book and whilst it would benefit from a more thorough edit, to better fit with today's social norms, it still offers plenty by way of your standard travelogue-type fare in order to interest and entertain along the way. If you can get over Mann's mansplaining style, you'll find a book that is written with a good amount of suspense and one which contains a real sting in the tail of their trail that makes for addictive reading. The Gringo Trail forged a path as one of the earliest backpacking books detailing Mann's travels with his girlfriend and friend on South America's infamous backpacking route in the early 90's. From the get-go, drugs feature heavily throughout the book, but the focus remains on the actual travelling and history of the region, which all combined, make this a good insight into the backpacking scene from this earlier time.
Beginning in Ecuador, Mann and his girlfriend, Melissa, meet up with their friend newly arrived from London who, somewhat confusing, shares the same first name as that of the author. Invited along for his vitality, energy, "ability for weird shit to happen" and for being a useful person to have along if things get ugly, Mark becomes the de facto centrepiece of the book.
Mark's troubled background and desire to consume copious amounts of drugs - cocaine, weed, ayahuasca and San Pedro - permeate throughout the book. Accordingly, be prepared for a fair amount of discussion about drugs and in particular the hallucinogenic effects that occur whilst he and his fellow travellers consume these. As related background to this, Mann provides some of the history of the drug industry of this region, as information on the shamans responsible for producing some of the more traditional drugs.
Amidst all this drug taking, the two Marks and Melissa manage to squeeze in a heap of real travelling. Whether hiking the Inca Trail up to Machu Picchu, swimming with piranhas in the Amazon jungle, partying in Carnival or immersing themselves in the surprisingly chilled out backpacking hideaway of Arrecifes in Colombia, there is plenty of genuinely interesting moments along the Gringo Trail to entertain and induce a desire to travel oneself.
Mann's The Gringo Trail provides a glimpse of what the backpacking scene in South America was like, in a time before Facebook, Instagram and iPhones enabled backpackers to entertain themselves and post instantaneous selfies to the wider world. There is a lot of R-rated material and themes throughout the book and whilst it would benefit from a more thorough edit, to better fit with today's social norms, it still offers plenty by way of your standard travelogue-type fare in order to interest and entertain along the way. If you can get over Mann's mansplaining style, you'll find a book that is written with a good amount of suspense and one which contains a real sting in the tail of their trail that makes for addictive reading. Full Review Here
February 27, 2011
At first, I was willing to go along with the author on his uneven tale through South America with his girlfriend and druggie jackass friend. It was almost a collection of brief vignettes from the travels interspersed with history and social commentary. Where he lost me was when he expressed sympathy toward a rapist in Colombia, a local who had raped a traveler from Europe, because he was tempted by all the scantily clad women about and got drunk and exhibited bad judgment. After that I was too angry to possibly enjoy any aspect of the book and if I wasn't stuck on a 6 hour flight, I probably would have tossed the book right there.
November 22, 2023
bloke was odd the whole way through n then sympathised with a rapist so stopped reading
November 7, 2017
You will have to work hard to get past the fact that the author and his friends sound like three of the most unbearable sounding arseholes you could possibly meet in order to find the more interesting contextual information that is mostly lifted from other, (probably more interesting) , books.
The author comes off, in many places, as a misogynist, repeatedly ridiculing his girlfriend for being less intelligent than him and making it clear to the reader that she is very attractive and he has done well for himself. His paragraphs on a rape by a local man at Arrecifes beach in Colombia are some of the most blatant victim blaming I think I have ever come across in print and made difficult reading.
In addition to this, his comments about local people being inbred or 'retarded' which he clearly seems to think are amusing and edgy, are outright offensive and stone age in tone. Do yourself a favour and pick up a more interesting, less self-aggrandizing and more up to date book if you are interested in reading about this part of the world. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
The author comes off, in many places, as a misogynist, repeatedly ridiculing his girlfriend for being less intelligent than him and making it clear to the reader that she is very attractive and he has done well for himself. His paragraphs on a rape by a local man at Arrecifes beach in Colombia are some of the most blatant victim blaming I think I have ever come across in print and made difficult reading.
In addition to this, his comments about local people being inbred or 'retarded' which he clearly seems to think are amusing and edgy, are outright offensive and stone age in tone. Do yourself a favour and pick up a more interesting, less self-aggrandizing and more up to date book if you are interested in reading about this part of the world. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
January 28, 2012
It's good but has a few problems. Firtly the guy goes into too much detail about the history and politics of every place they arrive at. You get used to it, but this is not the way the book is advertised on the cover. In fact generally I'd say that the book can't quite decide if it's a novel or a travel guide. And then there's then end. Don't want to give too much away... but it's not exactly enjoyable reading.
May 15, 2020
Mark Mann decides to travel the Gringo Trail with his girlfriend, Melisa, and junkie friend, Mark. He gives a nice description of the places he visited and about his adventures while trekking through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. From the beginning, I couldn't relate to Mark and his friends, but it was interesting to read about a very different style of travel. I also liked the addition of socio-political and cultural background the author included about the places he visited. Moreover, the ending did remind me of the dangers of traveling and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone too far.
August 15, 2017
Fabulous book. A true journey of discovery, set in a wondrous place. Top stuff.
May 31, 2022
I thought I had read it incorrectly when he was sympathising with a rapist and so went back and read it again - sadly I was not mistaken.
The end of the book and the musings about life and death are interesting and poignant but far too much stuff about drugs - yawn.
Ironically, the part at the end where his mate dies is probably the best part as at least it provides some
depth and significance.
The end of the book and the musings about life and death are interesting and poignant but far too much stuff about drugs - yawn.
Ironically, the part at the end where his mate dies is probably the best part as at least it provides some
depth and significance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2015
South America is a continent of contrasts, from the northern Caribbean shores, corrupt officials in all the countries, deep jungles, amazing histories from the Incas to the Aztecs and the modern horrors of drugs and guerrilla warfare.
Mark Mann with his girlfriend Melissa and another friend Mark decide to travel there to undertake the Gringo trail, a uniquely South American experience. There is a little tension as the friends Mark is really there for the drugs, and really is not interested in undertaking the trekking. At various points in the journey they split and go their own separate ways, meeting up again at other locations.
It is a funny mix of some travel writing with potted histories of the places that they are visiting, along with some fairly vivid descriptions of the soft and hard drugs that they took whilst on their trip. It did make for interesting reading though. Sadly though, this once in a lifetime trip was marred at the end.
Found the writing to be ok with good descriptions of the places visited, but 2.5 stars I think is fair.
Mark Mann with his girlfriend Melissa and another friend Mark decide to travel there to undertake the Gringo trail, a uniquely South American experience. There is a little tension as the friends Mark is really there for the drugs, and really is not interested in undertaking the trekking. At various points in the journey they split and go their own separate ways, meeting up again at other locations.
It is a funny mix of some travel writing with potted histories of the places that they are visiting, along with some fairly vivid descriptions of the soft and hard drugs that they took whilst on their trip. It did make for interesting reading though. Sadly though, this once in a lifetime trip was marred at the end.
Found the writing to be ok with good descriptions of the places visited, but 2.5 stars I think is fair.
June 24, 2013
I adored this book. After having a Gap Year in South America, I was missing my friends and being on the road. This book really brought me back to the good old South America, and the Gringo lifestyle. Mark is so easy to relate to, having worked and studied all his life, he made the decision to hit the Gringo Trail - something we all need to do!!
Its made me realize how lucky I was in my time in SA, and how careful I need to be in the future. Making good choices, and not dwelling on the past, saying yes to every opportunity - and hopefully I can get back to SA to travel more soon.
I loved the book.
Its made me realize how lucky I was in my time in SA, and how careful I need to be in the future. Making good choices, and not dwelling on the past, saying yes to every opportunity - and hopefully I can get back to SA to travel more soon.
I loved the book.
October 6, 2020
It would have been four stars but the paragraph about the rape is completely unacceptable. A tourist is raped and the author feels sorry for the rapist as he is old and unattractive and he has to look at young scantily clad women all the time. Ridiculous and victim blaming. Take it out of the book.
February 2, 2016
Without question, the worst travel book I've read. Neither amusing not insightful (even though it thinks it is - rather like talking to a stoned guy at a house party, which is ironically a metaphor that's apt), and in places highly questionable. Avoid. Try Mike Carter.
March 11, 2015
Onlar Güney Afrika'yı gezerken, siz de kendi ruhani dünyanızda gezintiye çıkıyorsunuz...
August 27, 2019
really entertaining. can't wait to visit arecife, colombia!
July 12, 2021
A good book but disliked the transphobic comments and the really bad perception of the rape incident.
April 24, 2019
Whilst backpacking I once came across an Australian who’d been on the road for two years. I asked him “Where’s the best place you’ve been in all that time”. He named a small village in India. Intrigued, I asked him why that place was so special, expecting some deep spiritual experience but he looked me in the eye and said: “I got stoned for a week and it cost me next to nothing”.
There is a part of the backpacking community whose urge to experience the world is dominated by a desire to take as many and as varied drugs as possible. This book reflects that side of backpacker culture in an unapologetic way and it starts from page one.
“Mark took his last seventy mushrooms on the plane from London to Quito. ……… I guess Ecuadorian customs aren’t really on the look-out for people bringing hallucinogenic drugs INTO South America”
The book is as much a drug diary as a travel diary. So why, you might ask have I just read this book several times – even though I think it’s poorly written and deeply unsatisfying? Well, the simple fact is that it’s a trip down memory lane for me and a reminder of some very special people.
There will be a ‘spoiler’ towards the end of the review – well maybe we’ll call it a semi-spoiler. I’ll reveal what happens but not to whom it happens. I’ll warn you when it’s coming so you really can avoid it. However, most people will read the book because someone tells them they should and most likely the recommender will already have given away the story. I knew the ending before I read the book – actually I knew the ending before I even knew there was a book.
The Gringo Trail was published in 1999 and over the years has gained a reputation as a bit of a backpacker-classic, being likened by the publisher’s PR department to such classics as Alex Garland’s ‘The Beach’ and (stretching credulity somewhat) Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’. If you travel in South America, sooner or later you’ll find a battered copy in the hands of a fellow traveller or on a hostel 'swap shelf'. It’s an account of the narrator’s trip around Andean South America in the 1990s. He and his travel companions bus their way around Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Columbia – meeting some strange locals, staying in some bad cheap hotels, hanging out with lots of other travellers, making some (occasionally) interesting points about ecology and politics but mostly taking lots of drugs – some of them the stuff they could have found back home and others of a much more exotic and psychedelic nature. They camp in some wild and glorious places, get into a few scrapes and generally do the sort of things backpackers do all over the world.
For me, the book has one big problem and that’s a clear case of not being sure what it’s supposed to be. Mann flips back and forth between the wild and wacky adventures of the three travellers, some fairly heavy ‘book research’ pieces on the history of the region and some quite opinionated stuff on ecology and politics. I find it hard to imagine that the entirety of this mix will appeal to most people. Personally, I love the travellers’ tales and I skim over the heavy stuff. Others will love the more serious bits and find the tales hard to believe.
The book is told in a number of distinctly different ‘voices’ which don’t gel together in a convincing way. It’s as though Mann got back from his trip, wrote up the fun bits and the personal insights then sought out a publisher who told him to “pad it out with some facts and figures”. It doesn’t read as the sort of thing someone would really put together if they weren’t trying to reach a minimum word limit.
For the book to be more effective I think it needed to have found a style and stuck to it, rather than finding three styles and flipping between them in a schizophrenic frenzy. To be a better travelogue, it needs a map because it’s not as if their route is in any way logical. There is undoubtedly some good travel advice in there – e.g. don’t get set up by the police, never carry too much money and don’t take drugs across international borders – but I can’t help but think that there were a lot of things Mann could have told us that would have been more useful to a less drug-fixated traveller.
I have read a lot of reviews of this book and many readers have suggested that the drug use/abuse is exaggerated and done for effect. For me, knowing the people involved, that’s the aspect that rings most true and it’s the pseudo-intellectual stuff that jars.
There are three key characters in this book.
Mark Mann – the author/narrator. He’s the ‘straight man’ of the piece, although in any normal setting he’d be considered fairly wild. He planned the trip, researched the itinerary and wrote up the story. He took the time to learn some Spanish and to try to understand the culture.
Typical comment – “The idea of simply taking someone else’s word for something, without checking it against every guidebook published since 1932, horrified me.”
Melissa – Mark Mann’s girlfriend. An ex-heroin addict who allegedly cured her own cancer through visualisation and positive thinking, she’s got plenty of common sense but none of the self-conscious intellectualism of the Marks. Teasing Melissa and talking down to her from their perch of superior intellect gives the two Marks a lot of amusement.
Typical comment – Melissa gets a lot of the best lines. For example. when the boys are talking about the sea calling out to them she says ‘ Like the Sirens……in Jason and the Astronauts’.
Mark West – the wild one. Larger than life, arrogant, selfish, fiercely intelligent, charismatic – much more interested in new pharmacological experiences than the Nazca Lines or Machu Pichu. Mark attracts trouble like black velvet attracts cat fluff. He is thoroughly unreliable in every possible respect.
Typical comment – “There I was in the middle of Bogota, coked up to my eyeballs, in a hallway holding two machetes, while some drunk Colombians argued about whether or not to blow up a bar with a live hand-grenade. And I thought ‘yep, this is Colombia, just like I imagined it’.”
I was at college in Oxford with the Marks and every few years I read this book to remind myself of old friends. They were in the year above me and we lived in the same student housing for a couple of years in the mid-1980’s. I also knew some of the minor characters in the book who were people we lived with. I read the book every few years to remind me of people I cared about who didn’t always care for themselves as much as they should have.
I was an ex-grammar school girl whose teachers had done a good job of putting the fear of God into her on all things related to sex and drugs and probably a few related to rock and roll as well. I didn’t even start drinking until my third year. This was a time when drug-taking in Oxford was at a bit of a crisis – some may remember the death of Olivia Channon, daughter of a Conservative minister. I’m happy to say that whilst there was a lot of it about, it wasn’t that hard to avoid getting involved.
THE SPOILER – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Without the death of one of his companions, this book wouldn’t really have a story to tell. What I admire about Mann’s writing is that he doesn’t glorify the lost person – he still writes honestly and in a way that anyone who knew them would recognise as genuine. He also avoids the temptation to make himself the hero of the piece – he accepts a role as the boring straight man and that honesty and integrity is the saving grace of this book for me.
Would I recommend the book?
To be honest, if it’s lying in your hotel in Quito and you’ve finished everything else, you might as well pick it up and have a read but try not to let it scare you too much. You can undoubtedly travel around the area without getting into all these scrapes. If you want a book to help you plan a trip to Andean South America, buy a proper guide book.
There is a part of the backpacking community whose urge to experience the world is dominated by a desire to take as many and as varied drugs as possible. This book reflects that side of backpacker culture in an unapologetic way and it starts from page one.
“Mark took his last seventy mushrooms on the plane from London to Quito. ……… I guess Ecuadorian customs aren’t really on the look-out for people bringing hallucinogenic drugs INTO South America”
The book is as much a drug diary as a travel diary. So why, you might ask have I just read this book several times – even though I think it’s poorly written and deeply unsatisfying? Well, the simple fact is that it’s a trip down memory lane for me and a reminder of some very special people.
There will be a ‘spoiler’ towards the end of the review – well maybe we’ll call it a semi-spoiler. I’ll reveal what happens but not to whom it happens. I’ll warn you when it’s coming so you really can avoid it. However, most people will read the book because someone tells them they should and most likely the recommender will already have given away the story. I knew the ending before I read the book – actually I knew the ending before I even knew there was a book.
The Gringo Trail was published in 1999 and over the years has gained a reputation as a bit of a backpacker-classic, being likened by the publisher’s PR department to such classics as Alex Garland’s ‘The Beach’ and (stretching credulity somewhat) Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’. If you travel in South America, sooner or later you’ll find a battered copy in the hands of a fellow traveller or on a hostel 'swap shelf'. It’s an account of the narrator’s trip around Andean South America in the 1990s. He and his travel companions bus their way around Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Columbia – meeting some strange locals, staying in some bad cheap hotels, hanging out with lots of other travellers, making some (occasionally) interesting points about ecology and politics but mostly taking lots of drugs – some of them the stuff they could have found back home and others of a much more exotic and psychedelic nature. They camp in some wild and glorious places, get into a few scrapes and generally do the sort of things backpackers do all over the world.
For me, the book has one big problem and that’s a clear case of not being sure what it’s supposed to be. Mann flips back and forth between the wild and wacky adventures of the three travellers, some fairly heavy ‘book research’ pieces on the history of the region and some quite opinionated stuff on ecology and politics. I find it hard to imagine that the entirety of this mix will appeal to most people. Personally, I love the travellers’ tales and I skim over the heavy stuff. Others will love the more serious bits and find the tales hard to believe.
The book is told in a number of distinctly different ‘voices’ which don’t gel together in a convincing way. It’s as though Mann got back from his trip, wrote up the fun bits and the personal insights then sought out a publisher who told him to “pad it out with some facts and figures”. It doesn’t read as the sort of thing someone would really put together if they weren’t trying to reach a minimum word limit.
For the book to be more effective I think it needed to have found a style and stuck to it, rather than finding three styles and flipping between them in a schizophrenic frenzy. To be a better travelogue, it needs a map because it’s not as if their route is in any way logical. There is undoubtedly some good travel advice in there – e.g. don’t get set up by the police, never carry too much money and don’t take drugs across international borders – but I can’t help but think that there were a lot of things Mann could have told us that would have been more useful to a less drug-fixated traveller.
I have read a lot of reviews of this book and many readers have suggested that the drug use/abuse is exaggerated and done for effect. For me, knowing the people involved, that’s the aspect that rings most true and it’s the pseudo-intellectual stuff that jars.
There are three key characters in this book.
Mark Mann – the author/narrator. He’s the ‘straight man’ of the piece, although in any normal setting he’d be considered fairly wild. He planned the trip, researched the itinerary and wrote up the story. He took the time to learn some Spanish and to try to understand the culture.
Typical comment – “The idea of simply taking someone else’s word for something, without checking it against every guidebook published since 1932, horrified me.”
Melissa – Mark Mann’s girlfriend. An ex-heroin addict who allegedly cured her own cancer through visualisation and positive thinking, she’s got plenty of common sense but none of the self-conscious intellectualism of the Marks. Teasing Melissa and talking down to her from their perch of superior intellect gives the two Marks a lot of amusement.
Typical comment – Melissa gets a lot of the best lines. For example. when the boys are talking about the sea calling out to them she says ‘ Like the Sirens……in Jason and the Astronauts’.
Mark West – the wild one. Larger than life, arrogant, selfish, fiercely intelligent, charismatic – much more interested in new pharmacological experiences than the Nazca Lines or Machu Pichu. Mark attracts trouble like black velvet attracts cat fluff. He is thoroughly unreliable in every possible respect.
Typical comment – “There I was in the middle of Bogota, coked up to my eyeballs, in a hallway holding two machetes, while some drunk Colombians argued about whether or not to blow up a bar with a live hand-grenade. And I thought ‘yep, this is Colombia, just like I imagined it’.”
I was at college in Oxford with the Marks and every few years I read this book to remind myself of old friends. They were in the year above me and we lived in the same student housing for a couple of years in the mid-1980’s. I also knew some of the minor characters in the book who were people we lived with. I read the book every few years to remind me of people I cared about who didn’t always care for themselves as much as they should have.
I was an ex-grammar school girl whose teachers had done a good job of putting the fear of God into her on all things related to sex and drugs and probably a few related to rock and roll as well. I didn’t even start drinking until my third year. This was a time when drug-taking in Oxford was at a bit of a crisis – some may remember the death of Olivia Channon, daughter of a Conservative minister. I’m happy to say that whilst there was a lot of it about, it wasn’t that hard to avoid getting involved.
THE SPOILER – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Without the death of one of his companions, this book wouldn’t really have a story to tell. What I admire about Mann’s writing is that he doesn’t glorify the lost person – he still writes honestly and in a way that anyone who knew them would recognise as genuine. He also avoids the temptation to make himself the hero of the piece – he accepts a role as the boring straight man and that honesty and integrity is the saving grace of this book for me.
Would I recommend the book?
To be honest, if it’s lying in your hotel in Quito and you’ve finished everything else, you might as well pick it up and have a read but try not to let it scare you too much. You can undoubtedly travel around the area without getting into all these scrapes. If you want a book to help you plan a trip to Andean South America, buy a proper guide book.
January 7, 2022
A story of friends, drugs and traveling in South America. It was a very interesting book written by a British bloke who was trying to find himself. Lost and confused, he signed up for an adventure through Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru with his Party Animal friend Mark and his girlfriend. The geographical and cultural history included in the book was what I loved most. A great read, especially considering we are living the trail that he is describing. In fact, we stayed in one of the hostels he wrote about staying in.
June 10, 2023
This book automatically loses points for both men travelling together being called Mark. Just change one of the names.
I got most of the way through this book before realising I was dreading having to read it when I sat down for my cup of coffee. 280 pages in and I genuinely cannot tell you what happened in this book. The formula is small chapter on the history of a place and then pages of fighting with travelling companions or talk of drugs. The author is spouted as dull, but both Marks are dull. Wouldn't travel with any of yis.
I got most of the way through this book before realising I was dreading having to read it when I sat down for my cup of coffee. 280 pages in and I genuinely cannot tell you what happened in this book. The formula is small chapter on the history of a place and then pages of fighting with travelling companions or talk of drugs. The author is spouted as dull, but both Marks are dull. Wouldn't travel with any of yis.
June 28, 2020
A horrible book that mixes historical Misinformation (capital M here), and insulting the funny little backwards natives, describing them as ignorant retarded children, or stupid evil halfpersons.
Besides that, you get to enjoy the protagonists constantly being drunk or on different drugs, as if it was the best idea in the world.
Glad that I got it free from an exchange book site, I will destroy it instead of passing it on.
Besides that, you get to enjoy the protagonists constantly being drunk or on different drugs, as if it was the best idea in the world.
Glad that I got it free from an exchange book site, I will destroy it instead of passing it on.
April 3, 2022
I probably wouldn’t have read past the first few pages if I wasn’t plainly interested in South America however, it does generally read like a GCSE writing project. It’s bearable until a random passage titled ‘the rape’ where the author sympathises with a rapist and elects the sadness and despair of losing your job after a bad judgement call. I intend to burn my copy to keep it out of circulation forever more.
What the actual fuck.
What the actual fuck.
July 13, 2023
A very readable travel fiction book, following a trail through South America. Darkly comical and light-hearted, it had me laughing out loud a few times with its sarcastic humour, particularly when observing how other countries operate. It had some deep, profound and reflective sections about existence, which I felt resonated with me. A sad, tragic ending, but it gave the whole book a profound message. Probably only loses a star for me, as I didn't really warm to the characters.
July 14, 2024
This paints a really accurate picture of what backpacking in South America was like before the smartphone age. I travelled to many of the same places, around the same time as the author and huis observations are excellent and his narrative informative. Those who rate the whole book because of the rape scene, seem to have missed the point. A gritty, at times dark, but a very good picture of what travelling in Latin America was like at this time.
November 4, 2017
I take the point about the trivialising of rape (he should take this out) and the drug stuff does get tedious. However it was a great South American travelogue and I liked the well researched background. The footnotes were frustratingly at the back and I was reading on kindle. The ending was moving and there were very funny bits and bits which made me think
September 23, 2018
This book started in a very different place to where it ended, which seems like a nonsense thing to say but the tone took an unusual turn and looking back on it this did provide a bit more depth and significance. I would recommend it, a interesting take on a well travelled route with some hilarious and heart felt moments
October 10, 2023
Very entertaining book, with a poignant end. The characters are engaging, but I struggled to get past some of the views of the writer at times. That being said, I enjoyed his writing style and he had clearly conducted a lot of research into the area.
November 20, 2023
Absolutely terrible, wouldn't recommend to anyone!
Extremely racist and misogynistic.
Further than that, just plain boring! He spends more time in excruciating detail about the bus trips than the actual places he visited.
Extremely racist and misogynistic.
Further than that, just plain boring! He spends more time in excruciating detail about the bus trips than the actual places he visited.
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