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Every Day an Adventure #4

Tortillas to Totems

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In Sam’s fourth book Tortillas to Totems, as you travel across Mexico, the USA and Canada you’ll find stories of canyons, cowboys, idyllic beaches, bears, mountains, Californian vineyards, gun-toting policemen with grudges, glaciers, exploding volcanoes, dodgy border crossings and some of the most stunning open roads that a traveller could ever wish to see.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

12 people are currently reading
65 people want to read

About the author

Sam Manicom

13 books30 followers
Sam Manicom, overlander, traveller and author of 4 motorcycle books, was born in the Congo in Central West Africa where his parents worked. His family returned to the UK when he was 10 and he has been travelling for much of his life.
His first solo trip was age 16 by bicycle into Europe. Many backpacking, hiking, cycling and hitch hiking journeys later, and back in the UK but wanting to do something completely different, Sam learned to ride a motorcycle. Within 3 months of starting to ride, he set off to travel the length of Africa. This 1-year trip turned into an 8-year, 200,000 mile, around the world motorcycle adventure across 55 countries.
Sam’s 4 'Every Day an Adventure' series books take the reader travelling through the different sections of the eight-year journey. Africa – ‘Into Africa’, Asia and the Middle East – ‘Under Asian Skies’, Southern Africa and South America – ‘Distant Suns’, and North America – ‘Tortillas to Totems’.
His 5th book, released in February 2022, is called ‘The Moment Collectors’. An anthology of 20 authors original work compiled and published with the subtitle ‘Twenty Travellers’ Tales from Around the World.’
Sam now works full time in the world of adventure travel. He’s a keen advocate of motorcycle travel in particular and when not writing his books, magazine articles and conducting multimedia travel presentations within Europe and the USA, he’s very much involved with travel related organisations. Sam is a co-host for Adventure Rider Radio RAW.
In 2017 he was awarded the Overland Magazine ‘Spirit of Adventure’ Award for his contribution to Overlanding.
When he isn’t writing or presenting, Sam and his partner Birgit are usually off riding somewhere.
Find out more about Sam and his travels via his website www.Sam-Manicom.com ‘Every Day an Adventure’
And the first Adventure Bike TV ‘Under the Visor’ interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bToV6...
Catch up with Sam on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
5 reviews
November 23, 2021
Tortillas to Totems.
Sam Manicom and Birgit now end their journey around the world with this fourth book.
The book begins in Mexico and via not always so funny police or border guards, but with warm and friendly "ordinary people", the journey goes to the United States "This so familiar" country.
Too expensive?
Too little adventure?
Well, it did not turn out that way.
Camping freely in the US I thought was impossible, it is not.
Living cheaply is also possible.
You get a little shock, it's the USA after all!
-Why not transport your motorcycle by helicopter to the motorcycle meeting?
-Well, Afghanistan is NOT in North Africa?
It flashes with wealth and sometimes unfortunately also with the ignorance of the outside world.
But you get much closer to the United States than any news article ever can, and I think that's because two outsiders describe the country.
They see things that are so natural to the inhabitants that you do not think about them.
But the openness, the hospitality, the warmth of the Americans they meet can not be missed.
Sam and Birgit have completed this journey, I have traveled as a passenger and learned a lot about countries, nature, roads and the universal fact that most people are willing to do a lot to help others when needed.
One thing I did fail at.
Reading the books slowly, but it's actually not my fault, Sam has to take it on.
Gunnar / Sweden

2 reviews
May 27, 2020
A great finale!

This book, as with previous three books, really bring motorcycle travel to life. My own European travels are nowhere near the challenges faced by Sam and Birgit but much of what has been written here applies nonetheless.
A great read as are the previous three books.
1 review
March 24, 2022
Wonderful book I love how you digress a little makes it so interesting
If you love the journey of travel you must buy this book
If you love motorbikes thats an added bonus.

48 reviews
May 4, 2016
Not Sam's best effort

The third of his books I have read. Too much anti-American political opinion in the first half. Not enough about travel by motorcycle. Too much wasted time when they could have gotten to Alaska and many other interesting places in the Eastern US. Yes, there are many Americans that know little about world culture but there are many that have traveled extensively and are enlightened.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

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