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Chasing Che: A Motorcycle Journey in Search of the Guevara Legend
Intrepid journalist Patrick Symmes sets off on his BMW R80 G/S in search of the people and places in Ernesto "Che" Guevara's classic Motorcycle Diaries , seeking out his own adventure as well as the legacy of the icon Che would become, Symmes retraces the future revolutionary's path. And on the way he runs out of gas in an Argentine desert, talks a Peruvian guerrilla out of taking him hostage, wipes out in the Andes, and, in Cuba, drinks himself blind with Che's travel partner, Alberto Granado.
Here is the unforgettable story of a wanderer's quest for food, shelter, and wisdom. Here, too, is the portrait of a continent whose dreams of utopia give birth not only to freedom fighters, but also to tyrants whose methods include torture and mass killing. Masterfully detailed, insightful, unforgettable, Chasing Che transfixes us with the glory of the open road, where man and machine traverse the unknown in search of the spirit's keenest desires.
Here is the unforgettable story of a wanderer's quest for food, shelter, and wisdom. Here, too, is the portrait of a continent whose dreams of utopia give birth not only to freedom fighters, but also to tyrants whose methods include torture and mass killing. Masterfully detailed, insightful, unforgettable, Chasing Che transfixes us with the glory of the open road, where man and machine traverse the unknown in search of the spirit's keenest desires.
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
May 18, 2016
I really liked this. Patrick is funny and it reminds me of being in South America and all the good, and bad, experiences a gringo can have including Gringo Fits and being at the mercy of nature. The author is 6.2 and looks like a cast member from the Hills Have eyes so some of the South Americans were wary of him. He did some good interviews that shed some genuinely new light of Che's travels and clarified some errors that they made. I recommend it and if you love South America it well worth the read. It is worth a 4.5 I reckon. The film the motorcycle diaries was interesting but the book was a snooze fest. As a writer I would say read this book before the actual motorcycle diaries as Patrick is obviously a professional and well able to pick out interesting bits and leave the boring bits behind.
January 24, 2014
Everyone has heard the popular phrase, “Never judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” Well, many people throughout history have judged those gone before us, especially those who went on to change the course of history. Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara Jr. was one of those people. After growing up in Argentina, he took a soon-to-be-famous motorcycle journey with his friend and compatriot, Alberto Granado, into the deep plains and undeveloped areas of Latin America. During that journey he witnesses abject poverty and suffering of the indigenous people. By the time he returned, seeds of political and revolutionary discourse were germinating in his soul and they would very soon sprout and give rise to the man everyone came to know only as ‘Che’. Even years after his execution by a one-man firing squad, scholars and modern-day revolutionaries alike have attempted to explain and understand who the man was, but very few of them remembered that famous parable above, and those who did remember, didn’t take it to heart like Patrick Symmes.
Chasing Che is a documentary tale of travel, both physical and intellectual, that follows Symmes as he saddles up on his own motorcycle (one a little more modern than Granado’s jalopy) and attempts to follow the exact route those two fellow travelers ventured upon so many years before. Symmes even attempts to limit any and all creature comforts to match whatever Ernesto and Alberto had during their original journey. There are new obstacles, to be sure, and detours must be made, but when they do arise, Symmes rolls with the punches and finds himself transformed into the same road-weathered traveler he is following years behind.
There are many great qualities about this travel journal, but foremost among those is Symmes’ dedication to the quest. At numerous points he could have taken a lighter path, called for more help or equipment or turned back towards more friendly locales, but he continually pushed through in search of the same physical places and people that Guevara and Granado touched on their way through. On more than one occasion, Symmes found himself in conversations of broken Spanish with heavily armed men– some government soldiers, while others were guerrilla warriors still trying to live out some of the mantras Che left behind. One wrong move could’ve landed him in a South American jail or worse, “disappeared” like many opponents of the various controlling regimes. Yet, I believe his saving grace through this was he not going after an ideology, he was going after a man. He made no proposition to learn, live and spread the teachings of Che. Instead what he was after was the true history of the man, good or evil, who would later become Che and change the face of global politics. That objectivity and balance allowed him access through gates many others would have failed to pass.
Two things struck me during the book. First, Symmes continually mentioned the inherent charity of the indigenous people with whom he crossed paths. Time after time he would ride up on his motorcycle, kill the engine a good distance away from a small shanty home and clap his hands twice (to signal that he was friendly and approaching the house). He would almost always find the family willing to give him a small piece of floor to sleep on, or at the very least against the side of the house, and possibly food if they had enough to spread around. The following mornings, many of his new-found landlords would refuse to accept payment, just seeming like it was their duty to help fellow travelers (which many of them are as well considering the great distances between villages and homes). Secondly, Symmes went in the end of his journey to the source, at least, one of the sources; Alberto Granado. Still living reasonably off his notoriety as Che’s wandering partner, Granado granted an illuminating interview and insight into those dusty days on the trail. Symmes had both of Granado’s and Guevara’s original diaries from the trip and he pointed out many of the disparate descriptions of places and actions between them, one moment standing out in particular where Granado and Guevara both credit the other for the heroic rescue of a small kitten. What came from that discovery was that the journey represented different transformations for each traveler. As for the kitten, Granado admitted to laying the heroic banner on Che because he was the one destined for it.
Another factor I found interesting is Symmes was on his travels during the exact same time the government and others were in a desperate search to exhume Che’s body from the hidden dumping ground the Bolivian soldiers left him in. Another writer, Jon Lee Anderson wrote a book entitled, Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (which I have also read and highly recommend), and in his research for that book he interviewed and received confessions from the very people responsible for hiding Che’s body. It had been many years since the action, so the location information was not entirely specific, but both books ended up tying together in the same place and moment, which made for even more interesting reading.
For those interested in learning more about the man behind the mythology and who that is staring back from the hipsters t-shirts and messenger bags, you could do far worse than starting here. As I said earlier, Anderson’s book is another great find, but a much thicker and in-depth read.
Chasing Che is a documentary tale of travel, both physical and intellectual, that follows Symmes as he saddles up on his own motorcycle (one a little more modern than Granado’s jalopy) and attempts to follow the exact route those two fellow travelers ventured upon so many years before. Symmes even attempts to limit any and all creature comforts to match whatever Ernesto and Alberto had during their original journey. There are new obstacles, to be sure, and detours must be made, but when they do arise, Symmes rolls with the punches and finds himself transformed into the same road-weathered traveler he is following years behind.
There are many great qualities about this travel journal, but foremost among those is Symmes’ dedication to the quest. At numerous points he could have taken a lighter path, called for more help or equipment or turned back towards more friendly locales, but he continually pushed through in search of the same physical places and people that Guevara and Granado touched on their way through. On more than one occasion, Symmes found himself in conversations of broken Spanish with heavily armed men– some government soldiers, while others were guerrilla warriors still trying to live out some of the mantras Che left behind. One wrong move could’ve landed him in a South American jail or worse, “disappeared” like many opponents of the various controlling regimes. Yet, I believe his saving grace through this was he not going after an ideology, he was going after a man. He made no proposition to learn, live and spread the teachings of Che. Instead what he was after was the true history of the man, good or evil, who would later become Che and change the face of global politics. That objectivity and balance allowed him access through gates many others would have failed to pass.
Two things struck me during the book. First, Symmes continually mentioned the inherent charity of the indigenous people with whom he crossed paths. Time after time he would ride up on his motorcycle, kill the engine a good distance away from a small shanty home and clap his hands twice (to signal that he was friendly and approaching the house). He would almost always find the family willing to give him a small piece of floor to sleep on, or at the very least against the side of the house, and possibly food if they had enough to spread around. The following mornings, many of his new-found landlords would refuse to accept payment, just seeming like it was their duty to help fellow travelers (which many of them are as well considering the great distances between villages and homes). Secondly, Symmes went in the end of his journey to the source, at least, one of the sources; Alberto Granado. Still living reasonably off his notoriety as Che’s wandering partner, Granado granted an illuminating interview and insight into those dusty days on the trail. Symmes had both of Granado’s and Guevara’s original diaries from the trip and he pointed out many of the disparate descriptions of places and actions between them, one moment standing out in particular where Granado and Guevara both credit the other for the heroic rescue of a small kitten. What came from that discovery was that the journey represented different transformations for each traveler. As for the kitten, Granado admitted to laying the heroic banner on Che because he was the one destined for it.
Another factor I found interesting is Symmes was on his travels during the exact same time the government and others were in a desperate search to exhume Che’s body from the hidden dumping ground the Bolivian soldiers left him in. Another writer, Jon Lee Anderson wrote a book entitled, Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (which I have also read and highly recommend), and in his research for that book he interviewed and received confessions from the very people responsible for hiding Che’s body. It had been many years since the action, so the location information was not entirely specific, but both books ended up tying together in the same place and moment, which made for even more interesting reading.
For those interested in learning more about the man behind the mythology and who that is staring back from the hipsters t-shirts and messenger bags, you could do far worse than starting here. As I said earlier, Anderson’s book is another great find, but a much thicker and in-depth read.
May 18, 2016
I recently read The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey, a few years after purchasing this book. Reading Che Guevara's own words about his journey through South America gave just the right amount of context for Patrick Symmes's own travel experience, following Che and his traveling companion's footsteps almost 45 years later on a German built motorcycle.
Symmes opines a lot on Che's legacy, and although he's sympathetic, he's not a dyed-in-the-wool Marxist fangirl. He allows a lot of necessary criticism of Che's legacy as well as his actions in life. He is perfectly frank dealing with Che's egoism, which helped fuel his downfall, and with Che's unrealistic idealism, which definitely did.
Most of the book, however, is Symmes's own journey. He encounters fewer personal travails than Che, but has his share of harrowing experiences. I found his tangential account of meeting Shining Path guerrillas in a Peruvian prison to be fascinating and eye-opening. He blends history with first person chronicling and does a pretty good job at it. He is poetic in many places describing the landscape, and his journalistic insight allows him to go into great detail over many of the problems of Latin America.
Very enjoyable book.
Symmes opines a lot on Che's legacy, and although he's sympathetic, he's not a dyed-in-the-wool Marxist fangirl. He allows a lot of necessary criticism of Che's legacy as well as his actions in life. He is perfectly frank dealing with Che's egoism, which helped fuel his downfall, and with Che's unrealistic idealism, which definitely did.
Most of the book, however, is Symmes's own journey. He encounters fewer personal travails than Che, but has his share of harrowing experiences. I found his tangential account of meeting Shining Path guerrillas in a Peruvian prison to be fascinating and eye-opening. He blends history with first person chronicling and does a pretty good job at it. He is poetic in many places describing the landscape, and his journalistic insight allows him to go into great detail over many of the problems of Latin America.
Very enjoyable book.
September 28, 2024
I enjoyed this book much more than I was expecting when I started it. I guess I was a little leery of it being a Che Guevara apologetic but Symmes treats the subject fairly, showing Che’s failings as well as his noble actions and ideas. All that aside I found the book a fun and fascinating travelogue of Symmes paralleling Guevara’s famous motorcycle trip through South America in 1952. Bought at Mr. K’s for $3.00.
May 5, 2013
De Toqueville's journey has had a number of replications, the best (of which I am aware) is "American Journey: Traveling With Tocqueville in Search of Democracy in America" by Richard Reeves. There are also many retracements for Lewis and Clark, discoverers' voyages and aspects of the US westward migration. I know of one attempt for China's Long March: "The Long March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth".
Symmes, unlike other replicators, uses the transportation mode of his subject. Because of this he can better understand Che's exposure to the elements, dependence on fuel availability, dependence on improvised mechanical repairs, altitude changes and physiological reactions to irregular meals and food of questionable origin.
While Reeves could only seek out counterparts of de Toqueville's acquaintances and interviewees, Symmes could and did meet some of the principals of Che's journey. Early in his trip he meets Che's first "fiancee" and at the end he meets Che's traveling companion, Alberto Granado. (These are good reports, but the reader can hunger for more. It's notable, in today's competitive world, for a journalist to show discretion, but hopefully, Symme's full interviews and impressions will be available to later scholars.)
Symmes, is fluent in Spanish and knowledgeable in Latin American history and culture. His ability to connect with so many diverse Spanish speaking people gives him unique ability to interpret Che and his times for English speaking (and culturally oriented) readers.
I came to this book from having read Symmes' more recent "The Boys from Dolores: Fidel Castro's Schoolmates from Revolution to Exile". While that book could be faulted for an undisciplined focus, it can't be faulted for scope, perspective or the perceived authority of the author.
Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of Che was limited to his iconography. I knew he was a doctor, the inspiration for a movie (The Motorcycle Diaries about this trip) and a participant in various uprisings/revolutions. This book amplifies his dubious position as an icon. Perhaps later books will explore the why he did what he did.
Symmes, unlike other replicators, uses the transportation mode of his subject. Because of this he can better understand Che's exposure to the elements, dependence on fuel availability, dependence on improvised mechanical repairs, altitude changes and physiological reactions to irregular meals and food of questionable origin.
While Reeves could only seek out counterparts of de Toqueville's acquaintances and interviewees, Symmes could and did meet some of the principals of Che's journey. Early in his trip he meets Che's first "fiancee" and at the end he meets Che's traveling companion, Alberto Granado. (These are good reports, but the reader can hunger for more. It's notable, in today's competitive world, for a journalist to show discretion, but hopefully, Symme's full interviews and impressions will be available to later scholars.)
Symmes, is fluent in Spanish and knowledgeable in Latin American history and culture. His ability to connect with so many diverse Spanish speaking people gives him unique ability to interpret Che and his times for English speaking (and culturally oriented) readers.
I came to this book from having read Symmes' more recent "The Boys from Dolores: Fidel Castro's Schoolmates from Revolution to Exile". While that book could be faulted for an undisciplined focus, it can't be faulted for scope, perspective or the perceived authority of the author.
Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of Che was limited to his iconography. I knew he was a doctor, the inspiration for a movie (The Motorcycle Diaries about this trip) and a participant in various uprisings/revolutions. This book amplifies his dubious position as an icon. Perhaps later books will explore the why he did what he did.
September 11, 2013
This is a well-written book. I read it first because it is an "on-the-road" and "motorcycle-diaries" book; combining my 2 favourite shelves. As road tale it stands alone on it's merits. Lots of adventure and mishappery, over interesting geography and described with a pro's skill.
His travels were driven by the focus of Che's original wandering-both literally and figuratively. I understand that Symmes had made a name on Latin American politics by he had clearly done quite a bit of Che/Granado research to prepare for the trek. On the route, he was tenacious at ferreting out the people and places on his hidden hit list for the trip. He knit his contemporary events, and personal political ruminations with the landmarks, events etc. from the Che/Granado diaries of the original.
The bonehead who opined here on Goodreads, that "Patrick Symmes fails to intertwine his story with Che's and thus recounts two parallel stories." is just plain wrong.
Most of the Symmes effort I found interesting and entertaining, even though I didn't always agree. I found his explorations of the political contexts also interesting, and he seemed genuinely trying to explore how this landscape and it's peoples transformed Ernesto into Che. I didn't feel he was trying to ram his or any view at the reader.
"...his cynicism and self-importance get in the way of his mission and grate on the reader." from another silly commenter is unfair.
I did feel that his political cynicism comes from an overtly American perspective and my cynicism comes from a decidedly different angle: Canadian. To me it was most evident in the final pages of the book where he is in Cuba for the repatriation of Che's bones. His Yankee-centric amusement with the obvious contradictions of modern Cuban politics is especially amusing to me as I read these passages on the 12th anniversary of that day in New York, amid all the many contradictory messages emanating out of America.
His travels were driven by the focus of Che's original wandering-both literally and figuratively. I understand that Symmes had made a name on Latin American politics by he had clearly done quite a bit of Che/Granado research to prepare for the trek. On the route, he was tenacious at ferreting out the people and places on his hidden hit list for the trip. He knit his contemporary events, and personal political ruminations with the landmarks, events etc. from the Che/Granado diaries of the original.
The bonehead who opined here on Goodreads, that "Patrick Symmes fails to intertwine his story with Che's and thus recounts two parallel stories." is just plain wrong.
Most of the Symmes effort I found interesting and entertaining, even though I didn't always agree. I found his explorations of the political contexts also interesting, and he seemed genuinely trying to explore how this landscape and it's peoples transformed Ernesto into Che. I didn't feel he was trying to ram his or any view at the reader.
"...his cynicism and self-importance get in the way of his mission and grate on the reader." from another silly commenter is unfair.
I did feel that his political cynicism comes from an overtly American perspective and my cynicism comes from a decidedly different angle: Canadian. To me it was most evident in the final pages of the book where he is in Cuba for the repatriation of Che's bones. His Yankee-centric amusement with the obvious contradictions of modern Cuban politics is especially amusing to me as I read these passages on the 12th anniversary of that day in New York, amid all the many contradictory messages emanating out of America.
July 29, 2012
Perfect book to read while on a road trip through Patagonia and after reading Motorcycle Diaries. Symmes, Che and I drove almost exactly the same route trough South America (though I went further south and Che went further east into Venezuela) and Symmes, batting clean up after Che came though, recounts the social changes in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia that were the result or were influenced by Che and other socialist/leftist revolutions in the middle of the 20th century. Symmes does a great job describing the history and providing a lens through which to understand the current social structure and conditions of the countries he visits. I don't think I've ever said these words here, but I highly recommend this book for anyone who is planning a trip to South America. Fortunately for the people in the countries described, the social unrest, revolts and instability has largely gone the way of extreme leftist politics, but the echo is there. And you can't understand the echo without understanding from whence it came.
February 20, 2008
I had to read this for a Latin American culture class in college and thought I was at risk of being bored out of my mind. While certain parts of this book certainly could have been moved along a little faster, it is extremely interesting how the author helps us understand the Che Guevara legend while at the same time showing us the journey he went through that made him who he was. We see Latin America (a large portion of South America) through new eyes and get a glimpse into its culture that is unique. My only regret is that I was stupid enough to sell it back to the bookstore at the end of the semester.
February 2, 2013
I found this book interesting, but not necessarily engaging. He is a good writer and I assume a decent journalist. But there is something that stopped me getting really enthralled into the book. Perhaps it is just that I have never had a huge interest in South American political history and you may need that to fully appreciate this. It did give me an interesting insight to the people of South America and their unwavering hospitality to a broke gringo on a motorcycle and those were the parts I enjoyed the most.
March 16, 2016
One of my favorite travel writers on an interesting motorcycle journey through South America. Symmes is a great writer and is especially insightful into the Latin psyche. Some serious flashes of brilliance in the prose and the notion of following Che's motorcycle trip is a great narrative device. It's also nice to get a sense of Che as a young man - I didn't read The Motorcycle Diaries on which this is based - before he became the revolutionary.
April 4, 2021
This was a great book. His adventures and writing style were entertaining and it honestly made me want to get a motorcycle and go on a cross country trip. It also was cool how he included so much from Che’s journal as well.
Read
September 18, 2024I loved reading this, perhaps because I cannot get enough of people riding horses or motorcycles around Latin America. Would someone write a book completely consisting of riding horses or motorcycles around among all that wind and all those improbably growing trees? I also like this writer not only because his style of writing about travel and food and outsider-ness is in fact a true discernible style, one that all the magazine editors have thankfully not managed to quash, but also because he's an Irishman or maybe an Englishman nosing around Latin America. Like me! English Irish Sephardic Southern wasp suburbanite, trying to figure out what the hell my distant relatives were ever doing on a plantation somewhere outside of Managua.
March 29, 2008
Who really knows who Che Guevara is? You see his face everywhere but do you know who he is? This book appealed to my wanderlust instincts. Who wouldn't want to throw caution to the wind and go on a motorcycle trip across South America? You could always read Che's actual diaries but I actually find Patrick Symmes' version more entertaining. Enjoy!
December 29, 2014
I loved the description and the narrative. However, the book got way too slow halfway through.
October 22, 2025
The context around Che Guevara's Motorcycle Diaries
This is a highly amusing book where the author, journalist Patrick Symmes, traced back the journey that Ernesto Guevara and his buddy Alberto Granado took in 1952. Armed with a little more than Ernesto's and Alberto's diaries of the trip, in 1996 Symmes rode his BMW R80 G/S motorcycle and followed the footsteps that both Ernesto and Alberto took nearly 50 years before, searching for the people they met and places that they visited.
And it was pretty impressive, as he met Chichina herself (Ernesto's girlfriend that they visited in the trip), traced down Oscar Von Puttkamer (whose family hosted Guevara and Granado during their trip), visited the fire station where the 2 boys helped to save a cat in a house fire, got himself written in a small town newspaper in Chile (just like Ernesto and Alberto), visited the lepers hospital that the 2 boys had come to see in Peru, among many others, including drinking himself blind in Cuba at the end of the trip with none other than Alberto Granado himself.
Along the journey, Symmes fill up the political, economic, and social contexts of each country that he visited; describing what's going on during the 2 boys' trip in 1952 and what have happened since then. Starting from the background of Ernesto's family, his upbringing, even giving the context of Germans living in Argentina (which predated the fleeing Nazis). He then provided the explanation of the Chilean economic miracle (where as it turns out the rich got richer and the poor get poorer), the brutality of the Pinochet regime, and later told the stories of everyday struggles of people in Peru and Bolivia.
And as the trip proceeds he also paints a clearer picture on what happened with Ernesto that turned him into the fabled Che Guevara not long after the 1952 trip. To his credit, Symmes isn't one of those groupie or blind follower of Che, but an objective journalist that can see both the positive and negative parts of things, including on Che's conducts. Which makes this book objectively pleasing. And perhaps the best part of this book is, you don't really need to read Ernesto's diary beforehand (or watch The Motorcycle Diaries movie) as this book also narrates the 2 boys' journey alongside his.
Moreover, the book is also Symmes' tale of adventure by his own right, with him being a "gringo", driving past the steepest mountains and the driest deserts, through wild animals and thieves and guerilla fighters. With crazy stories such as running out of gas in an Argentine desert, falling from the motorcycle and fracturing a rib cage, got bitten by a dog, meeting Douglas Tompkins (the founder of North Face and Esprit) and hanging out with him for a while, eating at a whorehouse, sleeping on top of a mass grave, sleeping at an abandoned gas station, witnessing rain in the Atacama desert (yes, there's no recorded rain there, but there are short burst of rains every now and then), fell in love with almost every woman he met in Peru, visiting a prison to speak with the Shining Path revolutionaries, interviewing a man who was one of Che's soldiers in Cuban revolution, speaking with Alberto Diaz Gutierrez (the photographer who took that most-famous picture of Che one overcast day in March 1960 - that became the icon of Che Guevarra), and so much more.
Near the end of the book, when Symmes was in Bolivia (Che's final resting place long after the 1952 trip), he encountered several more books about Guevara: one written by his father, the other one written by Che's travel companion in 1954, while Symmes also found Che's diary in Bolivia. And it provides a much clearer picture over the Ernesto of 1952 that evolved into the Che of 1966, who became world famous for being the number 1 Guerilla, who has amassed a giant ego, and a lust for cold bloodedness.
All in all, the book is so very well written, even poetic at times, with bits of comedy every now and then that makes it thoroughly enjoyable to read. Absolutely superb.
This is a highly amusing book where the author, journalist Patrick Symmes, traced back the journey that Ernesto Guevara and his buddy Alberto Granado took in 1952. Armed with a little more than Ernesto's and Alberto's diaries of the trip, in 1996 Symmes rode his BMW R80 G/S motorcycle and followed the footsteps that both Ernesto and Alberto took nearly 50 years before, searching for the people they met and places that they visited.
And it was pretty impressive, as he met Chichina herself (Ernesto's girlfriend that they visited in the trip), traced down Oscar Von Puttkamer (whose family hosted Guevara and Granado during their trip), visited the fire station where the 2 boys helped to save a cat in a house fire, got himself written in a small town newspaper in Chile (just like Ernesto and Alberto), visited the lepers hospital that the 2 boys had come to see in Peru, among many others, including drinking himself blind in Cuba at the end of the trip with none other than Alberto Granado himself.
Along the journey, Symmes fill up the political, economic, and social contexts of each country that he visited; describing what's going on during the 2 boys' trip in 1952 and what have happened since then. Starting from the background of Ernesto's family, his upbringing, even giving the context of Germans living in Argentina (which predated the fleeing Nazis). He then provided the explanation of the Chilean economic miracle (where as it turns out the rich got richer and the poor get poorer), the brutality of the Pinochet regime, and later told the stories of everyday struggles of people in Peru and Bolivia.
And as the trip proceeds he also paints a clearer picture on what happened with Ernesto that turned him into the fabled Che Guevara not long after the 1952 trip. To his credit, Symmes isn't one of those groupie or blind follower of Che, but an objective journalist that can see both the positive and negative parts of things, including on Che's conducts. Which makes this book objectively pleasing. And perhaps the best part of this book is, you don't really need to read Ernesto's diary beforehand (or watch The Motorcycle Diaries movie) as this book also narrates the 2 boys' journey alongside his.
Moreover, the book is also Symmes' tale of adventure by his own right, with him being a "gringo", driving past the steepest mountains and the driest deserts, through wild animals and thieves and guerilla fighters. With crazy stories such as running out of gas in an Argentine desert, falling from the motorcycle and fracturing a rib cage, got bitten by a dog, meeting Douglas Tompkins (the founder of North Face and Esprit) and hanging out with him for a while, eating at a whorehouse, sleeping on top of a mass grave, sleeping at an abandoned gas station, witnessing rain in the Atacama desert (yes, there's no recorded rain there, but there are short burst of rains every now and then), fell in love with almost every woman he met in Peru, visiting a prison to speak with the Shining Path revolutionaries, interviewing a man who was one of Che's soldiers in Cuban revolution, speaking with Alberto Diaz Gutierrez (the photographer who took that most-famous picture of Che one overcast day in March 1960 - that became the icon of Che Guevarra), and so much more.
Near the end of the book, when Symmes was in Bolivia (Che's final resting place long after the 1952 trip), he encountered several more books about Guevara: one written by his father, the other one written by Che's travel companion in 1954, while Symmes also found Che's diary in Bolivia. And it provides a much clearer picture over the Ernesto of 1952 that evolved into the Che of 1966, who became world famous for being the number 1 Guerilla, who has amassed a giant ego, and a lust for cold bloodedness.
All in all, the book is so very well written, even poetic at times, with bits of comedy every now and then that makes it thoroughly enjoyable to read. Absolutely superb.
November 28, 2019
The premise of Chasing Che is intriguing: climb on a motorcycle to recreate the 1952 route from Che Motorcycle Diaries, "in search of Guevara's legend" along the way. I enjoyed the book as a pure travelogue of Patrick Symmes' 10,000+-mile journey through South America. I liked the adventure, his descriptions of the planos and Andes, his tribulations with the motorcycle he nicknamed La Cucaracha. As in any good travelogue, there were some good stories about the people he met along the way.
It was less successful as a book about Che. Symmes stopped at most of the places mentioned in Motorcycle Diaries with varying results. He talked with people who idolized Che, disliked him, shrugged, and even a few who had never heard of him. He commented on the Che souvenirs for sale and collected a few himself, as well as a few meaningful ones. There were some very interesting extended interviews with people who knew Che. Symmes included several funny occasions when he unsuccessfully tried to imitate Che's talent for mooching free food and accommodations from the Diaries.
The problem was he never seemed to be able to pull it all together. His conclusion seemed to be more or less Che is whatever someone wants him to be. He didn't seem to think much of his subject, which made me wonder why he did it other than maybe a justification to make an epic road trip. Although I enjoyed going along for the ride, I didn't learn much or gain any new insights into Guevara or his legend.
It was less successful as a book about Che. Symmes stopped at most of the places mentioned in Motorcycle Diaries with varying results. He talked with people who idolized Che, disliked him, shrugged, and even a few who had never heard of him. He commented on the Che souvenirs for sale and collected a few himself, as well as a few meaningful ones. There were some very interesting extended interviews with people who knew Che. Symmes included several funny occasions when he unsuccessfully tried to imitate Che's talent for mooching free food and accommodations from the Diaries.
The problem was he never seemed to be able to pull it all together. His conclusion seemed to be more or less Che is whatever someone wants him to be. He didn't seem to think much of his subject, which made me wonder why he did it other than maybe a justification to make an epic road trip. Although I enjoyed going along for the ride, I didn't learn much or gain any new insights into Guevara or his legend.
January 18, 2024
My Amazon review on June 14, 2018: Che Continuando
Great read to follow-up 'The Motorcycle Diaries'! I would recommend they be read in close time proximity. It will enhance both. Can't add too much to the fine reviews. Great literature? Perhaps not. But an excellent travel story with an actual hook, the Che Odyssey. Pretty amazed he ended up in Havana drinking rum with Alberto Granado! A few photos would have been really cool but he describes things well and provides lots of interesting historical digressions especially in Chile (where he spent the most time in that very long and skinny country). What an interesting if slightly schizo sounding country. His insight into the genesis and evolution of the Tompkins nature reserve was fascinating. Peru as well receives due attention, really pretty depressing the descriptions of the Lima sprawl. But the meetings with Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) prisoners in Canto Grande prison is nothing short of an amazing tale. This guy was also pretty darn brave. I well remember stories of Shining Path barbarities back in the 1980s. Of course you heard little of the military response. Here they are a shadow of themselves, the path not so shiny any more. 'Deepening the contradictions' is mentioned several times when discussing revolution and its consequences. An apt and ultimately vicious phrase, figures the Marxists loved it. Anyway, this is a good work if you have any interest in Latin America, much less Che Guevara.
Great read to follow-up 'The Motorcycle Diaries'! I would recommend they be read in close time proximity. It will enhance both. Can't add too much to the fine reviews. Great literature? Perhaps not. But an excellent travel story with an actual hook, the Che Odyssey. Pretty amazed he ended up in Havana drinking rum with Alberto Granado! A few photos would have been really cool but he describes things well and provides lots of interesting historical digressions especially in Chile (where he spent the most time in that very long and skinny country). What an interesting if slightly schizo sounding country. His insight into the genesis and evolution of the Tompkins nature reserve was fascinating. Peru as well receives due attention, really pretty depressing the descriptions of the Lima sprawl. But the meetings with Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) prisoners in Canto Grande prison is nothing short of an amazing tale. This guy was also pretty darn brave. I well remember stories of Shining Path barbarities back in the 1980s. Of course you heard little of the military response. Here they are a shadow of themselves, the path not so shiny any more. 'Deepening the contradictions' is mentioned several times when discussing revolution and its consequences. An apt and ultimately vicious phrase, figures the Marxists loved it. Anyway, this is a good work if you have any interest in Latin America, much less Che Guevara.
June 7, 2019
Patrick Symme's Chasing Che: A Motorcycle Journey In Search Of The Guevara Legend
In Chasing Che, author Patrick Symmes attempts to replicate the adventure of Che Guevara's book Motorcycle Diaries in search of a valuable truth: Understanding Che Guevara for what he really was and is still today by separating the legend from the man. The writing is entertaining, thoughtful and likeable.
If you've read my novel Blue Rubber Pool, you know I'm fascinated by these Two Truths. Why? Because Che once said that "that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love."...Yet he also exulted “hatred as an element of the struggle”, Hatred, he believed, was necessary to creating “violent, selective and cold killing machines."
With Che, it was his way or the highway.
If you joined his ranks for the love of the cause but then balked on the battle field, he'd put a bullet in your head without hesitation.
As a result, Symmes points out, pro-Che slogans such as "Be Like Che"are commonly found as graffiti throughout Central America, existing concurrent with intense distaste for "Guevarista"-style guerrilla tactics.
The moral of the story: Be Like Che by helping people. But without killing them to do so.
In Chasing Che, author Patrick Symmes attempts to replicate the adventure of Che Guevara's book Motorcycle Diaries in search of a valuable truth: Understanding Che Guevara for what he really was and is still today by separating the legend from the man. The writing is entertaining, thoughtful and likeable.
If you've read my novel Blue Rubber Pool, you know I'm fascinated by these Two Truths. Why? Because Che once said that "that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love."...Yet he also exulted “hatred as an element of the struggle”, Hatred, he believed, was necessary to creating “violent, selective and cold killing machines."
With Che, it was his way or the highway.
If you joined his ranks for the love of the cause but then balked on the battle field, he'd put a bullet in your head without hesitation.
As a result, Symmes points out, pro-Che slogans such as "Be Like Che"are commonly found as graffiti throughout Central America, existing concurrent with intense distaste for "Guevarista"-style guerrilla tactics.
The moral of the story: Be Like Che by helping people. But without killing them to do so.
February 5, 2022
Patrick Symmes shipped a motorcycle to Argentina and set out to follow the motorcycle trip that Che Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado took around South America in 1952. Symmes had packed in his saddle bags published (and edited) copies of the diaries that both men kept on their trip. This was the trip that supposedly put Guevara on the path to becoming a Marxist revolutionary.
Symmes aim was to end the trip by also visiting the town in Bolivia where they were excavating in search of Guevara's body.
The book is an interesting travelogue of what Symmes saw, experienced and people he met along the way. He also adds bits of South American history-ancient and 20th century. He speculates why Guevara has become a symbol in-spite of his history of killings and his ineffectiveness in other attempted revolutions after Castro's Cuban revolution.
Symmes aim was to end the trip by also visiting the town in Bolivia where they were excavating in search of Guevara's body.
The book is an interesting travelogue of what Symmes saw, experienced and people he met along the way. He also adds bits of South American history-ancient and 20th century. He speculates why Guevara has become a symbol in-spite of his history of killings and his ineffectiveness in other attempted revolutions after Castro's Cuban revolution.
March 27, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which has reignited my passion for South America. In the description of the Dirty War I found links to Threads of Life, a wonderful book about embroidery by Clare Hunter, as well as The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernieres (my favourite book). I think the combination of travel writing, history and interviews works really well and prevented me from feeling bored - I even enjoyed reading about fishing and motorbikes, which are not areas of interest to me.
This is the first book in a long time where I've felt sad about finishing it, and it's also the first book this year to earn a permanent spot on my bookshelf.
This is the first book in a long time where I've felt sad about finishing it, and it's also the first book this year to earn a permanent spot on my bookshelf.
July 1, 2017
Book set in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia. In 1952 Ernesto Guevara and a friend took a motorcycle journey across the back roads of South America. During that journey Ernesto transformed into Che Guevara. About 40 years later Patrick Symmes followed the same route, for the most part, as Che on a solo motorcycle journey and this book is the story of his travels. This book is packed full of Interesting adventures and history and I really enjoyed it.
January 4, 2019
I read this after reading the edited Motorcycle Diaries of Che Guevara. Patrick Symmes is an entertaining writer, this is a warm and often funny book. His familiarity with the language helps a lot, he has an understanding and respect for the different people he meets a he rides through South America.
February 4, 2020
It was much more readable than I expected, funny in parts when it was appropriate and serious when it was needed. But an easy read, not too dense on politics or history but it wasn't all fluff either. I had a very basic knowledge of Che and he filled in enough gaps that I want to explore more.
It makes me want to check out the other books on Cuba that Symmes wrote.
It makes me want to check out the other books on Cuba that Symmes wrote.
November 21, 2023
I appreciated both the chronicle as well as the quality of writing that included phrases that stand out in my memory (referring to Patagonia as the corseted extension of South America and capitalism in Santiago as a tethered corner of an untethered region.)
May 2, 2025
what an incredible book on the recreation of someone truly adored in history, steeped in adventure. this book was funny, well-researched, beautifully written--recommending to everyone, revolutionary or not!
October 30, 2017
an honest recount of Che's motorcycle diary. very interesting perspectives on present and past LatAm. overall, interesting for adventurers!
August 3, 2019
A pleasant travel story focused in this Che character. Well written, entertaining and interesting.
January 1, 2020
Great book - well written.
I always learn more about history through the eyes of a documentary writer on the ground making the actual observations.
I always learn more about history through the eyes of a documentary writer on the ground making the actual observations.
August 3, 2020
fascinating character study. not of che, but of the guy crazy enough to follow in his footsteps
July 18, 2023
An interesting combination of travelogue, history lesson and biography of Che Guevara. Well written and well paced, with just enough interesting material to keep the pages turning.
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