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Walking the Americas
Walking the Americas chronicles Levison Wood's 1,800 mile trek along the spine of the Americas, through eight countries, from Mexico to Colombia, experiencing some of the world's most diverse, beautiful and unpredictable places.
His journey took him from violent and dangerous cities to ancient Mayan ruins lying still unexplored in the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala. He encountered members of indigenous tribes, migrants heading towards the US border and proud Nicaraguan revolutionaries on his travels, where at the end of it all, he attempted to cross one of the most impenetrable borders on earth: the Darien Gap route from Panama into South America.
This trek required every ounce of Levison Wood's guile, tact, strength and resilience in one of the most raw, real and exciting journeys of his life.
297 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 23, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
July 23, 2018
This is another amazing adventure from Levison Wood. I had loved his book "Walking the Nile" and was keen to read about his four-month trek through Central America.
Levison and his friend, Alberto, walk from the Yucatan region in Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. It's another incredible journey and is a lovely read for armchair travelers. Highly recommended.
Levison and his friend, Alberto, walk from the Yucatan region in Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. It's another incredible journey and is a lovely read for armchair travelers. Highly recommended.
April 30, 2022
Quintessential Explorer and Travel Writer
I would not have said this about him after reading “Walking the Nile,” but this travel account of his walking from the Yucatan in Mexico to Colombia was the best travel writing that I have ever come across.
I would have loved to have experience part of this trip with him. I say, “part” because some countries were dangerous due to the drug traffickers. He had to handle them with care, talking his way out of getting killed. His travel companion, Alberto, was charming and so knew just what to say, even to the law.
The part of the trip that I loved best was his traveling through Costa Rico a country that doesn’t even have a military. The scenery that he described was beautiful, as all of his discriptions throughout this book were, and I would have loved to have climbed the mountain that they finally had to climb, not just because it was all jungle, which was a plus for me but because once at the top, they could see the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans.
He was almost stoic when it came to his injuries, and while he admits that they were painful, he kept on walking and never spoke of them again. Other travel writers complain all the way, which can be irritating. At one time, the men had all kinds of insects crawling up their legs. He wrote: “Evil looking insect crawled up our legs, and even the flowers appeared malevolent and bent on our destruction.” Well, they were not the worse of their worries. Besides men, there were poisonous snakes, quicksand, and the fear of jaguars, etc. Seeing the glowing eyes of large spiders at night would have been enough to keep me awake at night.
I must say that I really could not have taken any of this trip, except in my dreams or as an armchair traveler. Ah, but to be like him. And at the end of the book, he mentioned that someday he would walk through South America. I certainly hope so.
I would not have said this about him after reading “Walking the Nile,” but this travel account of his walking from the Yucatan in Mexico to Colombia was the best travel writing that I have ever come across.
I would have loved to have experience part of this trip with him. I say, “part” because some countries were dangerous due to the drug traffickers. He had to handle them with care, talking his way out of getting killed. His travel companion, Alberto, was charming and so knew just what to say, even to the law.
The part of the trip that I loved best was his traveling through Costa Rico a country that doesn’t even have a military. The scenery that he described was beautiful, as all of his discriptions throughout this book were, and I would have loved to have climbed the mountain that they finally had to climb, not just because it was all jungle, which was a plus for me but because once at the top, they could see the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans.
He was almost stoic when it came to his injuries, and while he admits that they were painful, he kept on walking and never spoke of them again. Other travel writers complain all the way, which can be irritating. At one time, the men had all kinds of insects crawling up their legs. He wrote: “Evil looking insect crawled up our legs, and even the flowers appeared malevolent and bent on our destruction.” Well, they were not the worse of their worries. Besides men, there were poisonous snakes, quicksand, and the fear of jaguars, etc. Seeing the glowing eyes of large spiders at night would have been enough to keep me awake at night.
I must say that I really could not have taken any of this trip, except in my dreams or as an armchair traveler. Ah, but to be like him. And at the end of the book, he mentioned that someday he would walk through South America. I certainly hope so.
June 18, 2020
I have read all of Wood's books, but this one (or maybe Walking the Nile) are my favorites. He goes on these mad treks that I would never have access to (nor often the desire to) attempt myself. This book, like the others, offers a combination of exciting armchair travel and cultural reflection, which I found really engaging. I always learn something new about every place he explores, and in this book especially. I would highly recommend reading the books before you watch the TV series based on the books, because the show offers just a glimpse of what the books elaborate on. Recommended!
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
May 28, 2019
I loved this every step of the way!
In Walking the Americas you get a little history for background purposes and then some here-and-now. Wood barely touches upon the U.S., mainly Sticking with Central America in his trek with a friend from Mexico to Columbia. The area isn't one I know a lot about. I've been to a couple places down there as a tourist and I've read a bit about the Aztecs and Mayans, but I don't know much about the culture, the everyday way of life, the drug trafficking problem, and many more et ceteras, so I was happy to find a book that could fill in some of those gaps while also entertaining my socks off. Well I'll have you know, I finished this book barefoot.
In Walking the Americas you get a little history for background purposes and then some here-and-now. Wood barely touches upon the U.S., mainly Sticking with Central America in his trek with a friend from Mexico to Columbia. The area isn't one I know a lot about. I've been to a couple places down there as a tourist and I've read a bit about the Aztecs and Mayans, but I don't know much about the culture, the everyday way of life, the drug trafficking problem, and many more et ceteras, so I was happy to find a book that could fill in some of those gaps while also entertaining my socks off. Well I'll have you know, I finished this book barefoot.
March 30, 2017
On an atlas, the small chain of countries that link the great continents of North and South America look tiny. It is a beautiful and varied part of our planet, but their size on the map belies just how tough a part of the world it is. Not only is it hot and humid, but you will have to contend with swamps, malaria, spiders and jaguars and the jungle and the remnants of ancient cities. Not forgetting the armed gangs of drug smugglers and military types with itchy trigger fingers, this is not the place for your tourists. Thankfully Levison Wood is not your regular tourist.
His chosen 1,800-mile route along this slender piece of land would take in eight countries. He was starting with Mexico, where he had persuaded his friend Alberto to come along for the trip. He readily agreed, remembering the time he spent in Africa with him travelling by truck; then Levison dropped the bombshell, saying that they would be walking it… Alberto still agreed to go with him every step of the way.
Levison Wood is one of the few adventurers left in the world who is capable and mad enough to undertake these sorts of long treks across parts of the world that people would not normally venture to. At times it is an unbelievably tough journey, as they deal with hacking their way through the understory, encountering migrants heading for a new life in America and the relentless task of putting one foot in front of the other. He is one tough guy to even attempt a challenge of this order, let alone complete it. Alberto and Wood have even joined the exclusive club of those that have managed to pass the impenetrable jungle at the Darien Gap. This is such a wild area that even the Pan-American highway stops in its two continent run. It is a reasonably well-written account of his trip, if you are expecting literary excellence then this is not necessarily going to be the author for you. What you do get though is an honest account of a unique hike with all the highs and lows from a genuine tough guy.
Great stuff. Now to watch the TV series.
His chosen 1,800-mile route along this slender piece of land would take in eight countries. He was starting with Mexico, where he had persuaded his friend Alberto to come along for the trip. He readily agreed, remembering the time he spent in Africa with him travelling by truck; then Levison dropped the bombshell, saying that they would be walking it… Alberto still agreed to go with him every step of the way.
Levison Wood is one of the few adventurers left in the world who is capable and mad enough to undertake these sorts of long treks across parts of the world that people would not normally venture to. At times it is an unbelievably tough journey, as they deal with hacking their way through the understory, encountering migrants heading for a new life in America and the relentless task of putting one foot in front of the other. He is one tough guy to even attempt a challenge of this order, let alone complete it. Alberto and Wood have even joined the exclusive club of those that have managed to pass the impenetrable jungle at the Darien Gap. This is such a wild area that even the Pan-American highway stops in its two continent run. It is a reasonably well-written account of his trip, if you are expecting literary excellence then this is not necessarily going to be the author for you. What you do get though is an honest account of a unique hike with all the highs and lows from a genuine tough guy.
Great stuff. Now to watch the TV series.
October 3, 2017
Levison Wood is a great explorer and his journeys are no less than fantastic.The book is a supplement or should I say a complete account of his televised journey.The book itself is well written and contains great photographs.The only drawback is that the book doesn't cover some more events which were the part of TV show and misses on photographs of Kuna Indians.I would recommend this book to all readers loving adventure.Believe this will not disappoint you one bit.Well done Lev...
June 22, 2018
If I hadn’t liked Wood’s book on his Nile walk, I would have passed this up after Chapter 2. Some of it hooks up at the end, but in the space devoted to the house, Christopher Wren and William of Orange would have been better been spent on the walk.
Almost every vignette in this hike is a highlight. I had never heard of a cenote, the Embara, the Darian Gap or Caledonia Island. Each of these adventures along with the climbing, the mingling with the locals, avoiding trouble, and crossing borders are high interest.
It is a short book, but so good, that despite its brevity, the weakness of Chapters 1 & 2 and a map that cries for detail, I still give it 5 stars.
Wood and his serendipitously available companion Alberto are a good team. I hope they walk to Terra del Fuego so I can (metaphorically) go too.
Almost every vignette in this hike is a highlight. I had never heard of a cenote, the Embara, the Darian Gap or Caledonia Island. Each of these adventures along with the climbing, the mingling with the locals, avoiding trouble, and crossing borders are high interest.
It is a short book, but so good, that despite its brevity, the weakness of Chapters 1 & 2 and a map that cries for detail, I still give it 5 stars.
Wood and his serendipitously available companion Alberto are a good team. I hope they walk to Terra del Fuego so I can (metaphorically) go too.
January 10, 2020
A long walk can be an excellent way of getting a feel for a land and its peoples, but this requires sufficient time, and a willingness to pause and explore. Because he seems to have limited quantities of both these things, Levison Wood's book on Central America (where I live) is a far from satisfying read. For example, he spends less than 24 hours in one of the world's most dangerous cities, San Pedro Sula, and does so in the company of a local priest who is the well-known 'go to' person for most foreigners who visit. Little chance, then, that Levison will discover much that is new.
Crossing Nicaragua, my current home, he walks a punishing 20-25 miles per day down the Pan American Highway, surely the most boring way to cross the country, albeit the quickest. As he admits, he sometimes passes whole days without talking to anyone except his Mexican fellow walker. This is not, I suggest, the way to engage with a country and to produce an insightful book.
The story does come alive when Levison reaches Panama and heads into the jungle which he has to cross to reach Colombia, although even this is compressed into a couple of chapters. One is left with a question of why he makes these journeys? Is it simply that he's found a formula that sells a certain type of book, that doesn't delve deeply into places that he has spent weeks traversing? It really makes one wonder what Levison Wood gets from doing it, other than sore feet.
Crossing Nicaragua, my current home, he walks a punishing 20-25 miles per day down the Pan American Highway, surely the most boring way to cross the country, albeit the quickest. As he admits, he sometimes passes whole days without talking to anyone except his Mexican fellow walker. This is not, I suggest, the way to engage with a country and to produce an insightful book.
The story does come alive when Levison reaches Panama and heads into the jungle which he has to cross to reach Colombia, although even this is compressed into a couple of chapters. One is left with a question of why he makes these journeys? Is it simply that he's found a formula that sells a certain type of book, that doesn't delve deeply into places that he has spent weeks traversing? It really makes one wonder what Levison Wood gets from doing it, other than sore feet.
December 10, 2020
This was a great bit of escapism! The author does a great job of keeping the novel fast-paced, concise and exciting. I throughly enjoyed reading all about his wild journey that few have ever accomplished, which was heavily complimented by his friendship with Alberto. I particularly appreciated the awareness brought to the immigrant crisis within Central America in the heart of Costa Rica. I would happily read his other work.
March 30, 2018
This journey was an incredible achievement, but due to editing, I was underwhelmed. Wood may have saved his readers from some tedium, but he also managed to make the journey seem less impressive. Where did they get water? What did they eat? I would have liked a lot more detail.
August 19, 2018
An enjoyable insight into the journey, but somewhat misleading as it glosses over how much of a support team they had.
February 27, 2024
Done at last. Another weird thing is this guy is a TV presenter and had financial backing and presumably a whole crew with him along the journey, so his attempts to spin this as a solo trip with not that much money and all their gear constantly at risk is a bit much. All in all very annoying. I'd rate it 3/10 because there were some cool facts in there nonetheless. Feel rude giving it the only one star review so it gets 2.
November 30, 2019
I'm sorry if this ends up on some "Mean Tweets" segment, but I just was not impressed - annoyed even - with this book. The author tells us about his journey with his guide/friend -- and then offhand just a couple of times he mentions an entire documentary crew who were with them working out logistics and making things go smoothly! That, combined with the forced bravado in the way he built suspense, just left me unsure what I can actually believe.
Don't get me wrong, I added at least one place he wrote about to my bucket list. And I want to read more about / research a few things he talked about. I just couldn't help comparing it to the heartfelt, empathetic, vulnerable stories I've read by others on similarly extreme adventures -- like Into Thin Air, or Wild, or a book about the woman who set a speed record on the Appalachian trail. Or even Seven Years in Tibet. He mentions his emotions just a few times as he tells stories of encounters with heartbreaking violence and poverty.
This book could have been about so many things. But I think it was just about an emotionally stunted man trying to capture the ethos of Indiana Jones, a man who felt he had the insight to tell desperate migrants that "the grass is not always greener" (he literally said that of economic refugees at least twice). Firmly two stars.
Don't get me wrong, I added at least one place he wrote about to my bucket list. And I want to read more about / research a few things he talked about. I just couldn't help comparing it to the heartfelt, empathetic, vulnerable stories I've read by others on similarly extreme adventures -- like Into Thin Air, or Wild, or a book about the woman who set a speed record on the Appalachian trail. Or even Seven Years in Tibet. He mentions his emotions just a few times as he tells stories of encounters with heartbreaking violence and poverty.
This book could have been about so many things. But I think it was just about an emotionally stunted man trying to capture the ethos of Indiana Jones, a man who felt he had the insight to tell desperate migrants that "the grass is not always greener" (he literally said that of economic refugees at least twice). Firmly two stars.
March 22, 2019
I was in search of Walking the Himalayas but the library did not have a copy so check out this instead. I finished the book but it was a yawner. “Up to our knees in mud”? Then you are not moving much less hiking on. Woods is culturally insensitive in his descriptions of residents of the Darian. Even when his cameras and other gear get water logged and damaged he ends up with it in good condition by the end. His preparation seems juvenile. Hiking for hours after rising before fueling! Don’t think so. My first and last of his writings.
December 8, 2018
Fun adventure book. Great to watch th3 series as I read the book. Fast read.
Wished he would have discussed the logistics and the tv crew. I know we are supposed to pretend it’s just him and his friend walking along, but did a camera crew follow the whole trip or just part of it?
Wished he would have discussed the logistics and the tv crew. I know we are supposed to pretend it’s just him and his friend walking along, but did a camera crew follow the whole trip or just part of it?
February 28, 2024
Walking the Americas was a very well done telling of an interesting real-life saga.
Author Major Levison James Wood is a British Army officer, explorer, and writer. He is best known for his extended walking expeditions in Africa, Asia and Central America. This book is my second from the author, after his 2020 book: The Last Giants: The Rise and Fall of the African Elephant, which I also enjoyed.
Levison Wood :
The author does well recounting this incredible journey here. He writes with a lively, engaging style that shouldn't have trouble holding the finicky reader's attention.
The narrator of the audio version I have also did a fantastic job of the reading. Bonus points for the book including many pictures of this journey at the end. I wish more books would do this. It really helps bring context to the people and places talked about. (I'll include a few of them here, for anyone interested)
The book details a 2016 trip he embarked on with newly divorced travel companion Alberto, to walk from Yukatan, Mexico, through the famous lawless Darién Gap, near the Colombia–Panama border, beyond into Columbia.
He writes:
The route they walked:
Trekking on foot through Central America is a journey that few in their right minds would attempt. Can you blame them? You wouldn't catch me doing this for all the tea in China. Wood writes of the many dangers they will face on the jungle trek:
A pristine, lawless and wild jungle frontier, Wood drops this quote, written by a previous explorer, about the Darién Gap:
********************
Walking the Americas was an exciting account of an incredible journey. If you are a fan of wild real-life sagas like I am, then you'll probably like this one, too.
4.5 stars.
Author Major Levison James Wood is a British Army officer, explorer, and writer. He is best known for his extended walking expeditions in Africa, Asia and Central America. This book is my second from the author, after his 2020 book: The Last Giants: The Rise and Fall of the African Elephant, which I also enjoyed.
Levison Wood :
The author does well recounting this incredible journey here. He writes with a lively, engaging style that shouldn't have trouble holding the finicky reader's attention.
The narrator of the audio version I have also did a fantastic job of the reading. Bonus points for the book including many pictures of this journey at the end. I wish more books would do this. It really helps bring context to the people and places talked about. (I'll include a few of them here, for anyone interested)
The book details a 2016 trip he embarked on with newly divorced travel companion Alberto, to walk from Yukatan, Mexico, through the famous lawless Darién Gap, near the Colombia–Panama border, beyond into Columbia.
He writes:
"My journey attempts to link the two. Mexico to the Darién, bringing out a little bit of the past along the way. This book doesn’t intend to present a comprehensive geo-political narrative, nor does it pretend to cover the vast history of this complex and often misunderstood region. It is, instead, a tale of adventure in the modern age.
Perhaps the title is misleading. Those readers who picked up this book expecting a jaunt across the United States will be sorely disappointed. I don’t even set foot in that great country. Nor do I so much as peek a glimpse at anything in South America. Except literally dipping my toes into Colombia, this book is solely a journey through Central America. But, like Keats, in his bid to avoid an extra syllable, I decided that anything more than ‘Americas’ would be a mouthful, so I’ve left it at that. Moreover, for almost a hundred years after Columbus first laid eyes upon this verdant region, the Americas was Central America. For its formative decades, Central America and the Caribbean coastline was the hub of the ‘New World’.
The route they walked:
Trekking on foot through Central America is a journey that few in their right minds would attempt. Can you blame them? You wouldn't catch me doing this for all the tea in China. Wood writes of the many dangers they will face on the jungle trek:
"...Having said that, there are much the same amoebic and bacillary dysenteries to deal with, yellow and blackwater and dengue fevers, malaria – of course – and cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, tuberculosis and rabies. Then there’s some very special extras. Bot fly, for instance, whose larvae bore into your scalp, eat your flesh from the inside and then, forty days later emerge as inch-long maggots. Chagas disease, likewise, is rather gruesome. Here, the assassin bugs bite you on the face, and then, gorged, defecate next to the puncture. When you scratch the resulting itch, you rub the shit and their cargo of protozoa into your bloodstream and then between one and twenty years later, you die from incurable brain damage.
River blindness is no less pleasant. Blackfly transmit a particularly determined kind of worm that migrate into your eyeball. Then there’s leishmaniosis – a flesh-rotting disease, a bit like leprosy, which eats away at your warm extremities. Let’s not forget Zika virus either, which emerged as a freak exotic malady in 2015, causing an epidemic of shrunken-headed babies across Latin America.
I asked my friend and tropical-disease expert Dr Will Charlton what he thought my chances were. I was assured that if I didn’t succumb to at least one or two of the above, then I should consider myself very lucky indeed. Of equal concern was, of course, all the stuff that I would likely encounter in or around my jungle campsites to come. Vampire bats have been known to bite humans and transmit rabies, giving rise to the zombie myth. The bushmaster viper can grow up to twelve feet long, but generally bites only if you stand on it. The fer-de-lance (seven and a half feet) can be more aggressive and chase you across the road. Anacondas are likely to be found in the rivers and will crush you to death.
In Belize, the tarantulas can grow to the size of saucers; black widow spiders inhabit every drainpipe and are fifteen times as poisonous as a rattlesnake, whereas bullet ants are a mere nuisance with only twenty-four hours of excruciating, debilitating agony on the cards. My personal horror was the prospect of yet more crocodiles lurking in the depths of the swamps I would inevitably have to wade through..."
A pristine, lawless and wild jungle frontier, Wood drops this quote, written by a previous explorer, about the Darién Gap:
"The basic problem of the Darién Gap is that it’s one of the toughest hikes there is. It’s an absolute pristine jungle, but it’s got some nasty sections with thorns, wasps, snakes, thieves, criminals, you name it. Everything that’s bad for you is in there …
We had probably been travelling a week before it happened … at about 11.44 in the morning, three Kuna Indians passed us on the trail, and all of a sudden we heard automatic gunfire for about three minutes, about a half a mile from us. Our guides ran away – they dropped our stuff and just took off … I suggested we walk into the ambush, as opposed to try to hide or run away … So we decided to talk very loudly in English and keep together as a group and let them know we were coming. It took about a half hour for them to calm down because they were so amped up … they were wired and twitchy, shouting and yelling … they killed four people from Paya, and they burned Púcuro to the ground … The Darién Gap is an extremely dangerous place … It’s used as a conduit for drugs. There are no police there, there’s no military, the trails aren’t marked … The jungle there is not viewed as a place that is pristine and beautiful – it’s looked at as a place where you get killed."
********************
Walking the Americas was an exciting account of an incredible journey. If you are a fan of wild real-life sagas like I am, then you'll probably like this one, too.
4.5 stars.
January 21, 2021
Glad I’m just an armchair traveler these days. That was a brutal 1800 miles, but I loved every step. Lev has a real knack with words, he makes the most grueling adventure sound like a walk in the park!!
He intersperses his story with historical facts and must see places. His ability to hook up with the locals adds native color (no pun intended!)
Had to laugh, Trump had just been elected while he was on this trip and Alberto, his Mexican travel companion had some great comments on “The Wall.” We all know how that all turned out! Thanks to Biden, it is already starting to crumble.
The Lost Girls should read Mr Wood’s travel books - he writes as they should be written, not as frivolous Chick Lit!
PS - as usual my editing side has slipped out. Tegucigalpa (Tay-goosy-galpa)
Is misspelled on the map on the inside cover. Am I the only one who
noticed that?
He intersperses his story with historical facts and must see places. His ability to hook up with the locals adds native color (no pun intended!)
Had to laugh, Trump had just been elected while he was on this trip and Alberto, his Mexican travel companion had some great comments on “The Wall.” We all know how that all turned out! Thanks to Biden, it is already starting to crumble.
The Lost Girls should read Mr Wood’s travel books - he writes as they should be written, not as frivolous Chick Lit!
PS - as usual my editing side has slipped out. Tegucigalpa (Tay-goosy-galpa)
Is misspelled on the map on the inside cover. Am I the only one who
noticed that?
February 8, 2019
This is the 3rd of Levison Wood's "Walking" book but the 1st that I have read. While the walk from near Merida, Mexico to the Panamanian/Colombian frontier with a Mexican friend is well told, it seems to mainly highlight their bravery and it often seems like he is emulating himself as an 18th Century explorer. It seems fairly colonial and seemed far removed from the books by Dervla Murphy, who has biked all over the world, but forms strong connections with locals.
September 8, 2017
Fantastic book - as usual the story is told in a very interesting way. Its all about the journey unlike some that can bring in too much historical fact.
First discovered this author with his Himalayas book and really liked his style of writing and recount of the journey. Can't wait for the next one.
First discovered this author with his Himalayas book and really liked his style of writing and recount of the journey. Can't wait for the next one.
June 24, 2018
3.5. An entertaining read about fascinating countries, but much of the writing was rather pedestrian (so to speak...) It also felt like the writing was rushed, as if the book was on deadline (as it probably was to coincide with the documentary).
September 12, 2019
All the South American indigenous peoples, he encountered are so awesome! Hope they keep their ways and more. Let the Darien Gap remain wild (hoping). I wish I was Levison Wood, traveling abouts like that-wonder where he will go next?
May 6, 2017
Exceptional - one of the best travel books I've ever read
November 2, 2025
Great read, excited and scared for travels now 😅
November 23, 2023
Very Good
What I enjoyed most about this book was how the author gave first hand accounts of all parts of his Central American journey.
I enjoyed it.
What I enjoyed most about this book was how the author gave first hand accounts of all parts of his Central American journey.
I enjoyed it.
May 30, 2018
I've often wondered what it is about the Brits who seem to be compelled to venture off on what appear to be hair brained adventures. Maybe it's a natural inclination to venture out from a small, crowded island. or a remnant of their old colonial adventures, but they always seem to be out searching for an adventure. Levison Woods whose previous excursions have included venturing the entire length of the Nile River and climbing some of the tallest peaks in the Himalayas, this time embarks on an 1800 mile walk from the Yucatan to Colombia with an artist friend from Mexico.
Along the way he comes across indigenous tribes in Mexico, revolutionaries in a refugee camp in Nicaragua, fellow explorers on similar adventures and immigrants from such odd places as Nepal & Pakistan trying to make their way to the United States. He forges relationships with the military in various countries to ease the path of his journey, yet still comes across scary natural obstacles like quicksand, flooding rains and dangerous wildlife finally navigating the Darian Gap between Panama and Colombia know for smugglers and its wild jungle.
All through his journey, Wood relates stories of the history and customs of the countries he's passing through making this both an interesting volume of history as well as a great arm chair journey
Along the way he comes across indigenous tribes in Mexico, revolutionaries in a refugee camp in Nicaragua, fellow explorers on similar adventures and immigrants from such odd places as Nepal & Pakistan trying to make their way to the United States. He forges relationships with the military in various countries to ease the path of his journey, yet still comes across scary natural obstacles like quicksand, flooding rains and dangerous wildlife finally navigating the Darian Gap between Panama and Colombia know for smugglers and its wild jungle.
All through his journey, Wood relates stories of the history and customs of the countries he's passing through making this both an interesting volume of history as well as a great arm chair journey
August 26, 2019
Exploring a Mayan underwater cave, visiting one of the most violent barrios in Honduras, and navigating a swamp few Westerners have ever passed through are just a few of Levinson Wood's exploits in his third "Walking" book. But what makes this book so much fun to read is that in Alberto, Lev has found another unforgettable travel partner. Alberto is part guide, part interpreter, and all comedian. Through Alberto we learn what motivates so many Central Americans to seek refuge in the United States.
'Walking the Americas" contains Lev's best people pictures yet. His image of a Congolese boy in a migrant camp is unforgettable. I do hope he will slow down on future treks and talk to more people. Andrew Forsthoefel's "Walking to Listen" can provide inspiration. I also hope Lev can get his publisher to finally include more detailed maps.
'Walking the Americas" contains Lev's best people pictures yet. His image of a Congolese boy in a migrant camp is unforgettable. I do hope he will slow down on future treks and talk to more people. Andrew Forsthoefel's "Walking to Listen" can provide inspiration. I also hope Lev can get his publisher to finally include more detailed maps.
May 25, 2021
I was really enjoying reading the book but it was only at the end that I realized that it wasn’t just two guys walking alone. They had a crew of people with them. Felt totally scammed. I enjoyed the history and the story but the author should have started the book by explaining the trip more. I didn’t realize that it was part of a tv series or documentary.
February 5, 2025
Definitely my least favorite of Levinson Woods’ books. The whole thing felt sort of anticlimactic, and I missed the rich historical narration that made his other journeys more enlightening. Still entertaining, and he’s a humorous, intelligent writer.
May 28, 2025
Excellent story of true resolve! You're going to love it.
November 4, 2017
Following on from his two wildly successful walking travelogues, Wood delivers yet again an imminently likeable and interesting book which charts his 2,900km journey through Central American highlands, jungles, remote wilderness and urban ganglands. This time, he is accompanied the entire way by his Mexican friend, Alberto, who provides a more consistent counterpoint to his own experiences and ensures that Walking the Americas is a worthy addition to the Levison Wood book stable.
Those who have read Wood's previous books will be aware of a prior (unwritten, as yet) adventure he undertook when driving an ambulance 16,000km from the United Kingdom to Malawi. It was on this journey that his fashion-and-fruit photographer friend Alberto first mentions the idea of a road trip from his home town in Merida, Mexico all the way to South America. As they say, good things usually take time and so it is some six years later that Wood makes good on his promise and reconnects with the recently divorced Alberto to set off and walk the spine of Central America.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Levison Wood journey if there weren't dangers. This time the all too real dangers consist of amoebic, bacillus and viral diseases, venomous and crushing snakes, poisonous spiders and frogs, giant wasps, crocodiles and freshwater sharks. Even some of the trees pose a serious threat such as the chechem tree, also known as black-sap poisonwood. Then there are the acts of God: hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes and floods. And if mother nature doesn't seem fit to ruin his day, then Wood and his travelling campanion also face a decent chance of being stabbed, murdered, kidnapped, hijacked or experiencing any number of other drug/gang related means of violence. One can only imagine the eye-watering cost of Wood's insurance premiums!
As Wood and Alberto navigate their way down from Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and western Panama they then are faced with having to find a way to become the first people since the 1970s to legally cross El Tapon, also known as the Darien Gap. Consisting of primitive swampland and forest, for a distance of 160km the Darien Gap holds at bay the world's longest "motorable road", the Pan-American Highway, and preventing it from connecting South America to America forcing people to circumnavigate this terrestrial stretch by sea.
The Darien Gap is probably best known due to the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) insurgents who commit kidnappings and murders whilst waging war against the government of Columbia. Tom Hart Dyke & Paul Winder's Sunday Times Bestseller, The Cloud Garden, provides a good detailed account of the nine months that they were held hostage by FARC guerrillas in 2000 and backed up by the recent death of Swedish backpacker Jan Philip Braunisch in 2013 at the hands of FARC, illustrates just how dangerous Wood's journey is.
Wood injects more humour into Walking the Americas than his previous two books, as well as including a small amount history. However, do not expect to come away with a head full of knowledge of Curzon, Colombus, Stephens and Catherwood or indeed the Aztec and Mayan civilisations that preceded their arrival. Instead, his book focuses very much on the events and encounters that occur along the path of their journey, of which there are plenty.
Wood describes the awe of cenote (cave) diving and in "finding" his own pyramid site, alongside the beauty of the countryside through which he traipses. In the next breath he then wonderfully describes the apprehension of catching lifts with "narco strangers" and then walking through the ganglands of San Pedro Sula, a city which, until recently, was the murder capital of the world where 6,000 homicides were committed annually. He also writes of the sadness of the appalling immigration camps visited that are crammed full of people trying to escape their own countries, from places as far afield as Africa and the Indian sub-continent, for a better life in the United States.
Walking the Americas continues to mark both a sameness and evolution in Wood's writing. Sameness, in that the story hinges around a central walking theme and continues to be told in an uncomplicated and extremely easy to read writing style. Evolution, in that more of Wood's personality is incorporated into his storytelling. As mentioned, there is more humour and, at least initially, more of an effort to incorporate some history. But, in his own words, "This book doesn't intend to present a comprehensive geo-political narrative, nor does it intend to cover the vast history of this complex and often misunderstood region. It is, instead, a tale of adventure in the modern age". And whilst the book doesn't match the magnificence of Walking the Nile or indeed reach the heady heights of Walking the Himalayas, it still delivers on its promise as a damned fine adventure story.
Those who have read Wood's previous books will be aware of a prior (unwritten, as yet) adventure he undertook when driving an ambulance 16,000km from the United Kingdom to Malawi. It was on this journey that his fashion-and-fruit photographer friend Alberto first mentions the idea of a road trip from his home town in Merida, Mexico all the way to South America. As they say, good things usually take time and so it is some six years later that Wood makes good on his promise and reconnects with the recently divorced Alberto to set off and walk the spine of Central America.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Levison Wood journey if there weren't dangers. This time the all too real dangers consist of amoebic, bacillus and viral diseases, venomous and crushing snakes, poisonous spiders and frogs, giant wasps, crocodiles and freshwater sharks. Even some of the trees pose a serious threat such as the chechem tree, also known as black-sap poisonwood. Then there are the acts of God: hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes and floods. And if mother nature doesn't seem fit to ruin his day, then Wood and his travelling campanion also face a decent chance of being stabbed, murdered, kidnapped, hijacked or experiencing any number of other drug/gang related means of violence. One can only imagine the eye-watering cost of Wood's insurance premiums!
As Wood and Alberto navigate their way down from Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and western Panama they then are faced with having to find a way to become the first people since the 1970s to legally cross El Tapon, also known as the Darien Gap. Consisting of primitive swampland and forest, for a distance of 160km the Darien Gap holds at bay the world's longest "motorable road", the Pan-American Highway, and preventing it from connecting South America to America forcing people to circumnavigate this terrestrial stretch by sea.
The Darien Gap is probably best known due to the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) insurgents who commit kidnappings and murders whilst waging war against the government of Columbia. Tom Hart Dyke & Paul Winder's Sunday Times Bestseller, The Cloud Garden, provides a good detailed account of the nine months that they were held hostage by FARC guerrillas in 2000 and backed up by the recent death of Swedish backpacker Jan Philip Braunisch in 2013 at the hands of FARC, illustrates just how dangerous Wood's journey is.
Wood injects more humour into Walking the Americas than his previous two books, as well as including a small amount history. However, do not expect to come away with a head full of knowledge of Curzon, Colombus, Stephens and Catherwood or indeed the Aztec and Mayan civilisations that preceded their arrival. Instead, his book focuses very much on the events and encounters that occur along the path of their journey, of which there are plenty.
Wood describes the awe of cenote (cave) diving and in "finding" his own pyramid site, alongside the beauty of the countryside through which he traipses. In the next breath he then wonderfully describes the apprehension of catching lifts with "narco strangers" and then walking through the ganglands of San Pedro Sula, a city which, until recently, was the murder capital of the world where 6,000 homicides were committed annually. He also writes of the sadness of the appalling immigration camps visited that are crammed full of people trying to escape their own countries, from places as far afield as Africa and the Indian sub-continent, for a better life in the United States.
Walking the Americas continues to mark both a sameness and evolution in Wood's writing. Sameness, in that the story hinges around a central walking theme and continues to be told in an uncomplicated and extremely easy to read writing style. Evolution, in that more of Wood's personality is incorporated into his storytelling. As mentioned, there is more humour and, at least initially, more of an effort to incorporate some history. But, in his own words, "This book doesn't intend to present a comprehensive geo-political narrative, nor does it intend to cover the vast history of this complex and often misunderstood region. It is, instead, a tale of adventure in the modern age". And whilst the book doesn't match the magnificence of Walking the Nile or indeed reach the heady heights of Walking the Himalayas, it still delivers on its promise as a damned fine adventure story.
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