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TO FIND - The Search For Meaning in Life on the Gringo Trail
The year is 1980. Having recently completed a doctoral degree, J.R. Klein, aka Alex Moreau, is totally burned out. Life is dull, routine, monotonous. On a whim, he sets out with photographer friend, Stefan Kale, on a trek through Mexico and Central America with a mere four hundred and ninety-five dollars in his pocket. TO FIND is a wild adventure across raw deserts, up into remote mountain villages, out onto pristine islands, and deep into tropical rain forests. Relegated to the most basic forms of transportation - peasant buses, dilapidated trains, and more often than not using their thumbs to snag a ride - they live a vagabond existence devoid of plans, destinations, and schedules. Above all, TO FIND is an excursion of the soul. It is a kaleidoscope of exhilarating experiences that includes mystical encounters with the lost civilization of the Maya, and a rich cast of characters that flows endlessly across the pages. Klein delivers an unforgettable journey of self-discovery in the tradition of Jack Kerouac's On the Road and Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild.
267 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 5, 2019
18 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 19, 2020
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Those who have traveled to Mexico, Cancun, Isla Mujeres and beyond will truly enjoy this book!
Read full review in the 2020 May issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Those who have traveled to Mexico, Cancun, Isla Mujeres and beyond will truly enjoy this book!
Read full review in the 2020 May issue of InD'tale Magazine.
November 21, 2020
“To Find: The Search for Meaning in Life on the Gringo Trail,” by J.R. Klein, is an unforgettable travel memoir about a burned-out graduate with a doctoral degree and the promise of MIT looking to recover from torpor in 1980. Looking for adventure, he (aka Alex Moreau in the book) and his shutterbug friend Stefan strike out on impulse to make their way through Mexico and Central America, and on only a few hundred dollars. Together they traverse islands, mountain villages, rain forests, and deserts. When not taking whatever rudimentary transportation is available, they hitchhike, and meet fascinating people and locations.
They aren’t tourists in the popular sense of the word. They’re wanderers, gypsies, absorbing the cultures as they encounter them. His dreams and visions add a surreal dimension that is intriguing, and the scenarios of bad weather and other dangers are very realistic. Besides travel, there is romance with Yvette, and the plot of the overall book builds at a steady pace, not giving you everything at once, which is nice; and so is his friendship with Stefan. Although described as a travel memoir, and it is, it also reads like a very entertaining adventure novel, with distinct characters, plot, conflict, dialogue, and of course settings.
What I like about this travelogue is the grit that it takes to impulsively take off on a journey with little planning and no expectations. As you read, you travel along with the author on his encounters. The descriptions make everything come alive, and you feel as if you’re really there. Klein is clearly on a trek of self-discovery and rejuvenation, and I wondered what his life would have been like if he hadn’t taken this trip. In a way, this trip was a variety of things for him–a cap on his life goals, a doorway to personal awakenings, and a treasure chest full of experiences he could carry with him for the rest of his life. Klein is more than a mere traveler. He seems to be a born writer who is able to paint living postcard memories for you to enjoy.
If you like to do your traveling vicariously, or ever wanted to break free from the chains of boredom like Klein, climb aboard “To Find: The Search for Meaning in Life on the Gringo Trail,” by J.R. Klein, and take a ride.
They aren’t tourists in the popular sense of the word. They’re wanderers, gypsies, absorbing the cultures as they encounter them. His dreams and visions add a surreal dimension that is intriguing, and the scenarios of bad weather and other dangers are very realistic. Besides travel, there is romance with Yvette, and the plot of the overall book builds at a steady pace, not giving you everything at once, which is nice; and so is his friendship with Stefan. Although described as a travel memoir, and it is, it also reads like a very entertaining adventure novel, with distinct characters, plot, conflict, dialogue, and of course settings.
What I like about this travelogue is the grit that it takes to impulsively take off on a journey with little planning and no expectations. As you read, you travel along with the author on his encounters. The descriptions make everything come alive, and you feel as if you’re really there. Klein is clearly on a trek of self-discovery and rejuvenation, and I wondered what his life would have been like if he hadn’t taken this trip. In a way, this trip was a variety of things for him–a cap on his life goals, a doorway to personal awakenings, and a treasure chest full of experiences he could carry with him for the rest of his life. Klein is more than a mere traveler. He seems to be a born writer who is able to paint living postcard memories for you to enjoy.
If you like to do your traveling vicariously, or ever wanted to break free from the chains of boredom like Klein, climb aboard “To Find: The Search for Meaning in Life on the Gringo Trail,” by J.R. Klein, and take a ride.
November 21, 2020
Hold On To Your Sombrero
If you've ever been through the Yucatan or even if your planning a trip down the gringo trail you should put this on your list of must reads. Yep, it happened years ago but I can tell you it is still an adventure today.
The good thing about Cancun is that the airport is a good starting point for a Yucatan/Central American adventure. Or, why not drive, bus or hitch from the Texas border down.
Whether you go or not you'll certainly feel like you did by reading the Gringo Trail.
Thanks again Mr. Klein for allowing us to travel vicariously through your book.
If you've ever been through the Yucatan or even if your planning a trip down the gringo trail you should put this on your list of must reads. Yep, it happened years ago but I can tell you it is still an adventure today.
The good thing about Cancun is that the airport is a good starting point for a Yucatan/Central American adventure. Or, why not drive, bus or hitch from the Texas border down.
Whether you go or not you'll certainly feel like you did by reading the Gringo Trail.
Thanks again Mr. Klein for allowing us to travel vicariously through your book.
February 14, 2021
An unbelievable travelogue, but turns a little too whoo whoo for me with the Mayan mysticism. Nonetheless, a great adventure and a great read.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews