Reading (+crowdfunding) a global walk & road memoirs: Nepal, Europe/US, Worldtrip

Reading: trail notes from one of the longest walks through the world, and road memoirs:

Since last year, I am reading the trek notes of a global walk: Paul Salopek, a journalist who won the Pulitzer, is walking the world, following the trail of humans from the origins in Africa along the directions they walked to migrate and spread. The name of his project is “Out of Eden Walk”, it’s partly supported by National Geographic.

The walk will be 7 years long, leading through 4 continents. Salopek started walking 2 years ago, in Ethopia. From there, his journey took him to Djibuti, and to Saudi Arabei. His journey notes are collected in an online archive: Out of Eden Walk - Notes. 

To finance his walk, Salop does a yearly Kickstarter campaign. I joined in backing his previous one, and now his new one is coming to closure: 4 days left, and 43.598 of 45.000$ funded. I just backed it, too. Here's the Kickstarter link: Out of Eden Walk.

Here's a summary of the walk so far, from the Kickstarter page: 

"In January 2013, Paul walked out of Ethiopia. He’s since traversed Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, the West Bank, Cyprus, Turkey, and crossed the Caucasus Mountains into the Republic of Georgia. Pausing only when seasonal or geopolitical factors demand, Paul won’t break from the Out of Eden Walk trail until he reaches the tip of South America, where our ancestors also ran out of new horizons.
 The physical rigors of the journey, though obvious, are far from the point. The Out of Eden Walk is primarily a storytelling quest into the lives of the people and the human landscapes that Paul encounters on the trail. Moving at the slow beat of his footsteps, Paul is revealing the inner worlds of people he encounters: the nomads, villagers, traders, farmers, and fishermen who don't ordinarily make the news. The Walk is a way of being; a commitment to humanity."

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Global walks - that could also be the titel theme for some of the books I read recently:





"Even Everest Shook: Caught in the Nepal Earthquake 2015"
by  Tony Hill
This is a touching read, starting light-hearted and adventurous, and then turning a book about witnessing the devastating earthquake on a personal level, as part of a trekking group:
"After visiting the ancient temples and squares of Kathmandu, Tony Hill and a group of fellow travellers from around the world set off up the Himalayan valleys Everest bound. Only 3 days into the trek they were in a mountain village when the devastating Nepal Earthquake struck. Lucky to escape uninjured, they find themselves stranded. Journey with Tony Hill, before, during and in the aftermath of the earthquake, experience breathtaking beauty, the bonding and humour of a diverse set of characters, then overwhelming tragedy, and the fragility, resilience and spirituality of the human condition."

"2 years 4 months 2 hours : From Italy to the world - A memoir of love and travel"
by Chiara Townley
A personal and emotional memoir of Chiara, written in diary notes and mails, about the difficult journey of 2 people from different continents from the first meeting to the final reunion: "Chiara meets Tyler in London while she's working in a hotel. For her it's love at first sight. She is from Italy and he is American. There is no time for dating because he's leaving for a trip to South America then back to the US. What happens next is the journey of a woman that follows her heart against all odds."

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"Journeyman" by Fabian Körner
This is a German book: the memoir of trying to travel all continents in a year and work in each for a while - interesting read, especially with the focus on the working, which gives the journey a different spin and focus and differnet destinations, away from the usual tourist trails.


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Reading Links:

For more reading notes, click here: life as a journey with books 

A reading list by regions is online at: World Reads by country