Book Review - Traversa

Traversa by Fran Sandham: This is Sandham's account of walking 3000 miles across Africa, beginning on Namibia's Skeleton Coast and ending in Bagamoyo on the Indian Ocean in Tanzania. He claims the inspiration for his endurance feat came from his life-long preoccupation with the African continent's Victorian era explorers, such as Livingstone and Stanley, who "came to regard crossing Africa overland from coast to coast as a goal to rival the discovery of the source of the Nile." (The overland crossing of Africa became known as "the Travera.") However obsessed with the explorers he was, I get the feeling that Sandham - who was an editor at Rough Guides for several years - hit upon the walk as the perfect book material for the type of adventure travel he's good at, his humorous writing, and his moxie. I picked up the book because he covers some familiar turf for me on the African continent and I always enjoy another's perspective of places I know. I didn't gleam any new tidbits about culture or destination from Sandham - his book is walk-driven - but neither did I put it down. He knows how to tell a good yarn at a pace which I am guessing matches his hyperactive personality, and he is very funny. And for this reader so sold on experiencing Africa out of a vehicle, his "Traversa" was a huge achievement.

27-08-2008