Description

For five months John Harrison journeys through this
secret country, walking alone into remote villages where
he is the first gringo the inhabitants have ever seen, and
where life continues as if Columbus had never sailed. He
lives at over 10,000 feet for most of the trip, following the
great road of the Incas: the Camino Real, or Royal Road.
Hand built over 500 years ago, it crosses the most difficult
and dangerous mountains in all the Americas, diving into
sweltering canyons and soaring up into the snows. 1500
miles, half of it on foot, take him from the Equator to
Cuzco and the most magical city of all: Machu Picchu.
He is attacked, gets lost and is trapped by floods, but only
when he goes home does he lose what he wants most.