One of my favorite travel books is Paul Theroux’s The Old Patagonian Express. In it, Theroux details his trip from Boston across North America, down through Central and South America until he ends up in Patagonia—and he does it mostly by train.
The greatest point of the book is that Theroux goes to the same place he goes everyday to catch his train to work just carrying a small bag—and the next thing you know (well, after 404 pages) he is at the southern tip of Argentina . He did tell his wife and kids in advance, which kind of takes the coolness factor out of his departure but still, it is an incredible adventure.
But no one ever reads this book after my recommendation, which makes me wonder if I am selling it wrong. It is kind of long and Theroux is kind of grumpy, and you don’t learn much about the countries he travels through because most of the book is written while looking out a moving window. And because he is married (and his wife probably reads his books) there is no sex or anything like that. Plus, it was written over 30 years ago so a lot of the book is pretty dated. So, maybe I should probably not be specific about those aspects of the book.
I guess you have to read it at a certain time of your life–when you are burdened with responsibilities–to really click with the idea of spontaneously getting on a bus or train and disappearing for awhile. The book is not about just some short rail breaks for a long weekend. It took him months to get to his destination.
Of course, now when I truly examine what it would be like to ride in decaying public transportation for months on end it is hard to get too excited about this sort of trip. Especially when I find myself asking, “Are we there yet?” even before the first beverage is served.
And why Patagonia? If I spent a great deal of time putting my body through thousands of hours of bone butting, brain sloshing and belly tossing, my destination would be someplace other than a sub-zero wasteland far, far away from any drinks with paper umbrellas in them.
Maybe the unexamined long train trip is left better unexamined, or at least not recommended.
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