By Eleanor Meecham
Penguin, NZ$28 | Reviewed by Natasha Burling

AS THE NAME suggests, the backdrop for Llamas and Empanadas is South America. New Zealand-born Eleanor Meecham cycles almost the length of the continent, zigzagging between Chile and Argentina and reaching as far south as the remote island of Tierra del Fuego. She then heads north to the legend-steeped former site of a silver bonanza, Potosí in Bolivia. Meecham shows considerable grit and determination, cycling 5000km and overcoming challenges such as altitude sickness, exhaustion and loneliness.

The ubiquitous travelogue appeals to both to the armchair traveler, those recently returned from their OE looking for a bit of nostalgia, or those planning on visiting and wanting to get a heads up on their destination.

Recently, there has been a plethora of travelogues of varying merit. Like an enthusiastic friend’s tedious slide show, the travelogue does have the potential to be yawn-inducing as other people’s adventures do not quite hold the same excitement as our own. It takes some skill to transport the reader to where the writer has been, despite the passion of exploring felt at the time they were there. Many travelogues try to gain points by virtue of a famous person. Editors are acutely aware that a token famous person will move books off the shelf. Are most people that interested in these celebrities on their molly-coddled no-expenses-spared trips, complete with translators, language lessons and huge amounts of sponsorship to boot? As if they couldn’t afford to pay for the trip themselves anyway.

Eleanor Meecham breaks the mould on her self-funded (London tuk-tuks) cycling odyssey through South America. The colourful descriptions of her fellow cyclists are entertaining. There is her visionary part-Asian American friend Bojo, who accompanies her to Ushuaia, reputedly the southernmost city of the world and one of the coldest and most remote places on earth. She manages to eventually evade a patronising, narcissitic Argentine who is convinced the entire country is following his progress and is determined to get full mileage out of this by way of free accommodation, food and drinks. Contact with the locals gives a realistic indication of the current political and economic state of the continent. Meecham encounters road-blocks of those campaigning for electricity and better roads. She also meets an elderly Argentine woman, disillusioned with life in Buenos Aires, who has moved south to a find a lonely and quiet life with little of the prosperity she had hoped for.

The mileage (5000km) that Meecham covers is outstanding considering the altitudes she reaches (3967m in Potosí), the state of some of the roads and the freezing temperatures she endures. I am sure at least some of the tales of bandits and rapists on the highways she is told by concerned locals are true so am not sure if she was brave or foolhardy to travel alone most of the way. I certainly wouldn’t do it but then again if Meecham hadn’t we wouldn’t have such an interesting read would we?

Travelogues are the flavour of the moment, although not all are particularly well-written. Just because someone has the courage to explore some far-flung part of the globe does not mean they will be gifted at penning their experiences. Despite a slow and slightly contrived start, Eleanor Meecham displayed considerable literary skill and recounted her adventures through South America with wit and authenticity. I would definitely recommend her book, especially to those with an interest in South America as the detailed descriptions of rugged, forbidding landscapes do inspire one to explore. Although I won’t be choosing the same mode of transport, that’s for sure.

Eleanor Meecham was recently a guest of theAuckland Writers & Readers Festival.