Bolivia tried to kill us: A year trekking and travelling in South America by Tony Hastie

Bolivia tried to kill us: A year trekking and travelling in South America Reviews

• 
  Joe

  2.5 stars for the writing. Rounding up for trekking through South America for a year.
  
  The book is pretty clearly self-published from blog posts. Good on the authors for doing that. Enterprising.
  
  It is reasonably entertaining at first. Not hilarious. Not Bill Bryson (I was recommended this book because I like Bill Bryson). After a while, though, certain things started to grate on me.
  
  First, the pictures. They're all in black and white. I get it, you're self-publishing, and it is cheaper to print the photos in black and white. However, when you are telling me about the wonderful scenery you've seen understand that I can't appreciate it in a black and white photo. Also, some photo captions would have been nice.
  
  Second, the travel log nature of the book missed some great opportunities. The author mentions that one of the best things about their trip to Machu Picchu was all of the history that their guide shared with them. Then you don't share it with us. I was really hoping at that point to learn something about this amazing place you traveled to, not just hearing about your climb to the top.
  
  Finally, I tired eventually of all of the complaining about accommodations and conditions. You're in third-world countries, so I'm not sure what you expect. The facilities are going to be poor, the buses are not going to run on time, the people are going to try to gouge you (so they can eat). If you can't appreciate the wonder of life around this world, and the struggles some people endure to survive it, while understanding how privileged those of us in first-world countries are, maybe you missed some of the beauty you went to find.
• 
  Joanne Rolston

  It was a very well edited account of a year's travel in South America. Tony Hastie is bigger on action than description - but that being said it was a good yarn, it moved along and it kept my interest. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in travel and backpacking. Its worth the read for anyone planning a trip to those parts.
• 
  Corina

  What a fun book! Having travels in Bolivia as well as other parts of SA I could relate to much of what was said. Enjoyed the humor in the book and it was never boring. Now I'm ready for my next adventure!
• 
  Betty

  I enjoyed this book because it brought back so many memories of my visits to several South American countries.
• 
  Sarah

  3.5 stars rounded up.
  
  I really enjoyed reading this, and recapturing the memories of some of our own recent South American adventures (Bolivia tried to kill us too). It's less travel guide, more humorous biographical account, and for me it had some real laugh out loud moments (dog hire kiosks!). It's definitely 'kiwi-style' writing and it reads like Tony is recounting his adventures to you over a drink at the pub, in a lovely way.
  
  It's not the most polished self-published title I've ever read. There were some very random page breaks in my print edition, and I agree with other reviewers that colour photographs would have been better than the black and white, where it's sometimes hard to tell what you're actually looking at. These factors annoyed me at first, but I have to admit, became less of a worry as I got drawn into the recounting of their travel adventures.
• 
  Daniela Atristain

  The writing won’t be impressive, but if you enjoy hiking with your significant other and are familiar with South American culture you will be very entertained by this book. If you use kindle instead of a paper book you get better quality of pictures.
• 
  Annica

  Contemplating a trip around South America myself I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately it is not very descriptive of the countries the author travels in, it's mostly a personal account, almost biography style. After a few treks and hostels the story is just repetitive.
• 
  Wodin

  Their travels seemed interesting, but it was poorly written.