Turn Right at Machu Picchu

When I saw Turn Right at Machu Picchu (#148) by Mark Adams on my library's New Non-Fiction Books On Order list, I knew I had to read it.  I've dreamed of going to Machu Picchu ever since I first read about it as a child in Richard Halliburton's Complete Book of Marvels.  (Now that's a book with legs!  First published in 1937, new paperback and hardcover editions came out in 2011.  I can't recommend it highly enough.)  In Mr. Halliburton's highly romanticized version of who lived there and what might have happened to them, the remnants of the Incas have fled to this mountain top city and eventually die out there.  Mr. Halliburton then recounts his own exploration of the site in a way that is guaranteed to make every child wish he or she were an adventurer traveling with him.

In a way, that's just what happens in Turn Right at Machu Picchu; Mark Adams is inspired by his job at an adventure travel magazine to get out of the office and do some traveling of his own.  Peru seemed an obvious choice because his wife is Peruvian, plus he had read about the controversy between Yale University and Peru over the ownership rights to the artifacts that Yale Professor Hiram Bingham, famous as the discoverer of Machu Picchu, had brought back from his highly publized journeys there.  The centennial date of Bingham's find was approaching in 2011 and Peru was sueing in the US Supreme Court for the return of their national treasures. 

Hiram Bingham may not have actually discovered Machu Picchu, but he sure did make it famous when his article about the site was published in the 1913 edition of National Geographic, and in his three subsequent books on the subject .  What would make a better adventure than to try to retrace Bingham's steps, especially when Bingham's source material at Yale was so conveniently close to New York City?

Mark Adams' often humorous account of his trips to Peru to pursue this goal is almost like being there yourself - only without the sweat-soaked clothes, lack of sanitary facilities and the physical conditioning needed to undertake this kind of trip.  Along the way I painlessly learned a lot about Inca history and Inca technological skills.  It also made me all the more determined to see Machu Picchu for myself.  Yes, I hope to be one of the hordes of tourists that Mark Adams and his intrepid Australian guide John Leivers did their best to avoid.  I know I could never do the kind of rugged trekking up and down mountains the pair of them didl  (Granted they did do it with their muleteers, porters, cook and driver. but still!  These are the Andes!!!)

My husband also enjoyed this book very much, but he did make me nervous when he declared "We can't go to Machu Picchu and become those senior citizen American tourists in their matching tee shirts!"  Not to worry, though.  If we are lucky enough to make it to Peru with Outdoor Adventure Travel in the next few years, we never dress alike!

If you're an armchair traveler or a fan of Bill Bryson, Turn Right at Machu Picchu should be on your "to read" list of travel books.  It'll make you breathless in more ways than one.  Maybe I'll see you at Machu Picchu some day in the future...