Baja to Patagonia: Latin American Adventures [Paperback]

Larry Rice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 20, 1993

This is off-the-beaten-path adventure travel writing at its best as Larry Rice backpacks, kayaks, and canoes in the wilderness areas of Latin America.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In these nine travelogues recounting exploration in Latin American wilderness regions, Rice ( Gathering Paradise: Alaska Wilderness Journeys ) provides some helpful tips for fellow adventurers but hardly anything else. Rice and his wife, Judy, tramp through remote Patagonia, where they are "smothered" with hospitality by a rancher's wife who claims she doesn't get lonely in her isolated home. On the way to Chile's Lauca National Park, near the Peruvian border, the author watches astonishingly swift vicunas race alongside his minibus. He observes that Costa Rica's very popularity with ecotourists--its protected areas harbor a variety of animal and plant life--has led, ironically, to ecological degradation. Kayaking in search of the California gray whale off Baja California, the author becomes an instant expert on the nuances of whale behavior. While Rice offers some good descriptions of the outside world, the reader learns little about the author himself and his relationship to what he sees and experiences. The book does contain a useful bibliography concerning Latin America's wilderness, flora and fauna. Parts of the book originally appeared in Canoe and Americas magazines. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Rice, a contributing editor to Backpacker and Canoe magazines, has written about traveling with his wife to Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Their usual mode of travel is by backpack and kayak, and they experience unpleasant conditions much of the time. The reader may wonder why they do it. The author's naivete allows him to take a refreshing look at the people and landscape of the out-of-the-way spots he visits, like the exotic Torres del Paine and Lake Titicaca, but one sometimes wishes that his commentary had more depth. There is no continuity to the stories, three of which have appeared in magazines, so each chapter ends abruptly. For comprehensive travel collections covering Latin America.
- George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing; First Printing edition (September 20, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555911137
• ISBN-13: 978-1555911133
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,290,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An informative Latin American travel book, October 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Baja to Patagonia: Latin American Adventures (Paperback)

The book is better titled "Patagonia to Baja" since the adventures begin at the tip of the continent and work their way back to Baja. The book is divided into 9 adventures which the author and his wife experienced in Chile (4), Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Baja California (for this one, a friend joined him instead of his wife). Each story was exciting and informative. The trips to Chile and Argentina were done without a guide service, while the other trips were guided trips. These were trekking and sea kayaking trips (they camped-out instead of staying in hotels). At times I felt as if I were there with them. I'm planning a South American adventure in the future and found this book to be valuable in giving me insights into this part of the world.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars ... being followed by a rain cloud, March 15, 2000

By 

Chris J. Cranos (fairfield, ct) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baja to Patagonia: Latin American Adventures (Paperback)

I have been to many of the places covered by Mr. Rice in "Baha to Patagonia." I picked this book up as a little travel reading for my last trip which took me down through southern Patagonia.

My review is weather which apparently followed him around. This made every short story (and I mean every one) an epic, and the reader cannot help but feel elated the author must have done something really really bad in the past in order for him to be followed by such storms. I, on the other hand, had almost next guy, but way too many words are dedicated to how hungry he and his wife are at the end of the day.

3) His wife's fear. At one point, he mentioned how scared she is, and then goes on to say that she had even jumped out of an airplane. Well, I commend her on her parachuting experience, but many women accomplished this feat, and I found it did have knowledge on the flora and fauna within many of the areas he visited. He also did paint a fairly good picture for the reader on the varied environments. This did have substance, unfortunately, the shock value techniques of his storms seemed to drown it out.