Background:
Drama, action, passion,
disaster, and the pure adrenaline buzz of overlanding are all here in Sam
Manicom�s third adventure motorcycle travel book.
Sam originally intended to
spend a year riding the length of Africa but this evolved into an eight
year, 200,000 mile journey around the world. He�d been riding a bike for
just three months when he started!
His books Into Africa
(A great adventure
and a really enjoyable read � Johnnie Walker)
and Under Asian Skies (a
unique and wonderful adventure � Ted Simon)
covered his first four years of phenomenal travelling experiences and now
Distant Suns takes you on a three year voyage of discovery
through Southern Africa, South and Central America. This time Sam rides and
shares the adventures with someone special, the brave and indefatigable
Birgit.
The themes of the story are,
adventure (of course), the two continents with their stunning roads and
cultures, the amazing people you meet, the strangeness and fun of suddenly
travelling with someone else, and Birgit coming to terms with touring on her
bike - she rode her first dirt road, in Africa, in
the dark! Not planned, but life.
She survives the madness of the traffic in
such cities as Nairobi and Dar es Salam, only to have a major accident in
the Transkei hills in southern Africa. She rescues Sam from a potential
complete disaster when she realises that his bike is about to blow up, and
he�s not noticed! They meet and get conned by an Argentinean �Nazi� and by
fluke of fortune they end up travelling across the southern Atlantic by
luxury cruise liner instead of a tramp steamer. So the adventure rolls up to
and through the magnificent Andes.
�Sam�s richly evocative
writing opens up a world where people travel their own fragile, unsupported
paths and his acute and quirky observations transport you to their universe.
His descriptions illuminate the darker times like shafts of sunlight, and
suck you right into the scene.�
Distant Suns
will grab you, enthral you, shock you, make you laugh, and spit you out as a
convert to the dream of overlanding by motorcycle.
Excerpts:
�We found an old and derelict
ACA (Argentine Motoring Organisation) petrol station. It was all closed down
but it looked as if someone was living there and there was be plenty of
space to stick our tent up without getting in anyone�s way. Birgit went and
knocked on the door. Moments later a man who looked just like a shrivelled
old mountain goat stuck his head out. He had a long, thin face which was
topped by long straggly white hair, and his chin sported a perfect goatee
beard. His voice didn�t match his face though � it was deep and humorous.
�Si, of course you can camp here � choose your spot and make yourself
welcome.� The cost? �Nada, you are very welcome.� When Birgit asked if it
was safe to drink the water from the water tank on wheels outside his cabin,
he replied with twinkling eyes, �Of course it�s safe to drink. After all,
the worst that will happen is that you�ll die!�
"But
the dirt road in front of us disappeared into the dangerously dark shadows
under the trees. There was just enough light left in the sky to be able to
see that within a few metres, the gravel changed into patches of soft sand
and rutted potholes. The cicadas were in full song in a warm slightly dank
air that was scented with just hint of tangy sea breeze. Beneath me, my bike
engine ticked over calmly as it waited patiently to be told what to do
next."
"The
air is so full of scents that it�s worth taking the time to just sit and
breathe it in. Spices, roasting goat meat, maize cobs cooking on braziers,
baking bread, the sea, fresh fish, roasting red-skinned peanuts, and coconut
oil all mingle with the heavy scents of petrol and diesel engines in an
atmosphere that�s also filled with full-on African city noises."
Release Date: November 1st 2008. �13.99
40 Colour images, and 79 drawings.
To be available from
www.sam-manicom.com
