Spanning four seasons, 10 countries, three teaching jobs, and countless
buses, Patagonian Road chronicles Kate McCahill's solo journey from
Guatemala to Argentina. In her struggles with language, romance,
culture, service, and homesickness, she personifies a growing culture of
women for whom travel is not a path to love but to meaningful work, rare
inspiration, and profound self-discovery. Following Paul Theroux's route
from his 1979 travelogue, McCahill transports the reader from a
classroom in a Quito barrio to a dingy room in an El Salvadorian
brothel, and from the neighborhoods of Buenos Aires to the heights of
the Peruvian Andes. A testament to courage, solitude, and the rewards of
taking risks, Patagonian Road proves that discovery, clarity, and
simplicity remain possible in the 21st century, and that travel holds an
enduring capacity to transform.