There are so many books, stories, people and projects that have inspired this trip! We would like to share some of them with you so that you can be inspired too.
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl is famous for his Kon Tiki expedition where he crossed the Atlantic in a boat made of bolsa wood and rope. It is a fantastic expedition! But I would also recommend his first book, Fatu Hiva.
In Fatu Hiva, Thor and his wife travelled to French Polynesia with the aim of getting ‘back to nature’ and living without modern tools and comforts.
You can get a second-hand copy on Amazon for £2-3.
Thor Heyerdahl and his wife on Fatu Hiva
Jay Griffiths
I adore Jay Griffiths. She writes about time and nature and wildness and childhood and so many things, always in such a beautiful way. You should read all of her books!
If you’re short on time, read Anarchipelago. It is a fictionalised personal account of the British road protests (specifically the Newbury bypass).
Wild is an about the nature of wildness and people. Jay spent many years travelling and meeting indigenous people whilst writing this book and it is truly fantastic. Here’s a review that does it justice… “Wildness pulsates through these pages as if they themselves were the dancing jungles of the Amazon”.
Kith is about childhood and how removed children have become from nature. I’m reading it at the moment and am as captivated by Jay’s writing as ever. She has the power to transport you to places and emotions you haven’t felt for so long, you forgot they even existed. And Kith makes you want to run naked into the ocean and splash in the waves.
I also did an interview with Jay, you can read it here on the Idler.
Jay Griffiths
J.B. Mackinnon
This Canadian ecologist wrote a fascinating book called The Once and Future World: Nature As It Was, As It Is, As It Could Be. You don’t have to be an ecologist to read it – his ideas flow so freely within stories and anecdotes. But be warned… it will forever change how you see the world! Tales of mastodons and mammoths will blow your mind and the holly bush and hawthorn will never look the same again.
Ed Stafford
I’m a sucker for an adventure story and Walking the Amazon is a fantastic adventure story. Born out of pub chat, it turned into an 860-day trek through some of the world’s toughest terrain.
The Travelling Two
This couple have cycle toured all over the world and we have taken lots of tips from their website. They have since become the Travelling Three, so if you are thinking that you’d love to do a cycle tour but your kids are holding you back… no excuses now!
More to come soon…!
for people. for nature. 