Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time Paperback – Illustrated, April 24, 2012

Machu Picchu is simply a place I must visit before I get too old, that's all there is to it. I've had this fixation long before reading "Right Turn at Machu Picchu", and now that I know the "back-way" which presents even more ancient Inca sites in the area, I can see my visit shall last several weeks (months?) and require a new resolution to my physical health long before my plane arrives in Cuzco.Mark Adams doesn't seem to suffer from my affliction; it seems his motivation was more due to the 100th anniversary of Hiram Bingham's "rediscovery" of the site. I especially enjoyed the research the author did on Bingham himself, giving us an insight of an upper-cruster, who enjoyed rubbing elbows with the social movers and shakers, more often to shake them down for expedition funding than anything. It is obvious that Mr. Adams is more than a bit suspicious of Bingham, not only to what degree the documentation of his travels bore accuracy, but about the character of the man himself.As far as global exploration of the time was concerned, the turn of the 1800's into the new century was indeed an interesting era. It was also during this period that in Cambodia a French naturalist by the name of Henri Mouhot "rediscovered" the ancient Khmer kingdom on the shores of Tonle Sap known as Angkor. Personally, having visited Angkor many times I will be quite surprised if once I fulfill this promise to myself to find Machu Picchu eclipses the wonder and majesty of Angkor. We'll see.Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Adams book, well written and descriptive of not only the event itself, but of the characters he describes. He paints Bingham with a brush dipped in a can of part flim-flam man, part egomaniac, and part snob as he rushed through the Inca trail area nary giving Machu Picchu a second glance (he was there all of five hours). He seemed much more concerned in giving the investors back home their money's worth in return for their financial stake in his explorations, to the point of looting the Inca sites he tripped over and shipping home anything that wasn't red-hot or nailed down.Mr. Adams gives color to the problematic desire to visit this place, the hazards involved and even his own misgivings leading him to wonder what he had gotten himself into. This is a very unforgiving place of the planet, the never-ending steep grades up and down the mountains of the Andes is not for the infirm of body nor heart. There is a reason why llamas can dance on the head of a pin.In the end, you come away glad that you read his account especially, if like me, you've always had a desire in the back of your mind to pay a visit to Machu Picchu. His book not only furthered that desire, but made me aware that I will need to devote a lot longer period of time to do it the right way than I originally thought I would.

Turn Right is entertaining but the laughs don’t come nearly as often as with Bill Bryson’s ‘A Walk in the Woods,” another “Hiker with a crazy partner” trail book. But as the Appalachian Trail is nothing like the Inca Trail, and Bryson wasn’t trying to explain a thousand+ years of history, enough said about that. I’m just objecting to the word “hilarious” which was in one of the blurbs. “Hilarious” is overkill, but I’m still glad I read the book. Mark Adams’ detailed info about Macchu Picchu’s origins, coupled with his quest story about Macchu Picchu’s “discoverer” (and the author explains why “discoverer” isn’t the best word) is a good read, but for me, the last 100 pages were clogged with info that seemed there only to make a 250-page book into 300 pages. For that I fault the book’s editor, who might have taken a sharper pencil to some of the author’s extensive research. The best parts focused on the brilliant Yale explorer Hiram Bingham III (about whom I would have liked to know more); on his twenty-first century Aussie counterpart, John Leivers; and of course on the author himself, who comes across as likeable, sturdy, and gifted.

The dashing character of Indiana Jones isn't just a movie invention. The early 20th century was a golden era of extreme exploration to the North and South Poles, to the highest peaks, into the darkest, unmapped jungles. Those who set out were either martini explorers or real adventurers. However Bingham, author of the classic Lost City of the Incas) may have started out, he became a real adventurer, hacking through the Peruvian jungle and highlands in pursuit of the fabled city of the Incas, finding Machu Picchu and bringing it to the attention of the world. Nearly a hundred years after his discovery, Mark Adams, a magazine editor who routinely assigned others to have adventures and write about them, was inspired to follow Bingham's trail to Machu Picchu and in the process transform himself from a bumbling tourist into a real traveler.In the course of his transition, Adams manages to untangle as much as is possible the complex and frustratingly opaque culture of the Incas, offer a critical rereading of Bingham's works, evaluate Bingham's legacy and sort through the contemporary political mess surrounding it. He does this while reporting on his own arduous trek undertaken with a highly experienced guide, John Leivers, an Australian whose resemblance to Crocodile Dundee is apparent to the reader long before a friend of the author suggests it. Leivers' admirable erudition, common sense, sense of wonder and commitment are without irony, but his and the author's initial differences in communication styles provide many laugh out loud moments. One of the most telling moments about contemporary travel culture comes just before the Adams/Leivers expedition ascends to Machu Picchu. At the landing stage for visitors to the site, Adams meets the world he had left behind many days and hard-earned steps before--comically overdressed tourists out for bragging rights and checking off bucket lists. He turns down a tempting dinner invitation in a starched, expensive rental tent tendered by a New York commodities trader who does not let go of his cell phone for a moment. Adams understands he belongs to the rough and tumble, and that is a good thing.Adams is a gifted storyteller. He knows how to order his information and helpfully provides a glossary, a historical time line and a bibliography. He knows when to be respectful, when to be blunt, when to be solemn and when to play the clown. Sign me up for his next book.

I picked this book up originally through audible on a bit of a lark and thoroughly enjoyed it. A few years later, I picked up the hard copy for my dad whom enjoyed the read as much as I did.If interested in exploration of South America's cloud forest, I would suggest also picking up Hiram Bimgham's "Lost City of the Incas" and/or Col. PH Fawcett's "Exploration Fawcett" to read prior to "Turn Right at Machu Piccho." Whilst certainly not a requirement, both books are referenced and will give you a bit broader perspective. I truly hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. - Happy reading/listening/exploring.