West from Montevideo - Uruguay By Bike

London: Cassell, 1989. A Fine unmarked copy with Fine dustjacket which is not price clipped.240 pages. 25 coloured photographs. 1 map. 'I need an adventure', said Patricia. Few statements have inspired a journey more individual than the cycling trip through Uruguay undertaken by the author and his wife. The wild frontiers of Uruguay provided not just the route for their ambitious long-distance ride, but also the framework for this minutely-observed account. Carrying a tent, and a few bare essentials, they pedalled West from Montevideo on a journey that would last nine weeks and take them more than 2,000 kilometres through the Uruguayan countryside. One of the smallest countries in South America, Uruguay is almost the size of mainland Britain, with a population of only 3 million, less than half that of London. A society of dramatic contrasts, its inhabitants are very rich or very poor, mainly pastoral, it is a land of prairies and vast herds of cattle, of wide open spaces and seemingly infinite distances, but it is the people the travellers meet who make this account so memorable. Soft-spoken gauchos with razor-sharp knives; cattle thieves, fishermen and wealthy farmers of sprawling estates; country sheriffs, smugglers and political prisoners all come vibrantly to life. A1B. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.