While skimming through a plethora of books in various libraries throughout South America regarding hiking in the Andes , I happened to come across one spectacularly interesting and well-written piece of work. The Andes : As the Condor flies, Tui de Roy (ISBN 9978-57-04 2-x). What struck me as particularly fascinating was the excellent and adequate use of English wording and punctuation throughout the whole book; here is an excerpt of a random page:
“It is dusk in the Andes of Ecuador, just a few miles south of the Equator proper. A damp chill settles on the dripping, boggy fields of ichu grass at 12’000 feet (3600m), even as warm supersaturated air wafts up steep valleys from the Amazon, roiling into thick, billowing clouds. As the clammy vapors rise and cool, drizzle envelops the moss-laden, bamboo-tangled cloud forest nestled beneath sheltering bluffs. Far above, strands of ground-hugging mist obscure the sunset-tinged snows of the 18’891-foot (5758m) Antisana Volcano.”
The author, a Belgian woman, has collected and compiled an outstanding wealth of information and pictures regarding the most beautiful places in the Andes and Cordilleras . If you can spare a few bucks, get a hardcopy of this book and dive into a mystic world of endemic animals, plants and natural wonders along the longest mountain chain on earth.
