Slow Journey South

Second-Hand

Excellent condition

Walking To Africa, A Year in Footsteps

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.

When Paula Constant and her husband, Gary, attempt to break away from the conventional 9-to-5 routine, a few weeks lazing in a resort or packed in a tour bus is not what they have in mind.

What starts out as an idle daydream to embark on 'a travel to end all travels' turns into something far greater- an epic year-long 5000-kilometre walk from Trafalgar Square in London to Morocco and the threshold of the Sahara Desert. Quite an ambition for an unfit woman who favours sharing cigarettes and a few bottles of wine with friends over logging time on the treadmill.

But if the sheer arduousness of walking over 25 kilometres a day through the landscapes and cultural labyrinths of France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco - without a support vehicle - is overlooked in her excitement, then so too is the unexpected journey of self-discovery and awakening that lies beyond every bend.

Both the companions she meets on the road and the road itself provide what no university can offer- a chance to experience life's simple truths face to face. Paula's transformation from an urban primary school teacher into a successful expeditioner is a true tale of an ordinary woman achieving something extraordinary. It is a journey that begins with one footstep.