Backpackerfiction.com is dedicated to exploring the intersection between travel and fiction and nothing made this connection so clear as my recent adventures with the Lonely Planet guide to Peru. Its pages, when matched with my experience, revealed mostly fiction.
Perhaps it is a result of L.P. being sold to BBC in 2007, or perhaps our culture's obsession with protecting ourselves from liability, or perhaps it's just plain caution, but this most recent 2007 edition of Peru was littered with off-set boxes labeled "Warning" or "Caution" - followed by reports of hijackings, violent robberies, and a dozen other boogie-man tails that basically encourage the reader to stay "on" the beaten path.
Example: "WARNING: The long and lonely section of road between Pucallpa and Tingo Maria is the only paved link between Peru's Amazonas region and the rest of the country. It can also be a risky road to travel on. Armed robberies have happened on many occasions and travelers have been caught up in the holdups....Buses do make the trip daily to and from Tingo, but you take your own risk. Holidays and feast days seem to be the worst times. The safest option is to fly to Pucallpa from Lima."
I wonder if the new edition of Lonely Planet Canada will include a similar injunction, urging foreign tourists to reconsider taking Greyhound buses on the Trans-Canada highway because of recent reports of beheadings on these desolate stretches of road.
Two Argentine guys hitch-hiked this perilous section of Peru, confirming to me that Tingo Maria to Pucallpa was a stunning drive through beautiful tropical scenery. I wonder how many travelers have been dissuaded from truly exploring our lonely planet because of the Lonely Planets in their hands. Khao San anyone?
