Blog tour: Vagabond

Welcome to the blog tour for Vagabond by Mark Eveleigh!

More about the book…

This incredible true story of one man's 1,225-km hike across the Iberian Peninsula is a celebration of rural Spain along the road less travelled.

Inspired by a nomadic "vagabundo" he met decades ago, travel writer Mark Eveleigh eschews the fast pace of modern life and sets off on a solo hike 1,225 km across the Iberian Peninsula - from Gibraltar in the far south to Estaca de Bares, Spain's most northerly tip - carrying just a backpack and a hammock.

Hiking through sleepy siesta-hour plazas, shady cork forests and heat-shimmering plains, the hours would be long, dusty and hot. But, as Mark passes through the many small villages and communities en route, his trek comes to be characterized most of all by the sharing of stories, the true kindness of strangers, and the unbridled freedom of the open road.

Recounting Mark's fascinating nomadic journey through Spain's least-visited region, Extremadura, Vagabond is a homage to the disappearing lifestyle of the vagabundo, as well as a celebration of rural Spain and its forgotten communities. It reminds us of the value of slowing down and finding connection with others, and the beauty that can be found in taking life one step at a time.

More about the author…

British writer Mark Eveleigh bases himself between Bali and South Africa when he's not chasing travel stories for the likes of the BBC, CNN, National Geographic Traveller and The Telegraph.

He spent 16 years living in Spain and returned recently to fulfil his ambition to hike coast-to-coast - the long way - across the country with a backpack and his trusty hammock.

My impressions…

What I love about travel writing is that it can take you not only on adventures you’ve always dreamed of but also on adventures you have never thought about and would not necessarily want to experience.

Take the author’s journey from Gibraltar to the very top of Spain: fascinating, absolutely, but roughing it with no money and a hammock is not my style. And yet, despite not wanting to physically follow in his footsteps, using this book as some sort of guide, I have 100% loved every step he took on this journey. A journey I feel like I’ve vicariously completed to – with my feet up and a hot cup of tea at hand.

The way that people and settings were described made this book feel alive, and I dare anyone not to feel inspired to go for a wander with a new openness and appreciation of places that perhaps we see every day but whose history we’ve never stopped to consider. Yes, a renewed passion for travelling and learning is what this book has gifted me.

Three words to describe it. Adventurous. Inspiring. Evocative.

Do I like the cover? Yes, I love it.

Have I read any other books by the same author? This is his first book but I’d like to explore his journalistic pieces.