The Motorcycle Diaries

The Motorcycle Diaries is a memoir by Ernesto “Che” Guevara, an Argentine, written during  Guevara’s trip around the continent of South America in 1952.  A special place in my heart as the author’s trip begins in Buenos Aires, the home of my in-laws.  Guevara and his friend, Alberto Granado, decide to take his 1939 Norton 500cc motorcycle to explore the continent.  The two men were in the final stages of their medical studies when they explore their motherland, a trip that included various life harrowing moments on the motorcycle, on a few boats (illegally), in tribal villages, among the decrepit, with limited to no food or supplies, and finally meeting armies from other countries who did not allow them to enter their country.  At times the two had no food, no money, no means of further transportation, and no friends, but at each turn, they always seemed to find a way out.  Guevara was able to make it through the trip as a person suffering from severe asthma.  The two men were able to see one of the wonders of the world (Machu Picchu), the Amazon Rain Forest, a leper colony (Granado was studying this as his expertise in the medicine field), and the Incan civilization.  The trip served as a pre-cursor to Guevara’s future work as a future leader in the communist revolution of Cuba and many other countries in South America.  The book reads similar to other real-life “find my meaning” books, such as Jack Kerouac who wandered across North America trying to find his life’s meaning.  Seeing life with all of its weaknesses and heartbreak gives a person a reason, and certainly it was the case for Guevara.  As a reader, you feel as though you are also on the journey seeing the grit within the various South American countries.  I could never have made that trip – through the treacherous mountains, cold/heat swings, and dangerous life situations.  Another quick read.  The book provides a good understanding for understanding Guevara’s next steps in life.