The Best Travel Writing 2009 True Stories from Around the World

This is the collection of the best travel writing of the year, much of it never published before, from big names in travel literature and emerging new writers. ''The Best Travel Writing 2009'' is the sixth volume in the annual ''travelers' Tales'' series launched in 2004 to celebrate the world's best travel writing - from Nobel Prize winners to emerging new writers. The points of view and perspectives are global, and themes encompass high adventure, spiritual growth, romance, hilarity and misadventure, service to humanity, and encounters with exotic cuisine. Reading these stories is like sitting in a cafe filled with fellow travelers swapping tales about past adventures and ideas where to head next. This edition takes readers on a harrowing raft ride off the coast of Panama, on a whirlwind tour from Florence to Santorini, into the wilds of Patagonia, and to a colourful village in Ghana.