In the Footsteps of a Roman Legion -- Walking the Via Egnatia (2021)On a blistering September morning in 2016, intrepid friends in their sixties - Kim and Pat - set off on foot from Durrës, Albania towards Istanbul, Turkey. Tracing the route of a Roman road, the Via Egnatia, they dedicate their endeavour to raising funds for refugee relief. Owing to a guidebook that overstates amenities, the trek becomes more challenging than expected. As they negotiate hurdles, test their endurance, and encounter human smugglers and feral dogs, an indomitable sense of humour, a personified GPS, and an imagined Roman legionnaire see them through daily adventures. The Via Egnatia holds over two thousand years of stories - of soldiers, merchants, farmers, refugees and travellers.-And this is a gripping one - two travellers (sometimes three?) meet both generous hospitality and surprising hostility with resilience, cold beer and hot coffee. Atlas in one hand and this book in the other - I was transported!-
