Walking the Via Egnatia

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! Evelyn Gillespie, owner Laughing Oyster Bookshop, Comox Valley.

Fun, funny, and endlessly thought-provoking, Kim Letson pulls no punches as she explores some of the bumpier corners of humanity, all while finding the time to celebrate life’s small, simple pleasures. If you like the idea of lacing up your shoes to embark on a grand adventure from the comforts of your favourite reading chair, you couldn’t pick a more capable guide than Letson. Brimming with passion for the road less travelled, Kim Letson has written a page-turner. Joshua Levy, CBC/QWF Writer in Residence 2018, winner of the CBC/QWF Fiction Prize, Prairie Fire Nonfiction Prize, CNFC/Carte Blanche Nonfiction Prize, Grain Fiction Prize, and SLS Nonfiction Prize, poet.

Kim Letson first presented her Via Egnatia journey in various draft forms to our writing group. Now, in this compelling book, we accompany her and Pat as they tramp through three Balkan states on their way to Turkey. Readers will learn about Albania’s concrete bunkers as the adventurers endure blisters, encounter poisonous vipers, vicious dogs, human traffickers and armed helicopters before finally relaxing in a steaming Istanbul hammam. Thank you, Kim, for including us on your intrepid walk. Janet Miller, past-president Comox Valley Writer’s Society, author.