Where the Strange Roads Go Down

by Mary Del Villar and Fred Del Villar

Mary and Fred del Villar's desire to travel "the strange roads" of rural Mexico led to a 750-mile walk from Lake Patzcuaro to the Pacific Ocean in 1951. For three months they endured sun, scorpions,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816512736
• ISBN13: 9780816512737
• Release Date: September 1991
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

You Are With Them

I was recently given this book and read it while on a trip to Mexico. This book was written in 1952, published in 1953. Not only is their adventure simply amazing for two "not real young" people, I calculated 30 for Mary and probably early 40s for Fred, who were from New York City (Brooklyn) and they said their longest walk was to the library. In this adventure, they take off on a 750 mile trek through unforgiving land. But, their meeting with so many kind strangers who helped them, their avoidance of any serious injury, or meeting up with a cougar or bear, were real positives. You will be right there with them as you read; Mary, a freelance writer at the time, did a fine job as the main writer, as Fred points out in the prologue. She died 2/23/1999; Fred died a few years earlier. She remarried a Howard Porter who passed a way in 1992. Mary went back to school and got a doctorate in English and taught at the University of Arizona. She lived her last years with her daughter Jane, who was conceived on the road in 1952. This is more than a travelogue, it is high adventure. Join Fred and Mary, read this book! I would have loved to know them. Phil Baldwin, Jr. Colorado Springs, CO