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6/23/08: In an excerpt from Is There a Hole in the Boat? that GoNomad just printed, you'll read how I ended up eating dust for lunch.

6/22/08: Books and beer: who knew? Check out my events page for details on my appearance at the New York Book Fair Expo this October.

6/18/08: New York City finally has its own travel book store: Idlewild Books. And they stock Is There a Hole in the Boat?. If you're in NYC, check it out!

5/23/08: Grab a paper-thin complimentary bar of hotel soap. From Nicaragua, I now bring you adventures in hygiene.

3/20/08: I just found out I scooped up a bronze certificate and an honorable mention in this year's Solas Awards for "The Comb of Rebellion" and "The Peanut Fiends of Guayaquil", two of my pieces published last year!

2/07/08: Check out my latest myspace blog for a tale of muppets, birds of prey, and a moratorium on flip-flops.

12/26/07: Just in time for your New Year's feast, I posted a recipe for spiced tourtiere.

11/20/07: I'll be signing copies of Is There a Hole in the Boat? at the Independent & Small Press Book Fair, Dec 1 and 2 in NYC. Click here for details.

10/8/07: Is There a Hole in the Boat? won the silver medal in the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards (Travel Book Category). I'm flattered to be in such medal-winning company as Paul Theroux and Tim Cahill.

9/9/07: Brooklyn area folks: I'll be at the Brooklyn Book Festival next Sunday, Sept 16. Stop by and say hola!

8/14/07: GoNomad just printed my article on Otavalo, Ecuador, where crabs remain on leashes, Castro hangs on strings, and guinea pigs fly (kind of).

7/5/07: There's nothing like hanging out with the locals, especially when they have three foot tails. Check out my latest piece The Peanut Fiends of Guayaquil over at Perceptive Travel.

6/2/07: Want to win an autographed copy of Is There a Hole in the Boat? Of course you do. Click here to enter the contest held by TCM Reviews. Hurry: the contest ends on June 30.

6/2/07: That's right, it's softshell crab season again. And to celebrate, I posted a beer-battered softshell crab recipe.

News Archive




Lowell Thomas Awards Silver Medalist: Is There a Hole in the Boat? Tales of Travel in Panama without a Car

IS THERE A HOLE IN THE BOAT?
Tales of Travel in Panama without a Car

"DuFord introduces us to the people of Panama, and he does it hilariously
and most perceptively."
Eric Jackson, The Panama News

"DuFord...does what few nonfiction writers can do. His words transport us to another world." Lynn Peterson, BookReview.com

"Highly recommended." Laurel Johnson, Midwest Book Review

Bring your appetite. Bring gifts for the king of the Naso tribe.
Join Darrin DuFord as he hikes, bribes, and barters his way across Panama, a perennially overlooked filament of the tropics where DuFord encounters a startling richness of cultures between the nation's two coastlines. Sitting down with everyone from scientists to town barflies, DuFord samples such local delicacies as fermented corn homebrew and slow-barbecued jungle rodent while, at every turn, taking the more vernacular--and much more enriching--options of transportation.

Whether jostling in the back of a pickup truck serving as the local bus or uncovering how the country is tackling its ecological quandaries, DuFord opens a window into the little-known day to day struggles and pleasures of the Panamanian people. Is There a Hole in the Boat? reveals a Panama that is not simply a place to watch bloated cruise ships edge along the walls of the Canal. It's a land where the machete can slash through just about anything--except the nation's spirit.

Browse an excerpt here!


Paperback: Order from Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, or direct from Booklocker.com, the publisher.

Also available at Amazon Canada, Amazon UK,
Amazon Germany, and Fishpond (Australia).

If you'd rather pick it up from a bookstore, and if the bookstore doesn't carry it, the bookstore can order it for you from Ingram, the book distributor. Tell your store the ISBN number of the book: 978-1591-13997-3.

In Panama, Is There a Hole in the Boat? is in stock at Exedra Books (corner of Vía España and Vía Brazil, Panama City).

E-Book version: if you want instant gratification, order the E-Book from Booklocker.com and get it sent to your computer immediately. No shipping charges.


©2008 Darrin DuFord