Part guide, part travelogue, this book tells the story of an eventful journey along Mexico and Central America's Main Street. Author Simon Calder takes the reader along one of the world's great highways, the" Carretera Panamericana, from the US-Mexico border along the spine of Central America to the jungles of the Darien Gap in Panama. The twists and turns of this extraordinary journey are recounted - and paralleled by a first rate, up to date gazetteer and travellers survival kit to create a new concept in travel writing; a travelogue you can use as a guide.The book includes: how to cross the borders and deal with frontier officials - planning your itinerary around the most interesting towns and villages - listings of places to eat, drink and sleep - which volcanoes to climb, and which to admire from a safe distance - the beaches best for swimming, surf and scuba, or worst for rubbish - the detours to make for Mayan sites, jungle treks and rainforest wilderness.