Tripwolf Blog

Travel guide author Ben Box in an interview about the joys and the chores of writing about travel for a living.

„Willing to go everywhere and see everything“

For nearly  20 years, Ben Box, 57, has been the editor of the South American Handbook, Footprint’s flagship guide book that was first published in 1924. Sebastian from tripwolf reached him on the phone in Suffolk, UK, where Ben lives with his wife Sarah who edits Footprint’s Caribbean guide books.

Sebastian: You are working at your desk in England at the moment. How much do you get to travel for work?

Ben: I do some traveling, but not as much as I could. This year I have been to the Falkland Islands for two weeks and I’ll travel to Peru for 3 weeks soon. Editing the South American Handbook is more of a desk job because many writers are involved.

Sebastian: How many writers do you need for that? The South American Handbook covers the whole continent and has nearly 2000 pages!

Ben: For the upcoming edition there are 12 writers involved, and they usually  have other people supporting them. We pull together information from our country guides for Argentina, Chile, Brazil and other books, we follow up on hundreds of letters from readers, and we do our own research in the field.

Sebastian: I was always struck by the level of detail in Footprint guides. I remember a hotel in Puno, Peru, just being described as „Good value, many blankets.“  And when I went there, they really had 5 or 6 blankets on the bed. How do you pull together all this encyclopedic knowledge?

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I’ve lived in 4 countries. Due to the large amounts of time I’ve spent in each, I’ve explored their regions, learned 2 new languages, experienced their holidays, and eaten my weight in their traditional foods. Through this, I gained a heightened understanding of their culture.

If only it were practical to spend years in every place on our “must visit” lists. Short visits can be fabulous, but getting ushered into Disney-like tourist traps can be frustrating – leaving you wondering if you even saw the “real” Italy at all. My best tip for getting an authentic hit of local culture on your trip? Head to a grocery store.

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The honeymoon days in any new place are often an exciting blur. Sometimes, that sense of wonder gets marred by the shame of making a cultural faux pas. As Vincent Vega said in “Pulp Fiction,” “It’s the little differences.”  Just as with Irish-English, there are a few cultural twists here in Ireland that have embarrassed me in the company of my new peers. Fool me once, Ireland.

Paper or Plastic … or Nothing? 

In America, supermarkets give shoppers their choice of free paper or plastic grocery bags. Irish supermarkets are a bit more eco-conscious so to minimize waste, they give away … nothing. Until you catch on you’ll stand there, dumb as a stone, faced with the prospect of juggling loose cartons of orange juice and cereal boxes all the way home. Chains like TESCO sell reusable bags, which are grand. Unless you forget yours. 

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