Who has not wanted to escape the daily grind, to search for life and adventure elsewhere? Australian-born and London-based Pamela Watson had a comfortable, if overworked existence, as a management consultant but yearned for freedom and the adventure.

"That's it!" she thought. "I'll cycle across Africa!"

Join her on this intoxicating journey that began as a search for adventure and turned into a journey of self-discovery. Perplexed by what causes her to choose suffering over comfort, she perseveres and along the way discovers companionship, kindness and compassion, and injustices that burn through the page. Cycling for a year and a half, covering nearly 15,000 kilometres and crossing through seventeen countries, she encountered an Africa rarely reported in the media and experienced first-hand the violent tinderbox of local politics. She discovers women are the backbone of rural Africa and is shocked to learn their responsibilities are not matched by their access to basic human rights.

Now in its third edition, Esprit de Battuta: Alone Across Africa on a Bicycle is a must-read for all armchair adventurers, those who are curious about the everyday lives of the people of the rural villages of Africa and those who dare to challenge the status quo.