Story Circle Network

Austin Chapter
Reader's Guide

May 2004

Along the Inca Road
Karin Muller

Hoping to embark on a "hero's journey," Muller (Hitchhiking Vietnam) makes the most of a National Geographic grant to explore the ancient Inca Highway that runs through the Andes. Explaining her intention, Muller writes that heroes "are not the strongest nor the bravest, nor even the most deserving. But they all share one trait: They are traveling into the unknown...

  1. Did you find Chapter One set the stage for the book?

  2. Was her journey a "hero's" journey as she explained on p. 6?

  3. Are her "Field Notes" helpful?

  4. What did you think about her "field notes"?

  5. What did the first full paragraph on p. 27 mean to you?

  6. p. 29-34. Help from strangers

  7. Was the history throughout the book interesting to you?

  8. Which story/chapter did you like best? Why?

  9. p. 120, next to last paragraph. Do you agree understanding the curanderos is important to understanding Andean Culture?

  10. What did you think about Chapter 11, Twilight of an Empire?

  11. p. 194, last paragraph. What do you think? Has something similar ever happened to you?

  12. p. 210, last paragraph. The only time she mentioned she was sick. Other references mentioned she wasn't feeling well at times.

  13. p. 212-214. What do you think of her experience of being accepted because they had seen her in the bullfighting ring?

  14. p. 220-226. The ceremony of the shaman we experiences in Peru last October.

  15. p. 238, last paragraph. Have you had days like the one she described?

  16. p. 244. "you must have faith as well. Hard work alone is not enough." What do you think?

  17. p. 245. She's been on the road for five months and acknowledges it has been difficult.

  18. p. 288. Could you be as gracious as she was? Would she have been as gracious without the help of her British "friend"?

  19. p. 294. "The history books have it all wrong. The Inca Empire was never really conquered. It's alive and well." Do you agree?

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