Book excerpt: SOUTH AMERICAN CHRONICLES is a rich travelogue recounting Steve Toon's six-month overland journey from Caracas to Patagonia and back up to Rio. Beckoned by ads in adventure travel magazines, Steve resigns his job and finally decides to "just do it." His adventures include a peek behind the world's highest waterfall and an encounter with the famous hermit that first walked to them; a slow boat journey up the heart of the Amazon River; a grueling trek to summit a dormant volcano; a boat expedition into the piranha-infested rivers of the Ecuadorian jungle; a long walkabout over the Inca Trail to the Lost City of Machu Picchu; a jeep tour across the exotic wastelands of southern Bolivia; and a pilgrimage to Patagonia's Torres del Paine.