Long Way Down Not Long Enough

I found myself so enthralled with Ewan McGregor's sequel to Long Way Round, that the minutes (nearly 120 of them) clicked by too quickly for me to take everything in. Like his first motorcycle journey, this one was a light-hearted, effervescent look at different cultures and life on the road. Instead of going around the world, like the first movie, Long Way Down follows Ewan and friend Charley Boorman as they ride a pair of BMW motorcycles from the UK to South Africa stopping in Libya, Kenya, Ethiopia and several other nations along the way. Although they travel with cameramen and slightly more accoutrements than last time - little things like a field doctor and what not - they maintain the mystique of being on their own between border crossings taking in the splendor of foreign cultures while totally exposed. Each country brings with it new adventures, pleasures and reflections until, sadly, they arrive in South Africa, and the long way winds down. A definite must-see!