Viajero

About the Book

My book is about my travels to different parts of the world and my helping the people of Honduras after Hurricane Mitch several years ago. I have driven alone to every state on the North American continent—from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Puerto Cortes, Honduras, and from Labrador to Guatemala. I was the first American to ever receive a special permit to visit the closed cities of Sevastopol and Balaklava in Russia, home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and was made an honorary citizen of Sevastopol.

About the Author

I am Paul Edward Eich, who was born on a farm four miles west of Sheldon, Iowa, and was educated in the small country school of Dale No. 8, two miles north of Matlock, Iowa. It was in this small school where I was so influenced by the tales of Jocko, Jerry, and Jojo that I became a dreamer and a traveler! In fact, the name Viajero in Spanish means “traveler.” In all my travels, I was a champion of education, smuggling tons of school supplies across the border into Mexico. After Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras, I made two trips to Honduras with supplies for schools, driving through Mexico’s most bandit-ridden highways and through the thirty-year war still raging in Guatemala at that time. I liked to brag that I was a professional smuggler, but I never smuggled guns, drugs, or people. They were always clothes, blankets, and school supplies. On one occasion, while visiting with my beloved stepson Alberto Perez, I mentioned that education unlocked the world, whereas Alberto quickly added that the lack of it sold tacos in the streets! I often wonder, if I had such little formal education and accomplished so much, what would I have accomplished if I had a good education? Now my last years will be spent about fifteen miles from that old country school, and on occasion, I would drive by it at times, even stopping and reminiscing on the steps of the entryway! Yes, it is still standing, long abandoned, and very near collapse—I guess it’s like I am. I hope you enjoy reading of my travels as much as I enjoyed writing them. And keep in mind what I have engraved on my tombstone: “God does not permit money in heaven, and it will only burn up in hell. Give what you can to help the poor while you’re still live!”