Out Of Eden: The Man Behind The Journey

“Out of Eden,” an ongoing National Geographic series, is lead by journalist, Paul Salopek.

January 13th of this year marked the end of Salopek’s first year on an epic seven year journey to retrace the steps of the original human migration, from east Africa to southern tip of Chile

His trip began in Ethiopia, the birthplace of man.

Over the past year, Salopek has traveled northeast on foot across the African continent. Along the way, he has lost runaway camels, faced delirium from dehydration, and gazed upon dead African faces lying in the sand of Djibouti.

You might ask yourself: Who is Paul Salopek? And why did he set out on this journey?

Before Salopek began “Out Of Eden”, he had an unlikely start in journalism. When his motorcycle broke down in Mexico he took a reporting job with the local department for repair cash. From there, a tale unfolds.

Salopek is an American journalist who has contributed to numerous publications including National Geographic and The Chicago Tribune. He’s the recipient of of two Pulitzer Prizes in journalism for his reporting on The Human Genome Project and the effects of war on central Africa.

He has also been a visiting contributor at Princeton University, offering a seminar on reporting from developing countries. Reading Salopek’s diary from Out of Eden, the reader gets a picture of an honest, if not totally insane, artist of words.

Upon learning about the 7 year conquest many are tempted to ask, “why?”

Salopek writes,”I am retracing…the pathways of the ancestors who first discovered the earth. [They] bequeathed us the subtlest qualities we now associate with being fully human…Millennia behind, I follow.”

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What do you think about Salopek’s journey?

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