Dark tourism 2. Even darker, by Míriam del Río – Books and Literature

Review of the book “Dark Tourism 2. Even darker”, by Míriam del Río

At the end of my review of Turismo darkwritten in 2019, already announced that there would be a second part of that book, which I had loved. And, four years later, the time has finally come to review Dark tourism 2. Even darker.

In this new installment, Míriam del Río repeats the scheme: she divides the book by continents and makes us travel to its darkest corners, and she does so with an enjoyable and well-documented style. This time he wanted to give a lot of weight to those places that offer extreme experiences so that the tourist becomes the protagonist. Do you want to go to a hostel where you can see first-hand what it is like to live in a city under siege? Suffer the humiliations of a prisoner in a communist prison? Know what Mexicans feel when they illegally migrate to the United States along a path full of dangers? Know the hardships experienced by Africans who were transported as slaves to America? Well, Míriam del Río tells you where to go and how much you have to pay.

If you are one of those who want to practice tourism dark Without making large trips, don’t worry, you will also discover where in Spain you can learn more about the ancient funeral pomps of the nobles or where the cells where many women decided to wall themselves up are preserved, as they were at that time. And if your greatest interest is gastronomy, Míriam del Río presents you with the restaurant where you can eat the most caloric hamburger in the world (and which is proud to have caused more than one heart attack) and where you can drink a cocktail with a floating human finger .

If we talk about tourism darkdestinations directly related to death could not be missing. Through funerary rites, cemeteries and catacombs, it also makes us reflect on ways of understanding death that are very different from the Western one.

As he did with the previous book, in Dark tourism 2. Even darkerMíriam del Río turns to untypical destinations to tell us about historical events (some of them almost forgotten), different cultures, disturbing geological particularities and curiosities of all kinds. He even recommends movies to learn more about certain topics. But what I liked most is that he has chosen places and, above all, extreme experiences that serve to raise awareness of terrible events (genocides, wars, living in inhumane conditions…). Because often the darkest thing is the way in which human beings behave towards each other. And tourism is, or at least it should be, much more than taking photos in attractive places. It is the best way to understand other stories and cultures or to delve deeper into your own. And, without a doubt, Dark tourism 2. Even darkercontributes to it.

If you intend to travel to the destinations that Miríam del Río tells us about or if you just want to discover countless curiosities from the sofa at home, both Turismo dark as Dark tourism 2. Even darker You will find them extremely interesting readings.