The eight feet referenced in the title belong to Dervla Murphy, her nine-year-old daughter, and an elegant mule, who together clambered the length of Peru, from Cajamarca near the border with Ecuador, to Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital – traveling over 1,300 miles in high altitudes.

Despite extreme discomfort and occasional danger, mother and daughter (a formidable duo) were unflagging in their sympathetic response to the perilous beauty and impoverished people of the Andes.