We get it, man. You like to walk. Christ.
Words! Feet! Working in tandem!
Mates –
Sliding into your inbox today to share three pieces I’ve had published in recent months:
A profile of Tom Turcich (the 10th person to walk the world) for Adventure.com.
A reflection on walking pilgrimages for Freely Travel.
A guide to walking the Shikoku Henro for We Are Explorers.
I know, I know – it’s a lot of walking. In my defence, I really like walking and have been doing it for the majority of my life. I’ve shared some snippets below.
Meet the man who took his dog for a walk around the world
I was stoked to jump on a call with Tom Turcich, the 10th person to walk around the world, to talk about his seven-year stroll alongside Savannah, his dog.
Tom writes
here on Substack and published his memoir The World Walk late last year. We spoke about a whole bunch of things for Adventure.com.
“I think the key is not having such high expectations of your life. And not expecting every day to fulfill your greatest desire or provide spiritual peace. The thing is to pay attention where you are. Be like Savannah, I guess. Take in the moment.” – Tom Turcich.
Read it on Adventure.com.
The magic of a bloody long walk
Last year I won the writing category of the Moments Competition, run by Aussie publishers We Are Explorers. The category was sponsored by Freely Travel, who asked if there was anything else I wanted to write. This story was the result – a short reflection on walking long distances for no particular reason.
“It’s addictive, this walking, in ways I still struggle to explain. Maybe it’s the forward momentum. The act of moving alongside others. Travelling in the same direction with the same intention.
Whatever it is, I’ve come to understand you can’t carry both armour and a backpack; to throw the latter over your shoulder, you have to discard the former.
It’s an invitation, I think, a way of letting the world know you’re open for business. And business – on these paths, at least – is booming.” – uh, me, lol.
Read the rest on Freely.
Shikoku Henro: walk the entire length of Japan’s ancient Buddhist pilgrimage
In March last year, I walked the 1200km Shikoku Henro pilgrimage around the Japanese island of Shikoku. The good folks at We Are Explorers agreed to let me write up a quick guide to walking the pilgrimage, if that’s of interest to you at all.
You can also read an interview I did about the walk here. And yes, I did interview myself. Get over it. Anyway – here are some snaps from the five-week walk, and here’s the how-to guide on We Are Explorers.
Very interesting readings, thank you!