At a Glance

As a traveler who "loves to walk", it’s fitting that I kick-off my Blog with a Post about Walking. Inside I’ve got a couple of useful notes for those who plan their walks, and I’ve recounted a few brief episodes from some of my walking experiences.

Let’s go “Walking and Gawking”…

When I travel, I love to walk and explore (actually, even when I am not traveling, I do the same).

Some people might call this "slow travel"; an American acquaintance calls it "walk and gawk". What it really means to me is doing things at my own pace, not needing to keep to someone else’s schedule.

It’s about being able to savour the aromas and fragrances (coffee brewing, baking and cooking, flowers, and so on). It is also about, if I so wish, being able to pause to investigate, and maybe sample, something along the way. And, of course, it is also about taking some snapshots, or videos.

What about you? Are you a 'walker'? Do you like to explore places and things at your own pace? Would you rather take the time to be able to wander about and really 'feel the vibes' of a place? afootwego.com is: "…for travelers who love to walk…".

afootwego.com is a reflection of my own travel preferences, beginning with walking, and also exploring. By nature, I am curious (like most people).

Supposedly, when we satisfy our curiosity, our brain rewards us with a dose of dopamine, which makes us feel happy. This also means that we will seek a repeat, sometime soon. Perhaps that helps explain why I do like to 'fossick' (an ANZAC term) around in places, new and old.

Walking – Fast and Slow

On the walking front, I’ve been a member of the 10,000 steps a day 'club' for several years now, so that it’s become a part of my daily routine. Most mornings begin with a cup of tea and a biscuit, followed by around 45 minutes of walking. By the end of the day, I have usually clocked up 12 – 15,000 steps.

On rainy days, I confess that I am a bit of a 'wuss', and will probably stay indoors. I am a 'keen' walker, but not a zealot!

I know that my normal point to point walking pace, on a flat, sealed surface, is about 100 meters (110 yards) per minute, meaning I can cover 1 km in 10 minutes. I use that as a basic planning measure, making adjustments for gradients and surfaces.

By comparison, I note that Google’s estimate for walking on a flat, sealed surface is around 13 minutes per kilometer. When I am "walking and gawking", my averaged pace is probably around 20 minutes/km.

There are times that I realise just how fortunate I am to be able to walk about anywhere I want to go (within the law, of course!). When my traveling companion hurt his achilles tendon, we were limited in what we could do for a few days.

That incident, along with having friends who have limited mobility, is a reminder to me that I cannot take my own mobility for granted. Indeed, every day that I can walk freely on my own is a good day.

Free Advice from a Fellow Walker

When I was exploring at The Rocks, in Sydney, it quickly became apparent that the terrain held its challenges. Walking around the shoreline was one thing, as it was mostly flat and easy 'going'.

But when I pushed a bit further up the slope, I was confronted with several banks of steps and stairways to conquer. In fact, as I got to the Argyle Stairs, I overheard a woman say to her companion "Not more stairs!".

At the time, I was in the process of planning out a self-guided walking route. That one comment prompted me to re-visit my intended stops. It was easy to plan something on the map, linking together a number of places of interest.

But finding the easiest pathway going up the hill required a few trials on foot. I don’t know who the lady was, but she certainly was (unknown to her) a big help to me.

Knowing Where I am Going

At times, my traveling companion tells me that I am a bit 'directionally challenged'! As a traveler, whether offshore or domestic, my mobile phone is certainly my 'best friend'. I have no idea how we got on in the days before Steve Jobs gave us the iPhone.

I do recall that I used to carry a compass, for giving me direction. And I was always visiting local information centres, looking for maps. Now I just follow the little GPS blue 'dot' on my screen. Even going the wrong way is no big deal, as it soon become obvious.

Sometimes, my love for exploring by walking can lead me a bit off the 'beaten track'. Like, wandering around in Venice, I soon found myself traveling along various "calli" and "fondamenta" and through numerous "campos".

I spent an entire afternoon doing that, in some of the 'back blocks' of Venice, even looking into back yards, and getting 'lost' along the way (thanks to GPS, I was also 'found'!). I also 'discovered' the best Gelateria, tucked away in a tiny campo, with no tourists about.

One occasion when my GPS was insufficient for my peace-of-mind, was during a visit to Salaspils, the site of a World War II concentration camp in Latvia. To get there, I had to alight from a train at an isolated stop called Darzini, and then walk in an easterly direction, through a rather thick forest, for about 2 km (1.25 miles).

The route followed a criss-cross of unsealed vehicle tracks, to the Soviet-era memorials. For that exercise, I insisted my traveling companion also bring a compass – I did not want us to become lost in the forest, like a modern-day Hansel and Gretel!

Trust (not) in Google Maps

There are times when Google Maps does seem to have a 'hiccup'. For me, this happened in Sydney, after taking a ferry ride to Double Bay, I wanted to walk to the train station at Edgecliff, so I could continue on to Bondi (Junction).

After mapping, Google shows me a route of 1.1 km (0.7 miles), "mostly flat", and suggests a walking journey of 17 minutes. That sounds easy!

When I alighted from the ferry, all I could see in front of me was a long, continuous incline up a hill. As I climbed the hill, some parts became quite steep. Later, I worked out that at the steepest section, I had to climb 30 metres in elevation, over 450 metres of walking. This gradient was 1 in 15, or 6.67%.

For accessibility planning, footpaths should have a gradient no steeper than 1 in 20. In this case, the overall average gradient was actually 1 in 22. As I recall, I exceeded Google’s 17 minutes, and I was pretty 'done' when I reached the station.

Needless to say, I didn’t get the train connection I was seeking. And, there was no time for aromas and fragrances along the way [Note to self: "Do not rely on Google Maps!"]

It was after this episode that I checked Google’s walking calculation on a flat, sealed surface. The 17 minutes is a bit of a 'flag' that something is not normal. And, of course, Google does display a disclaimer:

As an aside, in recent times, there have been some interesting revelations about tourists using Google Maps in outback Australia, and ending up in a bit of trouble as a result.

Unexpected Delights do Happen

Sometimes a walk can lead to an unexpected delight, such as a close encounter with a family of chorusing Kookaburras in Sydney’s Botanic Gardens.

For me, other similar events include meeting with a hungry Echidna at the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden; being delighted by a shy Swamp Wallaby at the Cranbourne Botanic Gardens; or even chancing upon a sunbathing Eastern Brown snake, on a pathway near my home in outer Melbourne (both the snake and I survived!).

Other such delights I have encountered include an open-air performance by a group of musicians on a cool Easter morning in Zagreb, at Park Zrinjevac, with onlookers literally dancing to the music; 'discovering' a delightful neighborhood café, in the district (Independent Republic) of Užupis, in Vilnius; walking into a bustling Easter Market, in the Lithuanian City of Kaunas; and taking an evening stroll around Singapore’s Marina Bay, just as the Bicentenary celebration light display was beginning (which I was actually unaware of).

These are some of my special precious memories, all of which came from simply ‘taking a walk’.

What about you? Do you have similar precious memories of unexpected delights you have encountered, while out walking and exploring? I would love to hear about any unexpected delights from your travel adventures.