Maybe you have considered barefoot walking?
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It's fascinating while you're researching a trip on-line where you could end up journeying to and what information finds you during your quest. I have just returned from a walking holiday in Las Alpujarras, near the Sierra Nevada National Park in southern Spain. Judging from the deficit of tourists in the region, I might claim that the big attractions of Granada, Seville and Ronda have helped to maintain this section of Andalucía a well-kept secret. If you've sated your appetite for historic buildings and would like to have an understanding of village culture, then I would suggest you head east from Granada and wind slowly up in to the mountains of Las Alpujarras to find the beautiful valleys, mountainsides and white villages that nestle below the Sierra Nevada. In amongst them you will find the pretty village of Bérchules home of Hotel Los Bérchules and also the most hospitable hotel owners you're ever likely to meet.
This is exactly what I did and discovered, within the hotel's menu of walks, an extremely picturesque and tranquil countryside laced with a network of paths waiting to be walked. The more prominent trails include the E4 long-distance European walk that starts in Tarifa, Spain, and winds through France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and ends in Greece (including Crete and Cyprus). Its length is over 10,000 km. So that's the place where I became somewhat distracted. I was looking for walking holidays in Las Alpujarras; that led to looking at various hotels in the region and then I happened upon someone's blog. A chap, at the age of 55 and having worked constantly for 30 years, decided the time had come for something different. He called it his mid-life crisis and he planned for 1 year his 180 day walk from Tarifa to Budapest. He is currently walking the Spanish part of the walk (May 2011).
Now, I've done some long-distance cycling and have for several years travelled light. With the ever-increasing weight restrictions on the budget airlines the use of hand luggage is actually a cost saving which i rarely avoid but is becoming harder to accomplish since the luggage must be lighter and lighter. As a walker, probably the heaviest thing you need to get through together with your hand luggage will probably be your boots and I don't like wearing heavy boots when arriving in a hot country. So I'm intrigued to understand what this long-distance-walking chap would be wearing during his trekking trip through Las Alpujarras. During his research he came upon a quote from Ray Jardine who, in his book The Pacific Crest Trail Hiker's Handbook, states that "each additional 1.5 ounces taken out of a boot would add about a mile towards day's hiking progress". On that basis going barefoot could mean progressing to Budapest about a couple of weeks sooner than anticipated.
Perfect! I'm going to ditch those hot heavy boots. Apparently Chris Townsend, within his Backpacker's Handbook, rejects the argument that boots provide additional ankle support or that stiff soles provide some sort of protection against uneven surfaces. So for cost conscious readers, my suggestion would be to book a walking holiday in Las Alpujarras, at Hotel Los Bérchules, take only hand luggage and investigate the becoming more popular barefoot walking technique which is better for the gait, posture, and luggage allowance. |
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Author Resource:-
SARAH BOYS is an expert when it comes to walking holidays in Andalucia. To find out everything about walking holidays in Andalucia, visit the website at www.hotelberchules.com.
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By :
Jessie Stone
Submitted
2011-05-13 22:10:58 |
Article From Article Mayhem
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