44,162 steps – Northumberland – 3.5 days
14,878 steps – Greenwich – 1 day
Unknown steps – Tunisia – 1 week
Before the pandemic and certainly before Mr W, holidays were spent either walking around New York, pacing out the heavily padded itinerary or on a sunlounger on the beach. It was either ALL the walking possible or none at all.
Since Mr W and I have travelled together there have been the odd holidays that we’ve sat down, maybe 2 in 9 years, and I couldn’t say for sure that that is. It seems we have an inability to sit still.
Our first trip together was in October 2013. Tunisia was not a place that I’d ever thought to travel to but was cheap enough and still warm enough that late in the year that it ticked enough boxes for a short week away. The ticked boxes from the travel agent were proven correct with hot sunny days followed by balmy nights. I was looking forward to sitting by the pool with a plus one for the first time in my life. And I’ll say it, I wanted to show our relationship off to the world. I was happy and wanted to shout it from the rooftops. We spent hours in the pool, swimming, playing and laughing. One lady swam past us sighing, saying ‘It’s so nice to see a couple having fun’. I practically skipped back to the lounger.
I foresaw the rest of our days in Tunisia playing out similarly. Sun, lounger, pool, book, naps and love. On maybe the 3rd day, we dragged ourselves out of bed quite late and made our way down to the secluded pool where it seemed only adults ventured. Book and bag in hand, I layed down in the dappled shade and set myself up for a day of warm breezes and the latest storyline of my new book. In my peripheral vision, I could see Mr W, he wasn’t lying down or grabbing his book. He was sitting as you would do while you wait for a bus. I asked him what was up. He said ‘Do you want to go and explore the local area?’. With all my being I wanted to scream, NO! I’ve literally just sat down! And yet we did go out, we walked to the local market. The next day we took a train to the next town along. The day after we took a little tourist road train to another town. It wasn’t until we were reaching the end of the week when we finally ventured onto the beach and I again attempted to surf the beach sofa. Soon his static body entered my peripheral vision and his boredom and utter dislike of being there had us moving somewhere else.
Do I think that’s where the busy holidays started? No.
Do I think that’s where the lazy holidays ended? Quite possibly.
We’ve spent time with family in Majorcan villas but did we sit still for longer than half a day? Also no.
When the pandemic hit and we moved our Italy trip to the autumn from spring, we felt that we were insanely lucky to even travel. The week travelling from Florence to Venice without too much interruption from the covid laws felt like the deepest breath we had taken in 6 months. We wanted to make every step count. Every single minute of those six days felt magical. Every plan fell into place. Every smile fell naturally onto our lips. Regardless of how busy we were, there was no moaning about tired feet, only an appreciation for the freedom to travel. We didn’t want to waste a single second.
Now, almost two years later, we have spent three long weekends hiking and pushing ourselves past our once thought of limits. The trips have been eye-opening in so many ways and we have such a new passion for countryside vacations and our limits will be pushed furthermore when we go to Scotland and try wild swimming and even longer hikes.
When I used to pound the sidewalks of New York from 8am to 8pm I wouldn’t stop to think how many miles I had walked. To be fair, I didn’t have the technology to count the mileage/steps. I can only hazard a guess that I walked upwards of 9 miles a day. So why am I now seeing 5 miles a day as such a big deal? Maybe because it’s brought to my attention by watches and apps that notify you before you ask them to. Or because I still find it amusing that some place, like Northumberland, I once saw as inferior to New York, is now on the same level when it comes to awe-inspiring. I never would have guessed that I would choose to walk and hike the UK with as much gusto as I did exploring abroad. Times have certainly changed!
We have been talking recently, Mr W and I, about taking a vacation somewhere warm, with a pool. A villa break for just us. It has come to our attention that we need some time to stop. We need to jump in the pool and only emerge from it because of pruney fingertips. We need to start and finish the book we haven’t got time for at home. The afternoon naps. The late mornings. The step count being in the hundreds rather than the thousands.
So far, we haven’t had the luck of booking the trip. However, even though we now see the value of exploring and travelling more than ever and our new found appreciation for hiking is pushing us beyond boundaries we didn’t know existed, we have come to a bigger realisation.
It is to stop. Even though it is often said that every step we take when travelling is precious, I think it may be the steps we don’t take that can be just as important. When we start to travel again in the opening world, we are pushed by the memory of being locked away in our homes to go further than ever before and take on personal challenges that we’ve always avoided.
By doing this, we are pushing ourselves so hard all the time that we will forget what was good about being locked away in the first place. The simplicities of a good lunch in the sunshine. A night watching the stars with a cup of tea. Drawing a blanket up under your chin for an early night’s sleep. A walk in the country to give your lungs a fresh breath.
These steps count too. Whether they are counted by your watch or listed on an app.
These are the non-steps that keep you still long enough to save your tired soles for their next big leap into the unknown.
Step one. Stay still.
Framework Travel 