The average person walks at a pace of about three to five kilometres per hour. Personally, my speed depends on a lot of things. Like, how many kitties were seen along the way, needing to be petted or photographed….or at least said pst pst to?. How many gardens or beautiful buildings needed to be admired? How many cute door knockers needed to be commented upon and subsequently photographed? And how many quaint cafes appeared when a coffee or a beer was absolutely required? (There were many.)
This last month I travelled very, very slowly – at the pace of about three kilometres per hour, from Porto to Santiago de Compostela – a distance of 280 kilometres. That’s about 93 hours of walking, and we did it in 13 days. I think I would usually walk faster, but there were far too many things to appreciate, photograph, comment upon, admire, and make note of. Why rush when there are so many things to pause over?
That’s the beauty of slow travel.
What is slow travel? It’s staying longer in one place or moving slowly through a region. Think long stays, walking tours and cycle tours.
I’m a huge fan of slow travel. In fact, I think one could say that I specialize in slow travel. There have been no other times in my life where I have felt more present or more transformed than when I am immersed in a slow travel experience.
Why is slow travel so transformative? When you ditch the checklist and the tightly packed schedule, you allow yourself to be more present and more observant. You notice things more vividly, you connect with others more profoundly, and you allow yourself to be changed.
Specifically, when you have unstructured time, you are able to be nudged and affected by the sights and sounds around you. You are able to wander and explore the narrow alleyways, lured left and then right by curious things you see. There is nothing I like more than the ability to simply wander through an interesting European town, with no place to be and no timeline. And this is when travel can truly transform.
My friend Sheri and I started the Camino on April 16th. Every day, we got up around 7 am, popped over to the dining room for breakfast, had our bags at the front desk by 8:30 for the luggage transfer, and hoisted our daypacks to start our walk shortly thereafter. From then on, the day was all about one thing and one thing only. We needed to walk to our next destination, and we had all day to do it.
And every day was a delight. At no time was I bored. We always had something to talk about, always something to comment on or question. In fact, we had a list at the end of every day of things we wanted to know about. What was that interesting tree? (It was the Norfolk pine.) What was that cool plant that looked like a bottle brush? (It was hilariously called the crimson bottle brush plant!) How do you know if a cat is a tabby or a tortoishell? Why were there so many old corn cribs all over the place – and in so many front yards? These questions had to be answered.
We also met lots of people along the way. There is something very interesting about doing a walk like the Camino with so many others. Conversations were easy with our fellow pilgrims. I think it was because we all had something in common. And I’ve always found that conversations quickly pass from shallow to deeper levels of discussion when you are walking side by side.
Slow travel is also soothing to the nervous system. Traditional travel can sometimes feel too rushed. In fact, when you are racing from place to place and activity to activity, you may feel just as rushed as when you’re at home. But slow travel is different. You deactivate the ‘go-mode’ and allow your brain space to breathe and your body to relax. A slower schedule allows you to slip out of sensory overload, and after a few days, one can sense the shift from ‘fight or flight’ into ‘rest and digest’.
Does any of this resonate with you? Would you like your next holiday to be a transformative, slow travel experience? If your answer is yes, please reach out to me, and we can find a slow travel itinerary that works well for you.
