Ishtar Darlington
What could be a better (or cheaper) way of getting around than using your own two feet!? Your body is a wonderful tool that can do so many amazing things and moving is one of them. So, if you’re in relatively good physical health, and want to spend next to nothing on your transport, then get those legs working!
Walking: I walked part of the Portuguese route of the Camino de Santiago in September 2016 from the picturesque city of Porto to the stunning Galician centre of Santiago de Compostela (the photo above is of me on the bridge that connects Valenca, Portugal to Tui. Spain). I did it all on foot (admittedly rather sore ones) and had one of the most amazing travel experiences of my life. If you do decide to brave the road with your legs alone there are a couple of things definitely worth remembering though. My first recommendation has to be: find the right shoes! I bought a pair of seemingly comfortable boots before the camino and ended up dumping them about a week into the walk, switching my cut, blistered and swollen feet (oh how lucky you are that I didn’t post a picture of them here) over to flip flops for the rest of the 150km. Thankfully, I have strong feet used to many years of barefoot wandering so the flip flops actually worked out perfectly for me. I was lucky though, this could have been a complete disaster. Find your shoes well in advance and wear them in before you set out on any serious hikes. Secondly, pack light. Whether you’re sauntering across flat, open plains or trudging up and down steep mountain sides, having a heavy rucksack full of crap you don’t need is going to be a drag, literally. Bring only what you need, which is probably a lot less than you think. 1 or two changes of clothes, a towel, toiletries and a first aid kit should just about do it.
Cycling: I haven’t had a bicycle since I was about 13 years old so, bar a few afternoon jaunts to the forest during a stay in Denmark (and, really, you can’t not cycle in Denmark) I haven’t had much experience with it. Having said that, I’ve met a few people on my travels who swear by it and, if my parents’ legendary stories of their cycling trips across Europe and Greece are anything to go by, it would seem these cyclists are on to something. It’s quicker than walking and less brutal on the feet but, as my dad says, it just doesn’t seem fair to invest 30 minutes slogging your way up a hill only to spend a short 30 seconds gliding down the other side (as fun as those 30 seconds may be). As with walking though, it’s cost effective and a much healthier option than sitting for hours on a bus, plane or train.
