At a guess, I’d say I walk solo around 80% of the time. If you asked me if this was my preference I would probably say yes. But don’t get me wrong – I enjoy walking with friends, family and my wife too, but really – who else has the time, or the inclination to walk an average of 20km each day? I also enjoy travelling solo and dining out alone, so it may be a character trait. Or maybe it’s just a timing thing, when I’m available to walk, most of my friends and family are not.
Here are some of the reasons I love walking by myself:
- It gives me time to plan and imagine my future
- It gives me the mental space to problem solve
- I spend some of the time (if it’s safe and quiet), making business calls
- I sometimes call friends and family for catchups
- There’s no pre-panning required - I can walk wherever I want
- I can walk for any length of time or any distance
- It’s easier to walk through busy areas
- If I need to run errands while I’m out – I can
Here are some of my reasons that I like to walk with my Crowd
- I love spending time with my wife out walking in our neighbourhood, discovering new places and exploring new areas
- Catching up with friends which also encourages them to get out and walk
- Sometimes I need a bit of a nudge to get out – so meeting someone at a specific time and place helps me keep on track
- If safety is a concern, walking with company is always better
When my wife and I walked the Camino de Santiago in 2019 we often found ourselves walking with new people which was so interesting and fun. We met people from all over the world. One day we were walking through farmland, and we happened to walk with a woman who was a farmer in the USA. She was fascinating and told us about different farming techniques and equipment while sharing information about soil types and differing landscapes for different types of farming. On another day we walked with a taxi driver from Liverpool (UK) with a fascinating history, a young monk from Austria, a nurse from South Africa and a priest from Adelaide. There were many others from all different walks of life, all with their own reasons for walking the Camino.
Mixing it up works for me. Being comfortable walking on my own is a huge benefit, considering the amount of time I spend walking. However, walking with my Crowd and finding solutions for the world’s problems (!), is also one of my favourite things to do.