Just the other day I received an email from a Nick Teel in Houston, Texas. He was curious as to which brand of shoes I thought would be best for long distance walking. He mentioned that he was 21 years old and had taken some 30-mile-long walks to the outlying towns around Houston. He loved the idea of walking long distances into the unknown, as I had done in my walk around the world in the 1980's, but he wisely noted that he thought it important to have the right kind of shoes for such a challenging trek.

Well, I am familiar with only two brands of shoes, because they are the only brands I've ever worn in my long walking/hiking career. And, frustratingly enough, one of those two brands (Rocky) no longer makes walking or hiking boots. And the other brand (Worldwalker) is sold only in Japan. So, as you can see, the two brands I've done my tens of thousands of miles of hiking in aren't even available to the American public!

Continue reading "The Best Walking Shoes and Boots" »

Posted by at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

On my walk around the world in the 1980's I did not stay in hotels or eat in anything fancier than the local eateries. Most of my meals came from the local people, who more often than not were very poor. As a result, I would discover that nearly anything that crawls, walks, slithers, swims, or flies is edible. Some of my more unusual meals involved things like: camel's blood mixed with sour, warm goat's milk (North Africa's Sahara region); cockroach soup (Thailand); blood sausage (Spain); a five-foot-long goanna lizard roasted on a desert campfire (Australia's outback); and even live maggots (you don't want to know where).

Surprisingly, many of the unusual things I ate were actually quite tasty. I never turned down any foods offered to me, because for one thing I was always hungry during my world walk. Also, I did not want to hurt my hosts' feelings, and, too, I reasoned that the other cultures were very ancient and had had a lot of practice preparing and eating such the dishes they were offering me. More than once I was assured what I was about to eat would even be beneficial to my health. (Once I was even told that what I was about to eat would put hair on my boyish chest. It didn't.)

But of course even though I assure my American audiences that most of those "gross" foreign meals were quite delicious, I still get more doubtful looks than convinced ones. And for a long time that even included my wife, Darci. Afterall, she considered something as simple as pickles to be yucky.

But then, in June 2001, Darci was to be exposed to some of Japan's most exotic foods, and, believe me, from then on she was never the same.

Continue reading "The Most Magical Meal Ever" »

Posted by at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Unless you are an ardent student of Japanese culture, or a fervent Buddhist, chances are that those of us who live in the USA have never heard of what is Japan's oldest and, most certainly, longest Buddhist pilgrimage--the "Shikoku Henro" journey. In existence for over 1,000 years and stretching over 900 miles, it is also reputed to be the only religious pilgrimage route of such length in the entire world that is in the form of a circle. (Please don't hesitate to let me know in your comments if what I just said is incorrect.)

My first knowledge of this challenging journey of the soul (so to speak)came from a Worldwalk book fan of mine who lives in Toronto, Canada. His name is Michael Jellen. Though he was over 60 years old, and had just had heart surgery, he was so inspired by the story of my solo walk around the world that he decided he was going to take some long exotic treks of his own. And so like many book readers of mine over the years, he paid a visit to Darci and me here at "Worldwalker Hill" and shared his renewed enthusiasm for exploring life.

Continue reading "A Journey of 88 Temples" »

Posted by at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Every one of us should have a person like Mr. Nakazawa come into our life.

Imagine if you will a stranger,living on the opposite side of our planet, contacting you out of the blue one day and asking you if you want to explore at your leisure--and with all expenses paid--his exotic culture. And then imagine that this stranger, years later, calls you again out of the blue and informs you that he is manufacturing many styles of shoes and high-end man's clothing named after you. And--oh by the way--would you like to be paid thousands of dollars in royalties for those shoes, as well as travel back to the Far East to explore yet more countries with, again, all your expenses paid?

Now that's what I call an angel.

Continue reading "Everyone Should Have a Mr. Nakazawa" »

Posted by at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

January 6, 2005

Ever feel that you need to do more walking? I know just what to do: get a labrador retriever.

We have a gentle black canine angel named Gabriel, and he is about as close to a walking fanatic as anything alive can be. In fact, I think he would rather walk than eat. Indeed, he lives to go exploring in the valley and forests of the Ohio River countryside Darci and I call home.

The Worldwalker

Posted by at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)