shoes
A few years ago, I broke a foot just prior to a trip through England, Ireland and Wales that required a great deal of walking.
This was going to pose problems for many reasons, starting with I hate shoes; I've spent years travelling in sandals, and have trekked 20 miles through Yosemite National Park's mountains in a pair of rubber thongs bought at a supermarket for a few dollars.
However, the broken bones posed a problem that called for "real" shoes.
The only solution I could find was Mephisto! Their shoes and boots
are expensive, but they are extremely well-made, will last for years, and were well worth the investment (and, yes, I do think that a pair of shoes costing more than $100 IS an investment).
Not only did the break not bother me at all, other problems that had started to crop up, such as plantar fasciitis dissolved from wearing finely made shoes . . . and a special insert that supports the middle of one's foot and that I can no longer locate, and no longer need because of the quality of these shoes and boots.
Mephisto's
are a perfect solution for people who either hate shoes or who have problems with their feet or both are shoes by Mephisto. Some Mephisto's are downright ugly, some are beautiful, all are comfortable and all will last for years.
Walking keeps one's body healthy like a well-oiled machine. Walking in comfort creates a pleasurable day. Followers of several of the world’s great religions include Walking Pilgrimages
as part of their spiritual disciplines.
For centuries, Muslims have journeyed to Mecca and Jews to Jerusalem. Pilgrimages in India follow in the footsteps of the Buddha through remains of monasteries and gardens and through the Himalayan foothills. Several of the Psalms, notably 120 to 134, are called the “Psalms of Ascent,” songs sung by the faithful as they made their pilgrimage upward to Jerusalem.
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In addition to a few pair of flip flops ('cause I hate shoes), I always bring along Mephisto boots or Tevas or both for rough terrain and a pair of dress heels for last-minute party invites. Throughout the two millennia since the days of Jesus, Christians have gone on pilgrimages to the Holy Lands, to walk where Jesus walked.
During the centuries when the Holy Lands were inaccessible or too dangerous to visit, European Christians developed labyrinths on cathedral grounds as a substitute. Medieval Christians also developed the practice of walking the Stations of the Cross, symbols within churches that guided pilgrims following the footsteps of Jesus on the way to his crucifixion.
St. Peter’s in Rome, containing the earthly remains of the Apostle Peter, was most popular for years, followed by Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
The most favored pilgrimage destination in England was Canterbury Cathedral. For centuries, pilgrims journeyed to Becket’s shrine, immortalized by Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (1385-1400).
Original World Travel in Mill Valley, California, traces footsteps of ancient Nabateans, Greeks and Romans through trips up the Nile, into the Sinai, and across Jordan. Original World also journeys from Colombo the the medieval capital of Polonnaruwa and to the World Heritage city of Kandy. While these tours are guided, and involve transportation, there is a great deal of walking through antiquity in tribal villages, palaces and temples, sometimes alongside the people of India as they make their own pilgrimages to sacred sites.
Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude