Saturday, August 7, 2010

7 Reasons Why the World is Best Explored on Foot

We travel the world for pleasure, business or to meet family and friends, and mostly, we let ourselves be transported by planes, trains, cars and whatever means are appropriate. But, if we stop for a moment and think about the origin of the word 'travel' we will realize that we often neglect the most natural means of transport - our feet.

'Travel' derives from the Old French word 'travail' which means work. This in turn apparently goes back to the Latin word 'tripalium' which was a three-legged sort of whip used by the Romans to drive slaves. Being on the move was work, walking miles and miles to get from A to B, getting dirty and sweaty in the process.

No modern-day traveler is required to submit himself to torture, but a little bit of 'travail' by exploring our destinations on foot, as opposed to hopping on a tour bus and letting yourself be guided to pre-selected destinations, goes a long way to increasing the pleasure of travel. We travel to satisfy our curiosity and to discover the real side of the country of our choice. If we don't put in a bit of legwork we will miss out on all of the following:

Meeting the locals


You have arrived at your destination and the first thing you do is get your bearings. More after the break...

Plan in hand and shunning a guided tour, I made my way to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. As inevitably happens, the map always looks different than the reality and I decided to ask directions of an elegant lady on the street. We fell into a conversation. "If you are looking for something really typical of Santiago," she said, "you should visit the statue of the 3 Marias, our local heroines."

She continued to explain that said Marias had been three sisters who, during the times of Franco, had suffered serious hardship. Bound on pulling themselves out of misery, they began to design and sew their own clothes and, every day at the dot of 3pm, set out on a walk around the city center, modeling their clothes and, as they had a lot of wit and a sharp tongue, flirting with the students and providing entertainment for an entire city during dreary times. After their death, a statue was erected in their honor and Galician poets even dedicated poems to them. No guidebook mentions this story, which I would not have discovered without taking to the street.

Beating the traffic



Have you ever thought how many taxis, buses and minibuses are needed to ferry tourists around and what that does to the environment? Take to your feet and you use the 'greenest' means of transport possible and, more often than not, you arrive faster than anybody on four wheels.

Our cruise ship had just docked in Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the Caribbean island of St. Thomas. I saw that the town center was approximately 2 miles away and decided to walk along the ocean front up to the 99 steps which I wanted to visit. My fellow passengers were not inclined to follow my example and headed for the buses and taxis. "Two miles," one gentleman huffed, "you can't walk  that!!" No? I thought to myself. Watch me.

Charlotte Amalie is a small town and the roads are not equipped to accommodate the sudden influx of thousands and thousands of cruise ship passengers, all arriving at once and all headed for the same direction. Result: they got stuck in a traffic jam and looked slightly miffed when I overtook them on foot, happily waving at some very long faces. Moreover, I arrived at the 99 steps and the World Amber Museum well ahead of the crowd and had the place to myself.

Exercise while seeing the sights


There is yet another benefit to exploring on foot. Just think that even one hour of walking at a leisurely pace burns 38 calories at a body weight of 150 lbs. That allows for a little extra treat without fear of putting on the dreaded holiday pounds and beats a treadmill any day.

Avoiding the tourist crowds


Tourist guides and hotel staff will recommend restaurants full of other travelers, but I prefer to go and take a look at where the locals assuage their hunger.

I was richly rewarded for this in Kusadasi, a lovely Turkish port town on the Aegean Sea. Discarding the more elegant places, I opted for a small, half-open place called "Toro" where I saw a lot of Turkish businessmen having their lunch. It had long communal tables and benches and an open hot and cold buffet where you just pointed at what you wanted. Or you could ask for fish and then sit down by the waterfront and watch fisherman pulling out what you were about to eat a few minutes later. The lamb shanks I had were so tender that I didn't need a knife and a rich fruit platter came as free desert. The total bill was a lot cheaper than anywhere else, because if not, the locals would have protested.

Discovering curiosities


The real joy of travel is to come upon sites which aren't mentioned anywhere and that's only possible if you deviate from the beaten path - on foot. Another stop of my cruise was Tortola and its tiny capital Road Town. Meandering along Main Street, I happened upon a folklore museum which was the smallest museum I have ever seen - just one room and easy to miss. I was the only visitor and the curator told me a lot of local stories, which taught me a more about the island life and mentality than any guide book could have.

Seeing nature up close and personal


Taking to your feet allows you to enjoy tropical flora and fauna at close quarters. A botanical garden is fine, but a 'jungle walk' on your own is a much better adventure.

Again in St. Thomas, I saw the Skyride, a cable car going up and down Flag Hill to Paradise Point. I admit, I took it up, but when I discovered a path leading down, I decided to follow it. My first companion was a bright red butterfly which settled on my shoulder and stayed with me all the way. I saw colorful birds and lizards scuttling out of the way and enjoyed wonderful views of the island and the ocean peeking through the trees. Best of all, I was all alone.

Feeling like you belong


In my eyes, that's the best of all. Anybody moving in a group or climbing out of a tourist bus is instantly tagged as a tourist and treated as such. Walking the streets on your own gives you a real feel for the place and - at least for a while - you belong. 

The World's 10 Richest Tennis Players

Welcome to the rating of the richest tennis player of the planet. Revenues consist of athletes of different sources. For example, Maria Sharapova, mainly the "rich" by advertising products known corporations, such as «Canon», «Colgate-Palmolive», «Motorola», «Nike», «Tiffany» and «Land Rover». Only on the promotion of dandruff shampoo company «Unilever» tennis player receives more than $ 2 million in the same time, revenue Roger Federer is mainly composed of bonus payments for tournaments.

01. Roger Federer (Switzerland) - $ 35 million. The picture shows Roger Federer sends the ball to Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) in the first set final match US Open in New York on 14 September 2009. yeh the same, more images after the break...
02. Maria Sharapova (Russia) - $ 26 million on the photo: Maria Sharapova in 3 Sete match with Melanie Udine US Open tournament on Sept. 4, 2009. Udine won the match 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

03. Rafel Nadal (Spain) - $ 18 million Rafael Nadal beats Fernando filing Gosnalesa (Chile) in the third set the match in the tournament chetvertfinalnogo US Open 12 sentbrya 2009. Nadal won 7-6, 7-6, 6-0 (UPI / Monika Graff)

04. Andy Roddick (USA) - $ 15 million Andy Roddick beats blow Swede Robin Soderling in the semi-final match of the tournament BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California March 20, 2010. Roddick won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 and reached the final.

05. Serena Williams (USA) - $ 15 million US Open winner Serena Williams in a match with Alexa Glatch. Playing the first round of US Open August 31, 2009 in New York.

06. Venus Williams (USA) - $ 15 million Venus Williams beats starting Magdalena Rybarikovoy (Slovakia) in the first set match on US Open September 4, 2009 in New York.

07. Justine Henin (Belgium) - $ 10 million first scattering Justine Henin in the quarterfinal match against Serena Williams at the French Open Roland Garros in Paris June 5, 2007. Henin won 6-4, 6-3.

08. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) - $ 9.5 million by turnstile count third rank number ATP Novak Djokovic takes the ball to David Ferrer (Spain) in the final of Men's Dubai Tennis Championships on Saturday, February 28, 2009. Djokovic won the match 7-5, 6-3.

09. Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) - $ 8 million first scattering Anna Ivanovich against Vera Dusheninoy (Russia) in the first set match in the tournament US Open August 26, 2008 in New York.

10. James Blake (USA) - 7.5 million. In the photo, James Blake in a match against Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo in the tournament US Open August 31, 2009 in New York.

Expensive Actress in Hollywood

Look at all the lovely ladies have earned in the period from June 2009 to June 2010. More images after the break...
09. Meryl Streep - $ 13 million


08. Drew Barrymore - $ 15 million


07. Angelina - $ 20 million


06. Julia Roberts - $ 20 million


05. Sarah Jessica Parker - $ 25 million


04. Jennifer Aniston - $ 27 million


03. Cameron Diaz - $ 32 million


02. Reese Witherspoon - $ 32 million


01. Sandra Bullock - $ 56 million


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