Explorer’s manifesto
Leave home – Disconnect, leave aside for a moment your history and your usual way of looking at things. When we aren’t clinging to our own ideas and habits, we can learn about and gain greater enjoyment from everything again.
Enjoy the journey – Do not be obsessed with the final destination. Try to be open to the unpredictable, the unexpected and the accidental and to the things that happen along the way. Seize opportunities. Change your plans.
Pack light – Too much baggage weighs us down and slows us down. It is distracting and interferes with our relationship to our surroundings. Take what is appropriate. Do not make too much effort to protect yourself from every possible risk. It is almost always true that what you lose in comfort or security, you gain in freedom.
Go far – Extraordinary things happen at the limits of possibility. Every limit is the end of one thing and the beginning of another. Explore the frontier with your own efforts and possibilities.
Forget the time – Try not to plan the beginning and end of events. Let them take the time they need. Enjoy the natural passing of time, with its periodic succession of day and night. When you travel, it sometimes seems as though the time passes differently, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.
Walk – Whenever you can, walk. When you walk, you can look at things more closely and carefully. Walking is an action, the speed of which is natural and comfortable. You take one step at a time.
Deviate from the route – Often the most valuable experiences are found on the least-traveled routes. Marked routes are simply those already traveled by other people. Challenge yourself to open a new path. Be daring, discover.
Go outside when it rains – Things are different, and appear different, than when the sun is shining.
Ask questions – Find out about the things you see along the way; how and why they are the way they are. Curiosity keeps us alert and in a state of constant change.
Try new flavors – The food and drink in each place has its own flavors, smells and colors. Sometimes they have been prepared using recipes passed down through generations. Try them. Give them an opportunity to surprise you.
Do not stop – Movement keeps us alive and new experiences nourish us. Move about, do not stop. When you change to someplace different, new possibilities open up.
Stop – Pauses are just as important as movement. Stop and breathe deeply. Look. Listen. Take a break. There are times when there is nothing better than a siesta, contemplation of the landscape or reading a book in the shade of a tree.
Talk with people – There is nothing like conversation for getting to know other people. Talk with the local people. Tell them about where you are from, share your ideas and beliefs. Listen. Challenge your prejudices.
Listen to stories about the place – The present is enriched and better understood by hearing about the past. Listening to stories can also be surprising and fun.
Protect nature – Make sure that your journey through each place leaves no trace for those who come after you. Care for nature. Untouched places are an increasingly scarce treasure.
