Respect thy feet

“The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.”

Leonardo da Vinci 

Respect your feet. And your body. 

This was the biggest lesson I learned from the Women’s Heritage Walk - a 120km 5-day trek through the desert. 

While preparing for the Walk, I had no doubts about the ability of my mind to cope with it. But I wasn’t too sure about the ability of my feet to carry me for so long. 

I am not a trekker. Not yet. This was the first ever trek that I did in my life. Someone told me that once the trekking bug bites, it is difficult to cure of it. And after this experience, I am beginning to think that is true. 

As a first-time trekker whose physical activities included irregular bouts of yoga and walking and occasional 10k walk-runs - I emphasise the words “irregular” and “occasional” here -, training for the Walk during the two months leading up to it was the most strenuous physical exertion I had ever done. Even during the training period, my personal best was climbing 100 floors up and down a couple of times; and walking half-marathon distance once. 

Hence, I was, rightfully I believed, concerned. Will my body hold? Will my legs be able to carry me, over long distances, day after day, through the soft sands that felt as unstable as jelly underneath one’s feet and the rolling dunes which stretched one after the other into the horizon? There was only one way to find out!

The first day’s trek was mostly through flat sand, covering a little above 30 kilometres. And this was after a largely sleepless night - our journey together had started at 3 am and our trek before 7 am. 

By the end of the first day, I was exhausted. Pains and aches permeated every inch of my body. How on earth am I going to do this for four more days? - I wondered as I limped painfully through the night camp in the desert. 

A group deep stretching session led by this amazing woman - Taghrid - was a godsend. By the end of it, half of the aches and pains had disappeared. I still felt sore all over the next morning as I limped up to get ready, but the feet seemed willing to continue - at least more willing than the night before. 

Another long and exhausting 30 kilometres on the second day. Slightly lower distances on the third and fourth days but more strenuous as the dunes stretched higher and higher, and a shorter walk on the 5th day which ended at noon. 

Though it ached and pained everywhere one could possibly conceive, the body held through it all, propped up by deep stretching and yoga, creams and oils, massages, good food and litres of water, sleep, occasional ibuprofens (yes, I have to admit that) and not to forget, countless bandages! I could still feel the phantom bandages on my toes the day after the Walk! 

The magical bonding that can only come from real human interaction and camaraderie an activity like this abundantly provides, and the mesmerising beauty of the sand dunes that got redder and redder as we got deeper and deeper into Al Ain, brilliantly assisted the mind to keep up the spirit and support the body throughout. 

And oh the exhilaration, the elation, the sense of peace, at the end of it all - it has to be experienced to be believed!

But the body - especially the feet - they are the real heroes of this story. I have developed an increased respect for the human body, its limitless and almost magical ability to recover and heal quickly, and to just “get on with it” even when you feel it cannot. I simply hope that I will be able to remember this lesson forever and do justice to it by taking care of it well. 

Nasheeda (Nish) is the Founder and Managing Director of Nishe Accounting and Consulting (www.nisheconsulting.com).

The Women’s Heritage Walk is an annual, five-day cultural trek from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates. The 2020 walk took place from Jan 31, 2020 to Feb 4, 2020. For more information about WHW, visit www.womensheritagewalk.com).