Walking Challenges for Expats in the Philippines: A Retiree’s Experience

How often do you walk or run?

Since moving here to the Philippines I actually don’t walk as much as I did when I was in Iowa.

That’s a silly dynamic, yet there is some logic to it. Basically, my wife worries about me. 

In Iowa I’d walk about 5 kilometers a night. I’d walk up the park through the cemetery (yes, at night, in the dark), then over to the 11th Street, and back to Grand, and home.

Walking here is a bit different. My wife is concerned that if I walk too far away from the house I could get mugged, or something. Westerners are kidnapped, and held for ransom upon occasion here. Even the US State Department has warned us as much. Still, I don’t look wealthy (I’m not). The concern, though, leaves me walking less in a land where I don’t drive at all.

I’m old. Retired. Walk with a cane. Still, I get around when I can.