Relish In the Tread, 3,000 km by foot crossing Europe to Istanbul Quotes

“He could easily slip and pull the trigger and accidently shoot me in the eye. A grating pain struck my shoulder blade from behind. I dropped to my knees in the thick mud, ankles and feet shaking. My confidence disappeared. The three lads were there, powerful as bulls, with wind coming from the largest one’s nostrils. He stood above me, laughing as he put me to the ground with his big, wooden stave.”
― Steven Keith Hunter, Relish In the Tread

“Closer to the sun than any of its surroundings, the town glimmered. The spires looked like the tips of a royal crown. Skilled artisans had built wonderful, terraced homes and small flats overlooking gardens and fields under a clear cloudless sky. The air was filled with the aroma of eggplant parmigiana being roasted and fried garlic from pasta aglio e olio. Every pantry had a tall, glass bottle of local olive oil and a cupboard full of sugo jars.”
― Steven Keith Hunter, Relish In the Tread

“Some people slammed their doors, others didn't,” he told me in his acquired, patient tone. “I had to deal with a lot of rejection in a way I never had before. Some days, I ate very little and walked slowly. It was a discipline I needed away from a world where I could have everything.”
― Steven Keith Hunter, Relish In the Tread

“You need to go. You will go,” she proclaimed. “You’re already a pilgrim, Freddi.”
Every time I spoke to her, she repeated it for years, including the last time I’d spoken with her, just a few days before I walked off the doorstep of that albergue in Saint-Jean-Pied-De-Port.
“Pilgrim.”
She was the first to call me that, but not the last. Everyone became a pilgrim that first day. Our openness with one another created something. We surrounded ourselves with people of all generations and cultures and backgrounds; we were united in exhaustion from carrying our damaged, decaying spirits.”
― Steven Keith Hunter, Relish In the Tread

“My conscience demanded a fresh start, away from memories that left me hitting the skids. It was time for new direction, new steps, and intentional tribulations. It was time to feel the terrain against my soles, to see whether I was in love with the road or just running from accountability.”
― Steven Keith Hunter, Relish In the Tread