Abu Dhabi: ‘In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks’. John Muir.
No truer words could have been said. Every woman who participated in the Women’s Heritage Walk came away with an enrichment all her own. At the start of the walk, each woman was given a small stone to carry, the idea being that when you go on a journey, you probably want to take something away with you from the trip but you would also like to leave something behind. “We all carry some sadness and disappointments in our lives, so it is important to let them go,” said Jody Bollard, the American author and therapist who had, as an expatriate in Abu Dhabi, founded the Heritage Walk in Abu Dhabi in 2010. “Crossing the desert, you have a lot of time to reflect on your life, so if you want to leave something, leave it in the desert and walk away from it,” Ballard added.
Gulf News spoke to some of the participants of the walk on what they left behind and what they brought away with them.
Danuta Gudzowaty, 58, from Poland
It’s a long way Gudzowaty has travelled to take part in the Heritage Walk. But she had her reasons. Four years ago, on Valentine’s Day, she lost her husband. “I loved [him] very much and he loved me the same way,” said Gudzowaty. Married for 24 years, with one child, his death left her devastated and she found herself psychologically adrift, suddenly unsure of her future. It was during this phase that she met American author and therapist Jody Bollard in Poland, [who had started the Heritage Walk in the UAE in 2015].
Bollard advised her to travel to Abu Dhabi and attend the Women’s Heritage Walk in 2016. She agreed.
“I always travelled with my husband and my son, never alone. I had also not been to the Middle East before,” said Gudzowaty.
When her friends heard of her decision, they tried to talk her out of it, especially because they did not know much about the UAE and thought it would be unsafe for her.
But Gudzowaty went ahead and took part in the 2016 event. “It changed my life,” she said. “I spent a lot of time on my own last year and didn’t really mix with the other women [in the walk]. I just kept thinking about my life and my future. The whole experience really helped me heal.”
This year, back for a second time, Gudzowaty said she spent a lot of time with the other women on the journey, and this interaction had its own contribution to make in further strengthening her healing process as she learnt more about the Emirati culture and mingled with Emirati women during the walk. “Unfortunately, many people in the West don’t know enough about the Middle East.
“My experience has taught me how hospitable and accepting Emiratis are of other cultures. Even though my Polish culture is so different to the culture here, I feel right at home in this country.”
This is the message she will be taking back to Poland with her, she said.
As for the physical aspect of the walk, Gudzowaty said, “It was hard, especially for someone my age who is not used to this much walking.
“But with every step I took, I felt that I was getting stronger and stronger.”
Christine Demaret, 55, French expatriate in Abu Dhabi
A former nurse, Demaret underwent a heart transplant six years ago after having a heart attack. A year later, she moved to Abu Dhabi and was diagnosed with colon cancer. She was finally given the all-clear in September 2016.
“I wanted to do the walk because I wanted to feel alive,” she said.
She was not sure whether she could complete even one day of the walk when she signed up for it, and so did not tell anyone about it beyond her family. But she not only completed the full 90km at the event, after the last two days of the walk were cancelled due to poor weather, she walked the remainder of the 125km in Abu Dhabi. “I learnt so much about myself. I learnt that I am a lot stronger than I thought and that I need to be more confident.”
What surprised and impressed her about the walk was how natural was the support system that was formed between all the women.
Ruqaya Mohammad, 52, Abu Dhabi, environmental manager
For Mohammad, participating in the walk was fuelled by the desire to get out of her ‘comfort zone’.
She decided to take part in the event to challenge herself.
“I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, improve my health and fitness. This is the most challenging thing I have done in my entire life,” said Mohammad.
She said not only did the experience put her on a more healthy path, she also found herself pondering how her ancestors lived in the harsh desert conditions. “I kept thinking about how difficult it must have been for them. Out there, when I am walking with the women, I am only responsible for myself, but the women in those days would have been responsible for so many people.
“What did they do when there was a sandstorm? They couldn’t evacuate.” Mohammad said she hopes to now find out more about how Emiratis made the trip and how they overcame the journey’s challenges.
Milly Larmer, 46, from UK, Abu Dhabi resident
Larmer said she took part in the event because she thought it was a fantastic way to learn more about Emirati traditions and see the beautiful desert environs of the UAE.
However, she was initially apprehensive about spending days with 50 other women.
“I am generally very confident and I empower myself. [So] sitting around a campfire with other women wasn’t really my thing. But something unexpected happened. I found that each and every woman that I spoke to has, in some way, made me feel empowered.”
Estelle Gay-Folly, 47, HR Manager from Switzerland, Abu Dhabi resident
“I was going through some very personal issues last year and I took part in the walk to have some time to myself,” she said. “The experience changed my life and gave me such clarity.”
Gay-Folly explained that last year’s rain during the event had made the walk and the camping so much more challenging, and it made her realise she could do anything.
“I had forgotten how strong I was.”
“It also made me think about people who made this journey in the past who [walked] far more challenging paths than the one we took, with no support.”
Her thoughts made her see that her problems were really non-issues and there were people in far more challenging situations than her. “This year I came back to really enjoy the walk, the Emirati traditions and take in all this stunning scenery.”
