Hiking the Caribbean

 It began not with a plane ticket, but with a simple agreement between two desk-bound colleagues. Margaret, feeling sluggish after weeks of deadlines, turned to Liana and said, “I read something today in that Befitment app you talked about. It said if all you did was take a walk, you were fit. Feel like walking to work with me tomorrow?”

Liana, who scrolled through breathtaking photos of Caribbean hikes each lunchbreak, sighed. “My feed is all mountain peaks and turquoise water. What’s a walk through the city compared to that?”

“It’s a start,” Margaret shrugged.

So, they started. The first morning, their 30-minute walk was just a way to avoid the bus. But soon, they began to shift the metric. They stopped counting steps and started noticing the feeling. The crisp morning air that cleared the fog from their brains. The easy laughter that replaced their usual pre-coffee grumpiness. They celebrated the energy it gave them, the small victory of choosing movement before a day of sitting.

“You know,” Liana said one morning, a few months in. “This reminds me of that path in St. Lucia, the one that winds through the town before it even gets to the rainforest. It’s not about the destination; it’s just about being on the path.”

Margaret smiled. “Our daily walk is our functional jungle.”

The idea took root. What if their consistent, city-bound effort could fund a real adventure? Their shared walks became a moving planning session, their excitement building with every block. They curated their feed together, unfollowing the intimidating fitness influencers and instead following local Caribbean hiking guides and accounts that celebrated the joy of the journey, not just the summit selfie.

A year after that first walk, they found themselves not at their office, but standing on the edge of the Waitukubuli National Trail in Dominica. The path was rugged, the humidity a tangible force. As they started their climb, the old doubts crept in for Liana. “The people in those videos made this look so easy.”

Margaret paused, wiping her brow. “Remember our metric. How do you feel?”

Liana took a deep breath, smelling the rich earth and blooming flowers. He felt the strength in his legs, built on a thousand morning walks. He felt alive. “I feel… capable,” he said, a grin spreading across his face.

They didn’t break any speed records. But with every step, they knew they had earned this. The view from the top wasn’t just a spectacular panorama of the Caribbean Sea; it was a testament to their journey. They hadn’t trained for sculpted bodies, but for resilience, for joy, for the simple, profound ability to move through a beautiful world.

As they watched the sun set, Liana turned to Margaret. “You were right,” he said softly. “It all counted. Every single walk to the office led us right here.”

Their paradise wasn’t just a place on a map. It was the destination they reached by valuing every step of the path.