SAIWAI plays host to Koala Wanderers

The World Walking Day Walk organized last Saturday by the Saipan Walking Association, Inc. drew a total of 57 participants—including four from the Koala Wanderers International Club of Germany.

Club manager Manfred Trettin and his wife Eva made their second trip to Saipan but this time brought along friends Adam Hiel, Rita Krtamer-Albrecht, and Christine Voss with them.

“That’s a fantastic walk. Very quiet and a wonderful view of the ocean and we met [a lot of] very friendly people, we liked it,” said Manfred Trettin after completing the 10-kilometer walk.

“This [heat] for us is a little bit difficult. It’s okay at this time in the afternoon. The problem for us is when we’re inside our rooms the air-conditioning is very cool, but then when we go out it’s too hot, sometimes it’s too much,” he said.

The heat was the main reason only four Koala Wanderers managed to make it to the activity, as Fraulein Kramer-Albrecht begged off from joining the walk, opting instead to stay inside the cool comforts of her hotel room at the Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach.

Despite the heat and the absence of one of their members, Trettin said the four of them still enjoyed the walk, and even volunteered that the course along the Saipan Beach Pathway was one of the best he has ever experienced.

“I enjoyed the walk. I lost count how many countries I’ve visited for walks like this. I walked in America, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, most of the countries in Europe, Japan, Korea, and a lot of other different countries,” he said.

Voss seemed to echo Trettin’s observations when she said, “Nice walk, nice view of the ocean, but humid. It was a little bit hot for me but I was able to finish it.”

Hiel had so much fun completing the course that he decided to do it again a second time. Trettin said his countryman has always been an avid walker and that it is typical for him to go out on 20-km jaunts.

SAIWAI director and spokesman Mario Espeleta thanked the Koala Wanderers for participating in the World Walking Day Walk. He also extended his gratitude to the Trettins for coming over the second straight year and bringing three more of their friends.

He also said that aside from the participants from Germany, another off-island guest that joined the walk was Sachiko Sugimoto from Japan.

Espeleta said SAIWAI would donate proceeds from the event to the Marianas March Against Cancer.

Like all SAIWAI activities, the IVV sanctioned the World Walking Day Walk. IVV members will receive credit for joining the event.

The IVV has member walking clubs in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand, the CNMI, and 29 other European countries, including Germany.

For more information on SAIWAI and its other walk, contact Bea Quitugua at 322-2725 or Mario Espeleta at 322-8876. For more information on the Koala Wanderers, click on www.koala-wanderers.de.

SAIWAI was incorporated as a non-profit corporation on July 27, 2001 and was established to promote public health through non-competitive walking.