Today we’re examining a type of travel activity that I don’t think you’re going to find on a tour or a cruise shore excursion list yet. Nealy two years ago, one of our reporters, Robert Silk, fulfilled a personal project – at times called the desert sit, or competitive sitting, or extreme sitting, he went to the desert and sat in one spot for an entire day.

The activity combines travel with some of the trends that became paramount during the pandemic. Being outdoors and distant, mindfulness, disconnecting from devices and accomplishing longtime goals.

The interest in extreme sitting was renewed via an article written by Laura Kinniry for Atlas Obscura, and one from La Repubblica in Italy and so we brought the two of them together again, to talk about the philosophy and practicalities of traveling in order to just sit.

Our summer 2022 series revisits some of our favorite Folo by Travel Weekly episodes. This episode was originally published May 2, 2022. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by ALG Vacations www.algvacations.com

Related:

How to explain a day desert sitting: Social distancing as an endurance sport https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/How-to-explain-a-day-desert-sitting-Social-distancing-as-endurance-sport

Meet the man who wants to make sitting an extreme sport https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/competitive-sitting-extreme-sport

Dispatch, Antarctica: Surrounded by humpback whales https://www.travelweekly.com/Blogs/Dispatch/Antarctica-Surrounded-by-whales

 

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