The first thing The Idiot did after MedTrekking over 500 kilometers across southern Turkey to the Syria border was to pamper and indulge his battered feet. After a grueling month on the seaside path, his “most basic and urgent life-take is to accept, know, love and nurture” his feet.

The Idiot’s feet not only take him over 30 kilometers each day but also frequently get cut, scraped and sore.

Battered feet.

That prompted one “Follow The Idiot” reader to recently contend that The Idiot’s obsession with his feet is right up there with famous foot fetishists and podophiliacs like Elvis, Britney Spears, Andy Warhol, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Casanova, Goethe, James Joyce and Ludacris. Fetishist or not, he’s definitely in good company. (For a look at “30 Famous Foot Fetishists” check out http://www.buzzfeed.com/gavon/40-famous-foot-fetishists).

Here are a few things that The Idiot does to provide his feet with TLC and keep them in decent shape for future MedTrekking.

Regular pedicures are de rigueur for long-distance hikers.

Massage therapist Crista Blackmore works on The Idiot’s toes, tendons, muscles, ligaments and joints.

The Idiot has regular acupuncture sessions to relax his feet.

Real foot fetishists enjoy massages that extend to the knees.

The Idiot’s feet join him during regular trips to hot tubs.

Naturally The Idiot does not only care for his lowest limbs after a MedTrek. He also gets regular massages, facials and shaves.

The Idiot gets frequent massages….

…even when he’s traveling. (Photo: Liz Chapin)

The Idiot gets frequent shaves….

…and regular facials to rebound from the rigors of MedTrekking. (Photo: Liz Chapin)

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About Joel

Joel Stratte-McClure has been a global trekker since the 1970s. He lived in France for over 30 years, working as a journalist, before he turned his attention to a unique life-time-project of walking the shores of the Mediterranean. The first 4,401 kilometers are explored in his inspirational and entertaining first book "The Idiot and the Odyssey: Walking the Mediterranean." The next 4,401 kilometers are covered in the gods-filled sequel, "The Idiot and the Odyssey II: Myth, Madness and Magic on the Mediterranean,” published on Valentine's Day 2013. The last 4,401 kilometers will be discussed in the last book of the trilogy currently entitled "The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Alexander the Great Walks the Mediterranean."