Finding My Nomad Feet

I arrived safe and very happy in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México this week! The first few days in Guadalajara I spent recuperating from the final push of getting rid of the stuff from my old life in Toronto. I basically hung around the hostel (which I lucked out on and found an amazing place!) and spent lazy afternoons wandering nearby areas soaking in the view and learning a bit of Spanish.

One of things I needed to do since well before I left was find a pair of comfortable, summer, walking sandals. This quest for the perfect wearable footwear began in Toronto, if you’ve ever tried to find summer shoes in Canada in the winter you’ll know that it was a fairly futile task. There were lots of strappy high heals that at any other time I’d love, but were not quite right for backpacking around Mexico and into Central and possibly South America.

No problem, I though, once I arrive in warm, sunny Mexico I’ll surely find appropriate footwear.. Hmm, not so easy. Why? Well to start I didn’t speak a word of Spanish when I arrived and the sizings here are different than in Canada, so I couldn’t just point and write down a number to say what size and style I wanted. No problem, I’d just learn to speak numbers in Spanish. Not such an easy task but a very helpful hostel host and another backpacker helped me through.

With this new found knowledge I set out to find the shoes that will carry me through this new life. I eventually had success with help from a very friendly shoe sales girl and I can happily say that I’ve found my footing to start my new nomading life.

Sometimes it’s the little victories in life that make all the difference in the world. :)