It’s Travel Tip Tuesday, and I’ve got a real shocker for you. (That was sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell.)

DON’T buy cheap shoes. Just don’t.

My main, day-to-day shoes that I packed for our trip were very comfortable. A simple canvas boat shoe. But wearing them for 120 days straight — from the deserts of La Paz to the pyramids in Teotihuacan to traipsing around the hills of Valparaíso — is bound to take its toll on any shoe. So I found some Keds-like knock-offs for relatively cheap.

Then, I walked four kilometers in them from our place to the Royal Guard Open tennis tournament, pictured above. Not even that far. But man were my dogs barking, a la Kevin Malone after wearing Kleenex boxes to Jim and Pam’s wedding. Blisters galore. We took the bus home.

Now I have very uncomfortable shoes because I was being cheap. My blisters and I repeat, don’t buy cheap shoes. Not worth it when they’re pretty much your only pair. I may have to scrap these and go get new ones.

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