The soles of my feet

Keen shoes and Tiva sandals

We're preparing for a long trip, and a long trip means a lot of walking. City streets, rough African safari roads, South American mountain trails, sandy beaches, pebble-covered river banks and suspicious-looking campground shower floors, all will find their way under my feet at one time or another.

One unavoidable question for each traveller is "how many pairs of shoes should I take?" Without much hesitation I opted for the magical number three. One pair of Keen trekking shoes for most of the out-of-town walking, one pair of (presumably indestructible - according to the people who swear by them) Tiva sandals for the aforementioned sandy beaches and suspicious showers and a third pair of sturdy neutral-looking walking shoes, mostly for city walking.

I have bought the Keen and the Tiva at REI not long ago, but I haven't yet decided anything about the third pair. It should be something that looks good with jeans and khakis, but I won't mind if I were refused entry in a Michelin restaurant because of my shoes being too casual.

I'm sure Angela would think three pairs of shoes for a whole year is blatant insanity but as long as she carries her 36 pairs herself I won't mind...