Falling Apart

Aside from the vehicle, everything else we own has been slowly deteriorating over the past few years. It’s not too surprising, since we don’t have much to begin with and use the same stuff every day.

Now that my shoes have absolutely no sole and are splitting at the seams, I’m finally required to think about finding some new clothes. I can generally get away with wearing one frayed item or something greasy with holes without looking too derelict. I can, right? But, when everything – your shirts, pants, and shoes are all disintegrating… it’s not such a good look.

We stocked up on a few things in Bolivia since we expected the prices to rise further south. But, most of the merch in Bolivia is extremely low quality – think Chinese-made rejects that aren’t good enough for anywhere else (shoes with paint that comes off on your hands when you touch them, etc.) Still, we really didn’t know what we were getting into.

Two hundred and fifty bucks.

If you want to buy hiking boots in Chile or Argentina, you will pay $250 USD. Forget the brand. Forget high-performance materials. All hiking shoes are about $250 USD.

Unless the worldwide market for hiking boots has changed dramatically since the last time I went shopping, I just don’t understand it. For now, I simply refuse to pay it. Considering all the stuff we might potentially need to purchase (engine parts included) it just might be cheaper to fly back to the U.S. to go shopping. People here actually sometimes do just that – usually somewhere sexy, like Miami.

Anyway, until I find a reasonable deal on zapatos, I’ll be the hobo-looking guy on the corner.

Then again, that just might be the beard.

In only slightly-related news, Matthew in Bedford, TX , USA volunteered to create a new logo for the big BodesWell Adventure. Not only is the bus accurate, but he also sneaked in a few continents and pulled off a vintage Cali-blue plate reference  too!  Awesome !  Thanks, Matthew!

Look for it plastered on billboards everywhere. Well… maybe not. Possibly a sticker or two if you look real hard somewhere in Patagonia? That will be probably tough too.  Well, okay, at least you can get a T-shirt.

And, if anyone does actually want a sticker, send us your info and we’ll figure out some sort of mailing strategy.