sole-destroying

I hate it when previously comfortable shoes get rough on the inside and start to rub blisters. But if that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be writing this blog post, so I guess there’s a silver lining. Or perhaps a latex or leather one.

Before I went on my last trip I bought insoles at the local todo a cien**. How could I resist a product described as:

ventilative, bibulous and can avoid foot stink and ache.

Personally, I much prefer “ventilative” to the more common “breathable”. After all, air is breathable, which is quite a different quality to that of the materials insoles are made of.

Sadly, like most products sold at such stores, the label translations were the best thing about them, so while I was in the UK, I decided to buy some that I hoped would last a little longer.

The girl in the shoe shop offered me a choice of leather or latex. I should probably have known better than to ask for further details. I know it was nearly closing time, and it was probably a Friday, but I do think I had a valid reason for asking her to repeat her explanation:

“The leather ones are cut to size; the latex ones are cut-to-size.”

At least, I think that hyphenation makes some kind of sense of her answer. (i.e. the leather ones are already cut; you have to cut the latex ones your self.)
 
 
 
**Todo a cien is what we used to call the variety stores in Spain that sold everything for a set price of 100 pesetas. Pesetas are long gone, but the term endures. The one I usually shop at now sells things from about 60¢ up to several hundred euros.