Stretching meals and hoofing it

I have a travel spreadsheet that shows me how to get from one place to another at a destination. If the distance is less than 2 miles, I walk (weather permitting) because I can see more things that way and get some exercise. Where the ground is uneven or there is bicycle traffic everywhere, I have to be careful, however.

On a trip, I generally walk 8 to 10 miles a day over a 7- or 8-hour period — an average of only 1.2 miles an hour. A person normally walks 3.5 miles an hour, so my pace is pretty leisurely. (My maximum distance was 14 miles over 10 hours.)

If the hotel or hostel where I’m staying offers an all-you-can-eat breakfast, I gorge myself. If it doesn’t, I buy rolls, buns and pastries the night before. I also buy fruit, usually a banana (for ease of peeling).

A typical day, for me, lasts from 9:30 or 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. I rarely have lunch. My one hot meal is dinner, which is often fast food.

In Latin America and especially in Spain, the menú del día includes a soup or salad, an entrée and sometimes a drink and dessert — quite economical.

I like to research popular food and local dishes, then go find them.

Around 12 years ago in Poland, I ate at a “milk bar” (cafeteria) that offered low-cost meals. Since I didn’t know how to read Polish, it was a little hard to order and hit or miss, but I was fine with that, since I got to try some new things.

STANLEY MUI
Woodland Hills, CA