When we started working at the Jaguar Rescue Sandals, just over two months ago, I thought my rubber sandals would do the job. I reasoned that they are water resistant and easy to clean. My first job was to pre-rinse the laundry, which involved a lot of water splashing around. So, water resistant was definitely needed there.
A couple of days later, however, I started getting itches and scratches under my sandals’ straps. And a couple of days later again, some of these turned into blisters. There is a lot of sand and gravel on the floors of the JRC and this got under the straps. Add the water and the dirt gets stuck there and this was the result. I got busy with sports tape, but after a while I saw the failure of that strategy.
I then tried my sahara boots, but they don’t deal well with water – as the word ‘sahara’ suggests. So, I decided that for me too, it was time for rubber boots. With pain in my environmental heart because I think we have been buying enough stuff already since we arrived in Costa Rica. So I have been trying to make do with the shoes that I brought. It didn’t work out this time, so Cristina and I bought a pair in a cheap-stuff-store.
It took a while for my ankles to get used to them, or for them to get used to my ankles, but now I don’t leave the door without them anymore. They are waterproof, parrot proof, cheap, and glue to the floor as if they were spiderman’s. So after it was 1-0 for rubber boots against the rest, now it is 2-0.
When I got them. 
Still going strong today!
PS Cristina’s boots did not fare well at the JRC. Probably, the rats got to them.
THE FLIP FLOP LIFE 