For 11 days on the island of Madeira my primary mode of transport was shank’s mare. We walked to town, 30 minutes downhill, and home from town, 40 minutes uphill. In between we sauntered (untimed). We ambled around the Lido area where out hotel was located, down to the shore (15 minutes) and back up again (20).

Apart from a few bus trips and the final taxi ride to the airport, we made our way entirely on our own steam.

Need I say how delicious this was for a walker in the suburbs, someone whose strides are hemmed in by busy thoroughfares and whose forays are never for picking up a quart of milk at the corner store?

Yesterday, I was back in the saddle, back behind the wheel of our modest sedan. I drove 30 minutes to see one daughter, 20 minutes from her house to a grocery store, then 20 minutes to see another daughter. The visits were short, the drives were long but worth it. That’s life (for the most part) in these United States.

(Luckily, I was not driving in Madeira, where roads are steep, narrow and hair-raising.)