Day 14

Day 14 

Hontanas to Boadilla - 29km/18miles

To prove the full recovery of both my feet and my stomach we decided to go a full day today!  I have to admit it feels good to get through so much distance and to be on the trail all day.  I mean, that's what I'm here for, right? To walk, and to walk a lot!  Of course, never in my life did I think I would say it feels "good" to walk 18 miles in a day!  

My feet are very tired.  But that's just it, they're tired, not blistered, the only pain is the normal pain that comes from walking so much.  Yay!  I like normal pain :) 

Here's the San Anton monastery.  We wanted to stay here last night.  Luckily someone told us their guidebook said it was closed.  We emailed and sure enough; it's closed.  Thank God for the helpful info because it's not near any other albergues and I'm sure I wouldn't have been too happy to find it closed when we got there! 

There was a huge archway over the road.  See the tiny little person on the road?  

Inside the archway there were these two spaces where pilgrims have left messages, thoughts, and prayer intentions.  I thought it appropriate that this one in English was left right at the front where Em and I could read it. 

Emily found a walking stick!  It's a bit heavier than mind but she said it was really nice for the hill we climbed today.  

Entering the town if Castrojeriz.

A camino marker at the top of the hill.  Castrojeriz is the town in the distance at the bottom. 

A not-so-great moment for Green when she accidentally stepped in horse crap.  

A random building with interesting graffiti.  I like Jack the pumpkin king!

Here's our albergue for the night.  It looks a bit odd from the outside, but inside the entryway is a nice courtyard and very friendly hosts!  Also we bumped into Rosvetta, a wonderful lady we met the day before we started.  She's always a joy to run into and catch up with!  

Today I'm thankful for my new shoes; they took me 18 miles without a single new blister!  I'm also thankful for the good weather and trail conditions.  And I'm most thankful for all those at home who have been praying for me and my poor feet!  It worked. THANK YOU!

I learned that 18 miles can feel pretty good.  And I learned there are days when I actually WANT to get out of bed and walk... who knew?! 

Quotes

"You are the mother (in reference to Emily) and you are the daughter? (in reference to Betsy)" - a priest about to give us a blessing.  We both just looked at him dumbfounded.

"Yes! This chair looks old and nasty and comfortable.  It's perfect for me!" -Betsy in the sitting room at the albergue

Love to all from me sitting and blogging in my old, nasty, comfy chair! 

Day 12

At some point during the night I got over the fever.  My body felt better and I knew we'd be able to walk! Yay!  Of course, I still had diarrhea and I knew I'd be weak from only eating one bowl of soup the day before, so our options were a town 10k away or one 12k away.  I didn't want to push it more than that.  

Before we set out I asked the hostess at the albergue what time the pharmacy opens because the medicine I had for diarrhea wasn't cutting it.  It opens at 2pm... Great... And it's not like it is in the states where you can by over-the-counter drugs at the grocery store.  Off we go!  

Here's my one picture for the day.  I'm eating my lunch (crackers).  I don't have any other pictures because it wasn't cery pretty.  It was probably my least favorite day as far as scenery.  We were near the highway some if the time and it was just dull, flat, and boring.  

Emily did a good job of keeping my mind occupied so I wouldn't just be thinking about my upset stomach the whole time. First, she had coffee with her breakfast so she was in a great mood and a lot more talkative than usual in the mornings.  Next, she made me tell her stories of my other traveling experiences in Europe, specifically when I studied in Austria.  It helped the time pass quickly.  

Here's  Rabe de las Calzades where we stopped for the night.  

At first I was concerned about the albergue as the sign said it opened at 12:30 and at 1 there still wasn't anyone there... And I had to go to the bathroom, if course.  

But when it finally did open we were welcomed by a very kind Spanish woman and we knew it would be a pleasant stay in this tiny village.  We signed up for dinner and breakfast at the albergue since we didn't see a single restaurant or grocery store in town.  Total $18.5e for bed, dinner, and breakfast. Not bad.  We try to keep to a budget of $20e per day.  

So we played a card game, at soup for lunch, and laid down for a nap.  Emily went to use the public wifi in the center of town.  When I woke up I heard an all-to-familiar sound.  It was a Korean group we had encountered several times before.  This is an amazing group of 18 people.  About 12 of them are youth with special needs.  The amount of patience the 6 adults must have to walk the camino with them is truly admirable.  At the end of the day it's enough work to bath yourself, wash your clothes, make your dinner, and attend to your blisters.... I can't imagine being responsible to do all that for others in addition to myself.  I really admire this group.  Okay, that being said... Emily and I pretty much decided after the albergue in Pamplona (which was one huge open room that echoed) that it would be best not to be in the same albergue as this group.  Yes, I admire them, but they're really loud and we need our sleep.  And here they are, at our little 4 room albergue in our tiny little village.  We accepted the fact that we might not sleep too well and moved on.  In our room however we met several new friends.  One French woman who is walking the camino for the 3rd time.  She first walked it after she had cancer and she walked from st. Jean to Santiago in 23 days!! Oh, and she was 48 at the time. Crazy!  Another friend is Jane, a very sweet Korean girl.  The five of us ate dinner together and at the end our hostess told us there is prayer for the pilgrims at the convent a couple blocks away.  I was pretty excited about this because the smaller villages don't have daily Mass and also because praying with the Religious communities was one of the things I wanted to experience.  

All 5 of us women went to the convent for evening prayer with the dozen sisters followed by a prayer for the pilgrims. 

But the best part, by far, was talking tithe sisters afterwards.  They had robe the kindest and most joyful group of sisters I've ever met.  Even though they didn't speak a word of English, they wanted to know all about us and they hugged us so tightly when we left.  Their "buen camino" was so heartfelt and I know they are praying for us.  They are Sisters of Doctors of Charity and they said they have sisters in the States as well.  

We were informed there would be Mass at 7am the next day with the Korean group.  This is wonderful news since this stretch if the camino is mostly smaller towns that don't have daily Mass.  

Oh!  Also, I asked our friendly Spanish-only-speaking hostess if there is a pharmacy in town and she said no but asked what I needed.  Lucky for me "diarrhea" is the same word in Spanish, because it would not have been fun to try to describe or act out in charades!  She looked in her medicine cabinet, frowned at me, then picked up the phone and called a doctor (I think).  She got off the phone and told me my medicine will arrive at 7pm.  Yay!  

When the medicine arrived I quickly scanned for directions if how many to take and took it.  I couldn't read anything else on the box or the information page, but hey, sometimes you gotta go on faith.  And the medicine is working :) 

I'm thankful for our nice little room of five women, a very kind and helpful hostess, and the joyful sisters! 

I learned to expect the unexpected on the camino (and in life) both good and bad.  I never thought I'd get to go to Mass in Korean.  I also never thought I'd have to pop-a-squat for diarrhea on the side of the trail.  Unexpected good things... and unexpected bad things! 

Quotes

"Soon you'll be as healthy as a ... duck." -Emily

"It's so weird, feel how hard it is!" -Betsy, in reference to her healed and now rock hard pinky toe. 

"I am NOT touching that." -Emily

"Ok, feel it through the sock then." -Betsy

 

Day 13

I woke up feeling great!  My new medicine worked, we were going to morning Mass, and we paid to have included breakfast!  

At Mass we found out that the Korean priest was recently ordained and after Mass he called us up and gave us each a blessing!  Yes!  I don't know ANY Korean, so I just smiled a lot, said thank you, and tried to look very appreciative :). 

 

It was rainy and cold while we ate our breakfast so we tried to wait it out.  At nine it was still the same so set off, covered in our rain gear.  

Several hours of rain and very cold wind later, it lightened up a bit.  Then came the mud.  Big, thick, chunky, clay type mud, the kind that sticks to your boots and makes them feel a few pounds heavier.  Even with all that it still felt like a good day because we were walking! 

Our friend Jane walked with us the whole day.  She thinks I look like Maggie Simpson.  It seems like she may stick with us for a few more days, which is great!  

Here's Jane and Emily walking in the rain.  This is before the mucky mud part.  

The wind made it quite cold.  I always like it when you can see our trail way off in fe distance.  

Even the sunflowers hated the weather and the mud.  Fields and fields of sad miserable sunflowers :( I just thought they were so depressing-looking I had to take a picture.  It could be used for one if those "de-motivational" posters! Haha

At the edge of Hontanas, the village where we're staying tonight, we saw this!  Apparently she made a pilgrimage to Santiago with her husband.  Pretty cool to be walking the same way as so many saints!  Although, I'm sure it was A LOT tougher for them than it is for us now.  

I'm thankful I feel better!  I'm thankful for Mass this morning and for the Korean group.  

I'm learning that most of what I'm learning on this Camino I won't really see until after the camino is finished.  Like in life, you never really know exactly what's going on or why, especially in difficult things, until after the fact.  

Oh! And my feet, everyone wants to know about my feet! Haha The new shoes did great today, even with the awful mud sticking to them!  I'm happy to report there are no new blisters!  And 8 of my 10 blisters are completely healed!  Seems like that magical 2 week mark may be true after all.  We have a long day tomorrow so we'll see!  

Day 11

I'M ON A BUS!

Yep, that's right, we took a bus from Santo Domingo to Burgos.  Now, for anyone planning to walk the camino I would recommend you plan you trip for 38 days.  Not 30 like we did.  This will give you enough time to walk, have a rest day or two, and not be behind if you get the  flu (like me).  We knew we would have to take the bus to make up time because we didn't give ourselves enough time to begin with.  So after a pretty terrible night in Santo Domingo it seemed perfectly placed to take the bus to Burgos and rest for the day.  

There are some pilgrims who refuse to take a bus.  I heard one guy say he'd rather pay $1,500 to change his flight than take a bus... He's gone too far to just "give up".  Luckily Emily and I are of the same mindset, it's a pilgrimage, not a sporting event.  If we were more knowledgeable beforehand we would've given ourselves more time, but we didn't, so now we'll take a bus if we need to.  If I walk 475 miles instead of 500 is it going to ruin my experience?  I doubt it.  In the end, after walking for 30 days, it will make little difference.  

Burgos is a beautiful city. The nicest big city we've seen so far.  Unfortunately, all I saw of it was walking from the bus station to the albergue and then I was in bed the rest of the day.  

The cathedral in Burgos is amazing (and packed with tourists)

The albergue didn't open till 2 so this is where we sat to wait.  Pretty nice view :)

 

I went to bed as soon as we checked in and slept the rest of the day.  I got up for Mass only because I really wanted to see the inside of the cathedral and also I had a plan... At Mass I told God we really need to walk tomorrow, not because of me, but because of Emily.  After one short day and then the bus day along with me being in bed all day and her being on her own, I knew she was probably getting bored and ready to get a move on.  She said "it's a pilgrimage, not a race"... But I have a feeling she had to keep telling herself that!  So I asked God to make me well enough that we could walk the next day, at least a short distance.  After Mass I got some soup, requested to be moved to a bottom bunk close to the bathroom, and went to bed.  

I'm thankful for nice buses, Emily's patience, the Mass, and a rest day.  

I'm learning I'm not as low-maintenance as I thought I was.  

Quotes:  

I have DAILY seasonal affective disorder. -Emily

I can't wait for Dumb and Dumber To to come out! -Emily (she's said this more than once)

Day 10

Day 10 - Azofra to Santo Domingo - 15k

Last night I had a bit of a fever, lack of appetite, and diarrhea :( so we decided to take it easy and only go 15k (9.5miles) in case I'm getting sick.  

My feet were better than yesterday.  Emily was joking about how slow we were moving yesterday.  That's good, I'm glad she can joke about it!  

When we stopped at a bench for lunch in the ghost town of Cureuno we met a French woman named Doris.  She started walking from France in August.  A total of 1,600k when she finishes in Santiago.  She has decided she won't walk over 20k a day because you get worn out and that's when most injuries happen.  Emily and I were both amazed and bewildered.  1,600k at 20k a day makes her total 80 days!  Well more because many days she does less than 20k.  This woman will be walking for three months.  I can't even imagine.  I always joke about being nomadic or a gypsy, but when it comes down to it I know I'll be more than ready to stop at the end of these 30 days!  

Santo Domingo is a really nice town.  We found ourselves at Confirmation in the Cathedral for Sunday vigil Mass and it was beautiful.  

The statue of Santo Domingo. 

Also our albergue is almost plush!  

Great washing area with plenty of clothesline in the sun.

First albergue with a chapel!

Emily having a snack in the dining area. 

Us relaxing on their comfy couches!!

Notice about curing your blisters on your bed!  You see, blisters are very normal here on the camino. 

And here it is, my new blister from today... It's the little red one at the bottom.  Weirdest place ever to get a blister!  Doesn't make any sense, not after walking in these boots for 200k already.  This was the final straw.  I decided to find some new shoes.  If they work, great, if they give me blisters because they're new, than I always have the option of going back to my boots if I want!

Here they are! The new shoes!  They're kinda ugly but I don't care because they're really comfortable!  

If only I could wear my Chaco sandals with socks, I would've brought them and they probably would've saved the day because Chacos are awesome.  But for now, with my wool socks, I'll give these Keen's a try!