We have arrived in Najera today in the Rioja
region. After a very long hot walk yesterday into the big city of
Logrono, my ankles swelled up last night and no amount of Ibuprofen or
wine seemed to help. We found a nice pilgrim dinner in the city and then
went back to our beds and collapsed. This morning my feet weren´t
feeling much better and the thought of pulling those boots on and
walking another 19 miles today made me want to cry so we made the
decision that I would hang around and catch a bus to the next town and
John and Mike would walk.
I had a very pleasant morning in Logrono with a
much needed rest. I lingered over my cafe con leche in a little cafe on
the square, talking to some American pilgrims from Indiana, then
wandered over to one of the sporting goods stores, where I bought a pair
of ´trekking sandals´, which I immediately pulled on to relieve the
pain in my heels, and then caught the bus. I arrived here at about noon
and found our albergue which is on the river, beautiful and brand new.
The guys came at about 2, we did our daily laundry and washing up and
went into the town here.
It is the festival of St. John today in
Najera and there is live music on the square. The town band is wandering
through the streets, playing. The local priest is visiting with
the people sitting out at the cafes, and little children are running
around with their black Najera bandanas on. It´s very charming.
Yesterday we walked through a village having a festival and they had run
bulls through the town just before we got there. The festive atmosphere
was fantastic. We also came upon a poor young guy from Australia who
had broken both legs the night before. A taxi had dropped him off from
the hospital into a chair at a cafe and there he sat. John and Mike were
able to carry him up to a room in the hotel and onto his bed where he
assured them that he would be okay but I worried about him all day.
Apparently, he had gotten drunk and jumped off something high.
Tomorrow
is a much easier day ( only about 12 miles!). I should be well rested
by then and may wear my new sandals if the boots are stilll hurting.
John got his first big blister today so we´ll be doctoring that tonight.
Miss everyone!
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Sandals in the cities sounds like a great idea! Glad you are feeling better. Take care of your feet, both of you. You are mightily missed here!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your feet woes. I hope they will recover with a bit of a slow down and rest day. How is your violin working out for you? Perhaps you can entertain in return for wine. I remember Najera fondly--what a great river park, cathedral, and city squares. Enjoy your day tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteOuch! That sounds painful. I hope you were more successful sandals.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about your feet problems. If it gets worse, you may want to consider a rest day. Then you should keep your legs elevated for as much of the day as possible. Also, get some of that ibuprofen gel (or cream) from a Spanish Pharmacy, and that will really help. You may want to soak your feet in quinine water, or Epson salts.The Epson salts would be warm water, and the quinine water would be room temperature, but both will help. Increase your magnesium intake, too. It sounds like your moving quite fast, so you may be able to spare a rest day. Try not to push yourself too hard this early on. And don't feel pressured to keep up with others. Wishing you well.
ReplyDeleteChris and Laura
Blisters- oh no!! are u both using Vaseline or lube on your feet daily before donning sock liners?
ReplyDeleteyou are making good time, so don't feel pressured to keep up with others, and don't push yourselves!
Glad to hear you're enjoying theCamino otherwise!
Laura
P.S. Chris just realized he had jumped down to comment as soon as he read the part about the ibuprofen and red wine not helping... So he hadn't even gotten to the part about resting and the bus and so forth before he posted the comment above.
The foot problems seemed to have been caused by a ridge inside my boots where there is a seam. I've worn the sandals for two days now and other than the odd rock, they're really helping.
ReplyDeleteI hope the guy from Australia got help. Break both legs and then just sit in a cafe saying you'll be ok. Must be some kinda folks they grow down under!
ReplyDelete