Published on Behalf of Donna Blackstock – Donna is walking the Camino Frances – a 5 weeks and 800 km journey that attracts over 250,000 participants.
Hola from Sagahun,
Life has been interesting since I left Hontanas. El Puntido albergue was great but somehow my room filled with all men and the number that spoke English was zero. I decided to get up a little earlier and ran into Dave from New Mexico who was at my table for dinner the night before so Dave, Wayne and myself all walked under brilliant stars with our headlamps on!
Later that day, now on my own, I ran into a couple from Courtenay who were pushing their bikes up a steep hill. They had started in Pamplona. When I arrived in Boadilla and headed for the church, I found the En El Camino albergue complete with a large grassy courtyard, outdoor bar and restaurant and decent internet service.
As I sat on the grass, working on my feet and enjoying the sun, we discovered that there were several Canadian women here and that we should have dinner together. One woman, Linda from Calgary, joined in and is a retired doctor of internal medicine (hold that thought)
As we are travelling the flatter, prairie like Meseta, most people were up very early to cover more ground in the day and perhaps get out of the afternoon sun. As I was putting on my shoes I did notice that my foot with blisters was a bit swollen. Also Dr. Linda from Calgary was about to leave so we walked……again under the bright stars.
At coffee break in Fromista the doc had a look at my foot which is now….bigger. While I have had a definite plan about where to be and which albergue every day, most do not. Linda was intrigued by the fact that I planned to stay at the Santa Clara monastery in Carrion so she was willing to walk that far and “check it out” and even though it did not offer the Pilgrim meal or internet, there were 3 single beds to a room, a huge luxury so we both checked in and then we set off to find some medical attention.
The young guy in the tourist office stepped out of his kiosk and pointed across the street. He said, foot doctor behind the bar (also the bus depot). While there was no receptionist we knew the doctor had a patient as we heard voices. Eventually he came out and agreed to see me and confirmed that I did have infection. He painted an antiseptic like iodine on my foot and then wrote two prescriptions. After siesta I got the antibiotic and inflam/pain pills and then we went to the bar to buy a bus ticket as I knew I needed a day off.
Sagahun was the next Camino stop on the route about 40k up the road. When the bus driver called our stop about 6 people jumped out and I saw a sign for the albergue that looked good in the guide, just up the road so it was only a 5 minute walk.
Tomorrow the plan is to walk 10k, maybe a bit more if the meds kick in and reduce the swelling.
Here’s hoping!
Adios for now,
Donna