Day 18, Boadilla to Carrión, Oct 16



Injuries: Linda has a blister which forces her to alter her gait which grinds her hip; Rob's Achilles heel is stiff; Mats ankle is ok but he doesn't want to push it; and I chaffed my inner thighs while hiking yesterday in the heat for so long in a pair of shorts I hadn't used before that were too stiff. While fine for colder wet days they proved less than ideal for hot sweaty days. Thomas was fine and being Norwegian, anxious to keep going so he pushed on while we decided to walk 5k along a canal lined with trees in the autumn colours, then we would take a taxi to our destination and have a rest, repack, respite day.

Rob's friend Dee had a similar idea and waswaiting to take a bus to Carrión, our destination as well. Rob said he would share a taxi with her. I wondered if that meant we were going to lose Rob.


We ran into Brian and Zosia from Victoria and had coffee with them and they pointed out a peregrinos equipment store. I was looking for a lightweight inexpensive windbreaker and new pants/shorts to replace the stiff ones that caused the chaffing.A windbreaker would have been perfect for misty days or days when a Gortex jacket is just too hot to wear while walking in the rain. I had seen a very lightweight, as in hardly-any-grams, jacket back home for $100 and thought, who in their right mind would spend that kind of money of a flimsy lightweight water resistant but not waterproof, jacket? I would now!



Mats gets a Facebook message from Steffen's girlfriend asking for info on Steffen who apparently has forgotten how he ended up in hospital. Apparently, Steffen isn't too clear about which hospital he is in and Burgos has at least four hospitals. It was a good thing Rob had written down the address from the ambulance attendees. We find Rob.  Dee has booked into an albergue, right downtown, but Rob wants to stay with us.

We book into a convent that hosts an albergue. You have to ring a doorbell and they will come to the marble-floored grand entrance to let you in and register you. Once settled in, you use a door in the courtyard to exit and re-enter. It is a very pleasant albergue with friendly nuns who only speak Spanish but we understand: mass at 7, laundry room over there, kitchen here, clean up after yourselves, doors locked at 10, silence at 10:30. Our nun guided us to our room, no bunks, just 12 single beds. We are soon joined by Brian from Ontario, who lost a big toenail today and 6 Germans in their twenties.



As I am lying in bed surfing the 'net, I look over at Ingrid's (from Germany) bed next to me with  and I spot a bug. Not a fly nor a mosquito but a crawling bug on the side of her mattress. I point to it, and she sees it. We look at each other in horror. 'Is it a bedbug?'. I shrug 'I don't know'. I use my stylus to try and poke it, and in a flash, it runs under the mattress. In an instant, she is out of bed and taking the sheet off looking at the mattress. Rob enters the room, and I motion him over. 'Rob, we saw a bug.' While he professionally investigates, the German girl is googling images. We describe the bug to Rob. 'Doesn't sound like a bedbug, too big. And I don't see any indication of blood or bugs in the seams. I think it is fine.' Both the German girl and I are very relieved. Anyway, nuns wouldn't allow bedbugs!

Time on trail: 2 hours
Weather: just right
Distance travelled: 20k
Distance to go: 420k
Food: café con leche, Napoleon (think croissant stuffed with chocolate), spaghetti, veal stew, mousse.
Lesson learned: I know that I know nothing.
Feeling: relaxed  
Aches and pains: all OK.

Comments

  1. materfamiliasOctober 19, 2017 at 9:33 AM

    I haven't wanted to ask you about bedbugs out of superstition I'd cause them to show up. Glad you've avoided them so far. . . . About the chafing and the blisters, I don't suppose anyone brought along a stick of Glide. It's an indispensable tool for runners who do much distance, but I always bring it along on trips where I'll be doing lots of walking. It's also helped avoid getting skin chafed raw by a new shirt's seams or hem, which has happened before at 20K or plus distances... Not sure if you can pick it up anywhere there, but maybe before you do the Chemin next year . . . ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LizhkOctober 19, 2017 at 12:40 PM

      Thanks for the tip. I did bring glide and use it on my feet. I hesitated to use it on my inner things. I bought something for babies maybe diaper rash cream. It was awful! Got over everything. Glide seems a good idea now but it is much better.

      Delete
    2. LizhkOctober 20, 2017 at 8:23 AM

      Not 'my inner THINGS'! My inner THIGHS. For Petes sake, this spell check is trouble.

      Delete
    3. materfamiliasOctober 22, 2017 at 1:49 PM

      Sorry -- hope you can't hear me snort-chuckling about that typo. . .

      Delete

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